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Ginseng (Panax ginseng) has a low genetic diversity and a narrow pool of genetic resources. Mutagenesis is one of the most powerful methods for inducing genetic variation in this species, but little research has been performed in ginseng. In this study, various tissues, including dehiscent seeds, 1-year-old roots, and somatic embryos were irradiated at different doses of gamma rays (20–400 Gy and zero dose as a control) to determine the most optimal concentration and tissues for the successful use of mutagenesis in ginseng breeding. The results revealed that high gamma doses (> 100 Gy) were detrimental to all irradiated tissues. A gradual and significant reduction in germination, emergence, and seedling growth were found as gamma irradiation dose increased. The reduction in survival rates and seedling growth by irradiation at serial doses showed that the LD50 of ginseng was 20–80 Gy, although the irradiation doses were tissue dependent. Based on our results, the optimal doses of gamma rays for inducing mutation in ginseng are

There is a total of 32 ginseng cultivating varieties (cultivars) in Korea which have unique agronomic and morphological traits. Each variety was registered as an official cultivar and protected for breeder’s rights permitted by the Korean government. All 32 elite cultivars have been developed by pure-line selection from local landraces and show diverse agricultural performances and characteristics such as growth, floral and fruit shape, root growth, shapes and processing traits, characteristics for biotic or abiotic stress, and ginsenoside compositions. This chapter will discuss the breeding method and characteristics, breeding history in Korea, and characteristics of officially registered ginseng varieties.

Panax ginseng C. A. Mey., a perennial herb belonging to the family Araliaceae, is a valuable medicinal plant with distinctive biological characteristics. However, comprehensive analyses of the mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) are lacking. In this study, we sequenced the complete mitogenome of ginseng based on long-read data from the Nanopore sequencing platform. The mitogenome was assembled into a &ldquo, master circle&rdquo, form of 464,705 bp and contained 72 unique genes. The genome had three large repeat regions, and 10.42% of the sequences were mitogenome sequences of plastid origin (MTPTs). In total, 278 variants (213 SNPs and 65 InDels) were discovered, most of which were identified in intergenic regions. The MTPT regions were mutational hotspots, harboring 74.5% of the variants. The ginseng mitogenome showed a higher mutation rate than that of the chloroplast genome, and this pattern is uncommon in plants. In addition, 10 Kompetitive allele-specific PCR (KASP) markers were developed from 10 SNPs, excluding those in MTPT regions. These markers accurately identified the genotypes of 59 Korean ginseng accessions and elucidated mitogenome diversity. These results provide insight into organellar genomes and genetic diversity in ginseng. Moreover, the complete mitogenome sequence and 10 KASP markers will be useful for ginseng research and breeding.

Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer) is a largely sought after resource due to its substantial health benefits. However, large-scale culture of ginseng seeds is limited because of its long maturation time and triple-dormancy. To develop new strategies to improve the dehiscence, germination, and breaking dormancy, we investigated the effects of stratification, gibberellin (GA3), and/or kinetin treatments on the dehiscence, development and germination of P. ginseng. Indehiscent seeds for the dehiscence test and dehiscent seeds for the germination test were immersed in a solution containing 288.7 μM GA3 and/or 232.3 μM kinetin for 24 h, respectively, at 25 °C. After dehiscence, a cold stratification experiment was conducted at 2 °C for 15, 30, 45, 60, and 90 days in the dark. Exogenous GA3 and kinetin treatments significantly improved the dehiscence rate. In addition, both plant growth regulators (PGRs) appeared to enhance the zygotic embryo development of ginseng seeds. GA3 on its own had a slight effect on breaking dormancy and germination, but the effect was not sufficient to serve as a complete substitute for the cold stratification requirement due to the deep physiological dormancy characteristic of P. ginseng. Kinetin treatment had a significant effect on germination and breaking dormancy, although a short period of cold stratification was also required. The combination of GA3 and kinetin treatments was more effective at enhancing both seed dehiscence and germination than either PGR treatment alone.

Background Ginseng is a popular traditional herbal medicine in north-eastern Asia. It has been used for human health for over thousands of years. With the rise in global temperature, the production of Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng C.A.Meyer) in Korea have migrated from mid to northern parts of the Korean peninsula to escape from the various higher temperature related stresses. Under the high ambient temperature, vegetative growth was accelerated, which resulted in early flowering. This precocious phase change led to yield loss. Despite of its importance as a traditional medicine, biological mechanisms of ginseng has not been well studied and even the genome sequence of ginseng is yet to be determined due to its complex genome structure. Thus, it is challenging to investigate the molecular biology mechanisms at the transcript level. Results To investigate how ginseng responds to the high ambient temperature environment, we performed high throughput RNA sequencing and implemented a bioinformatics pipeline for the integrated analysis of small-RNA and mRNA-seq data without a reference genome. By performing reverse transcriptase (RT) PCR and sanger sequencing of transcripts that were assembled using our pipeline, we validated that their sequences were expressed in our samples. Furthermore, to investigate the interaction between genes and non-coding small RNAs and their regulation status under the high ambient temperature, we identified potential gene regulatory miRNAs. As a result, 100,672 contigs with significant expression level were identified and 6 known, 214 conserved and 60 potential novel miRNAs were predicted to be expressed under the high ambient temperature. Conclusion Collectively, we have found that development, flowering and temperature responsive genes were induced under high ambient temperature, whereas photosynthesis related genes were repressed. Functional miRNAs were down-regulated under the high ambient temperature. Among them are miR156 and miR396 that target flowering (SPL6/9) and growth regulating genes (GRF) respectively. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12918-018-0548-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Despite many studies on tissue culture of Panax ginseng, the propagation of cultivars is still dependent on seeds due to low survival rate of plants produced in vitro. Healthy in vitro grown plants guarantee high survival rates after they are transferred to soil, but limited information exists on the optimum medium for the in vitro growth of P. ginseng. In this study, zygotic embryo culture was used to develop an optimum medium suitable for in vitro cultivation of P. ginseng. After 4–6 months of culture, the aged aerial parts turned yellow, and the in vitro grown roots (IGRs) had thickened taproots with dormant rhizomes. The seedling growth was evaluated using various concentrations of sucrose and basal media at various strengths. Of the tested media, 2% sucrose and 1/3 strength SH medium showed superior results. Subsequently, IGRs were transferred to soil and evaluated for their morpho-anatomical characteristics. Furthermore, their plants were analyzed for genetic fidelity using molecular markers. IGRs showed outstanding morphological differences compared with conventionally grown 1-year-old ginseng roots; however, there was no difference in the sprouting and survival rate after soil transfer. 2-year-old IGRs deprived from the IGRs have intermediate properties between 1-year-old and 2-year-old root. Unlike the 2-year-old roots, the morphology of 2-year-old IGRs had shorter primary roots with several lateral roots. Despite the morpho-anatomical differences, molecular marker analysis also confirmed that the IGRs had genetic fidelity.

The commercial use of Panax ginseng berries is increasing as P. ginseng berries are known to contain large amounts of ginsenosides, and many pharmacological activities have been reported for the various ginsenosides. For the proper use of P. ginseng berries, it is necessary to study efficient and accurate quality control and the profiling of the overall composition of each cultivar. Ginseng berry samples from seven cultivars (Eumseung, Chung-buk Province, Republic of Korea) were analyzed using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF/MS) for profiling of the ginsenosides, and high-resolution magic-angle-spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (HR-MAS NMR) spectroscopy for profiling of the primary metabolites. Comparing twenty-six ginsenoside profiles between the variant representatives and between the violet-stem variant, Kumpoong and Sunwon were classified. In the case of primary metabolites, the cultivars Kumpoong and Gopoong were classified. As a result of correlation analyses of the primary and secondary metabolites, in the Gopoong cultivar, the metabolism was found to lean toward energy metabolism rather than ginsenoside synthesis, and accumulation of osmolytes was low. The Gopoong cultivar had higher levels of most of the amino acids, such as arginine, phenylalanine, isoleucine, threonine, and valine, and it contained the highest level of choline and the lowest level of myo-inositol. Except for these, there were no significant differences of primary metabolites. In the Kumpoong cultivar, the protopanaxatriol (PPT)-type ginsenosides, ginsenoside Re and ginsenoside Rg2, were much lower than in the other cultivars, while the other PPT-type ginsenosides were inversely found in much higher amounts than in other cultivars. The Sunwon cultivar showed that variations of PPT-type ginsenosides were significantly different between samples. However, the median values of PPT-type ginsenosides of Sunwon showed similar levels to those of Kumpoong. The difference in primary metabolites used for metabolism for survival was found to be small in our results. Our data demonstrated the characteristics of each cultivar using profiling data of the primary and secondary metabolites, especially for Gopoong, Kumpoong, and Sunwon. These profiling data provided important information for further research and commercial use.

This study investigated the root-associated bacterial endophytes of Panax ginseng at different ages by shotgun metagenomic analysis. After mapping metagenome data to the complete ginseng genome to identify unmapped sequences, we predicted the structure and functions of ginseng bacterial endophytes by metagenomic rapid annotation using subsystems technology analysis. While Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria were the predominant phyla in all samples (2–6-year-old roots), class Alphaproteobacteria was most abundant in 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old plants. We found that 3-year-old P. ginseng had a 0.66% unmapped rate against the whole ginseng genome and showed the greatest diversity of endophytic bacteria (α diversity = 299). Prediction of endophytic bacterial functions at different ages by SEED subsystem analysis revealed that siderophore and auxin-related traits—which are known to promote plant growth—were most highly represented in 3-year-old plants. This was supported by a gene frequency analysis of plant growth-promoting genes, including those responsible for solubilization of phosphate and nitrogen metabolism, using BLASTn. These results suggest that endophytic bacteria of the P. ginseng root affect plant growth. Furthermore, the isolation and purification of plant growth-promoting endophytes identified in this study could promote sustainable cultivation of ginseng in the future.

This study was conducted to improve the continuous techniques for international competitiveness of ginseng industry to Korea-China FTA negotiation and conclusion, and provide the basic information for ginseng industry development of Korea. It was carried out the visiting of the northeastern three provinces (Jilin, Liaoling and Heilongjang) in China for 3-year from 2014 to 2016 and observed the farmers’ fields of ginseng cultivation with soil environmental status. The types of ginseng cultivation could be observed in small scales of 0.5∼3.0 ha, in middle scales of 4.0∼10.0 ha and in large scales of 30∼700 ha with the kinds of imhasam, Chinese ginseng, Korean ginseng and western ginseng. Also ginseng was cultivated in newly reclaimed land of forest in two types of direct seeding and transplanting of ginseng seedlings. The field beds of ginseng growing were covered with vinyl films in arch design of 100∼130 cm height and vinyl was painted in spraying with blue, green and yellow colours for shading. It was investigated in status of the physico-chemical properties of soils. The physical information on the field soils were silt loam, loam and sandy loam in soil textures, and some plain in low slope, some alluvial fan or local valley in forest of land topography. Soil pH ranged within 5.0∼5.2, soil EC was 0.93∼3.78 dS m -1 , organic matter was 37∼35 g kg -1 , nitrate nitrogen 63∼490 mg kg -1 , available P2O5 55∼163 mg kg-1, and in exchangeable cations, K was 0.30∼0.98, Ca was 6.5∼14.0, Mg was 1.1∼5.3 cmolc kg -1 in ranges. Farmers used the fertilizer for ginseng cultivation in 10∼11 t of compost, 200∼400 kg ha - 1 of complex fertilizer and 750 kg ha -1 of oil cakes. The northeastern three provinces of China can use the newly lands with large areas of ginseng cultivation in soil sickness by continuous cropping. and the soil basic fertility is batter than that of Korean in standard guide of ginseng cultivation soil.

Bacillus cereus PgBE311, isolated from the root tissue of a 5-year-old Panax ginseng plant, showed activities against the fungal pathogens Cylindrocarpon destructans and Botrytis cinerea . Here, we report the genome sequence of B. cereus PgBE311.

Bacillus cereus PgBE311, isolated from the root tissue of a 5-year-old Panax ginseng plant, showed activities against the fungal pathogens Cylindrocarpon destructans and Botrytis cinerea. Here, we report the genome sequence of B. cereus PgBE311., Bacillus cereus PgBE311, isolated from the root tissue of a 5-year-old Panax ginseng plant, showed activities against the fungal pathogens Cylindrocarpon destructans and Botrytis cinerea. Here, we report the genome sequence of B. cereus PgBE311. The bacterium contains antibiotic-related gene clusters and has the potential to stimulate plant growth.

Chryseobacterium indologenes PgBE177, isolated from the root tissue of a 4-year-old Panax quinquefolius plant, showed antagonistic activity against Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000, a bacterial pathogen., Chryseobacterium indologenes PgBE177, isolated from the root tissue of a 4-year-old Panax quinquefolius plant, showed antagonistic activity against Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000, a bacterial pathogen. Here, we report the whole-genome sequence of C. indologenes PgBE177. The bacterium contains bacteriocin gene clusters and has the potential to stimulate plant growth.

Although endophytic bacteria are known to colonize Panax ginseng, little is known about their diversity and roles. We addressed in the present study by comparing endophytic bacterial populations in P. ginseng plants of different ages (2–6 years) and in various tissue types (root, stem, leaf, and flower stalk). A total of 116 strains assigned to 42 species were identified by 16S rDNA sequencing. The predominant phylum was Firmicutes. Two-year-old ginseng plants and root tissues showed the greatest diversity of endophytic bacteria, with Bacillales being the predominant order. The antifungal activity of isolates against two pathogens, Cylindrocarpon destructans and/or Botrytis cinerea, was evaluated in dual-culture assays. In total, 28 strains showed antifungal activity with PgBE14 (Bacillus amyloliquefaciens), PgBE40 (B. megaterium), PgBE39, PgBE45 (Pseudomonas frederiksbergensis), and PgBE42 (Staphylococcus saprophyticus) inhibiting both pathogens. These results improve our understanding of the structure and diversity of endophytic bacterial communities of P. ginseng and identify strains with antifungal activity that have potential applications as biocontrol agents.

Centella asiatica is widely used as a medicinal plant due to accumulation of the ursane-type triterpene saponins asiaticoside and madecassoside. The molecular structure of both compounds suggests that they are biosynthesized from α-amyrin via three hydroxylations, and the respective Cyt P450-dependent monooxygenases (P450 enzymes) oxidizing the C-28 and C-2α positions have been reported. However, a third enzyme hydroxylating C-23 remained elusive. We previously identified 40,064 unique sequences in the transcriptome of C. asiatica elicited by methyl jasmonate, and among them we have now found 149 unigenes encoding putative P450 enzymes. In this set, 23 full-length cDNAs were recognized, 13 of which belonged to P450 subfamilies previously implicated in secondary metabolism. Four of these genes were highly expressed in response to jasmonate treatment, especially in leaves, in accordance with the accumulation patterns of asiaticoside. The functions of these candidate genes were tested using heterologous expression in yeast cells. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis revealed that yeast expressing only the oxidosqualene synthase CaDDS produced the asiaticoside precursor α-amyrin (along with its isomer β-amyrin), while yeast co-expressing CaDDS and CYP716A83 also contained ursolic acid along with oleanolic acid. This P450 enzyme thus acts as a multifunctional triterpenoid C-28 oxidase converting amyrins into corresponding triterpenoid acids. Finally, yeast strains co-expressing CaDDS, CYP716A83 and CYP714E19 produced hederagenin and 23-hydroxyursolic acid, showing that CYP714E19 is a multifunctional triterpenoid oxidase catalyzing the C-23 hydroxylation of oleanolic acid and ursolic acid. Overall, our results demonstrate that CaDDS, CYP716A83 and CYP714E19 are C. asiatica enzymes catalyzing consecutive steps in asiaticoside biosynthesis.

This study was conducted to investigate growth characteristics to develop the technique to select resistant cultivar by wet injury at an early stage through the automatic irrigation maintaining 30, 20, 10 kPa respectively using native variety, Chunpoong, Yunpoong, Gumpoong and Sunun. The aerial growth was decreased at 10 kPa compared to 30 kPa. In addition, the survival rate was decreased by 66.6%, 62.3%, 33.8% at 30, 20, 10 kPa, respectively. The survival rate of Chunpoong and Gumpoong were higher than others at 10 kPa. While root growth characteristics such as root length, root weight, number of lateral root and side root were tended to decrease, root diam was no significant or increased. And the more humid condition is, the more the incidence rate of rusty root and rough skin were tended to increase. The epidermal thickness of Chunpoong and Gumpoong was increased but the figures of native variety, Yunpoong and Sunun were decreased at 10 kPa compared to 30 kPa. But, the tissue stiffness of root was decreased at 10 kPa compared to 30 kPa.

Background : Correct identification of Panax species is important to ensure food quality, safety, authenticity and health for consumers. This paper describes a high resolution melting (HRM) analysis based method using internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and 5.8S ribosomal DNA barcoding regions as target (Bar-HRM) to obtain barcoding information for the major Panax species and to identify the origin of ginseng plant. Methods and Results : A PCR-based approach, Bar-HRM was developed to discriminate among Panax species. In this study, the ITS1, ITS2, and 5.8S rDNA genes were targeted for testing, since these have been identified as suitable genes for use in the identification of Panax species. The HRM analysis generated cluster patterns that were specific and sensitive enough to detect small sequence differences among the tested Panax species. Conclusion : The results of this study show that the HRM curve analysis of the ITS regions and 5.8S rDNA sequences is a simple, quick, and reproducible method. It can simultaneously identify three Panax species and screen for variants. Thus, ITS1HRM and 5.8SHRM primer sets can be used to distinguish among Panax species.

Background : In order to determine the effects of planting methods on root growth of ginseng varieties, two different methods, direct seed sowing and transplanting were compared in terms of their effects on different root growth characteristics. Methods and Results : Higher fresh root weight was observed in ginseng grown by direct seed sowing. Direct seed sowing of three cultivars (Sunhyang, Chungsun and K-1) resulted in higher yield, whereas no difference was observed in the yield of one cultivar (Chungsun). Gumpoong was highly tolerant to physiological stress, as it showed fewer symptoms of rusty and rough skin root diseases in both direct seed sowing and transplanting. The average main root length per total root length of ginseng grown by direct seed sowing was 33.6%, whereas that of ginseng grown by the average of those by transplanting was 22.4%. Other root growth characteristics, including root length, main root diameter, and number of side roots, improved when the direct seed sowing method was used. Conclusions : To our knowledge, this is the first study reporting the differences in root growth parameters of ginseng varieties grown by direct seed sowing or transplanting at the same planting density. Because of the advantages of direct sowing during ginseng planting, developing new varieties and improving cultivation methods are imperative.

Background : Excessively high concentration of sodium ion causednutrient deficiency and significantly decrease growth. This study was carried out to determine the limiting concentration range of sodium ion in the soil of ginseng field. Methods and Results : The growth of the ginseng cultivar Chunpoong reduced with increase in salinity, and the rate of growth reduction was higher in shoots than that of roots. Particularly, ginseng plants cultivated at high level of nitrate nitrogen or sodium may suffer delayed development and stunted growth. Chlorophyll damage occurred on the leaves of ginseng planted in relatively high levels (> ) of sodium ion, as determined by the fluorescence reaction. The incidence of physiological disorder in ginseng cultivated at 249 sites was correlated with the concentration of sodium ion in the soils. About 74% of ginseng fields in which physiological disorders occurred had concentrations of sodium ion in soil greater than . In contrast, the concentration of sodium ions at 51 of 85 sites where no damage occurred was relatively (). Conclusions : The concentration of sodium ion in soil of ginseng fields can be classified into three levels optimum (), permissible allowance (0.15 - 0.2) and excessive (> 0.2).

Background : Considerable time and effort is required to develop new Panax ginseng varieties. Ginseng breeders have been developing techniques to shorten the breeding cycle to resolve this problem. In this study, we investigated the effects of adding GA3 and alternating temperature (AT, 2℃→ −2℃ → 2℃) on breaking bud dormancy in the varieties (Chungsun and Sunun) of ginseng root. Methods and Results : The GA3 soaking treatment and AT were applied to one year old roots, which greatly accelerated the emergence of new buds. In one year old roots, new buds emerged from the 4th day post transplanting and after breaking dormancy with GA3 and AT treatments. The emergence of new buds was completed within two weeks. The rate of bud emergence for Chungsun was 60% - 98% over 15 - 60 days after the AT and GA3 treatments. The emergence rate of Sunun was 46% - 92%. Normal growth of the ginseng seedling was observed in spite of the early breaking of bud dormancy by combined GA3 and AT treatments. Conclusions : GA3 and AT treatments shortened the dormancy period and facilitated the stable emergence of ginseng seedlings. However, some plants suffered deformities and early sprouting owing to the combined GA3 and AT treatments. Early sprouting was free from dormancy after leaf fall from the of aerial part of the plant.

*Department of Herbal Crop Research, NIHHS, RDA, Eumseong 369-873, Korea.**College of Chinese Medicinal Materials, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, China.ABSTRACT : In this study, the clinical safety and toxicology of oral ingestion of supplement capsules containing ginsengradix was investigated in healthy young volunteers. This study was a pilot randomized, double blinded, placebo controlledtrial. The healthy volunteers were divided into 6 groups of 20 each (10 males and 10 females). They took the ginseng powderfor 35 days (3g/day) for safety evaluation. There were measured general healthy levels such as hematological, biochemical andelectrocardiographic parameters. After the first week, besides Korean white ginseng the other treatments led to an significantincrease of white blood cells. Korean red ginseng increased UREA (blood urea nitrogen) in healthy volunteers, but it didn’texceed the range of normal values, and in the subsequent process of treatment there is no effect of elevating UREA. After thethree weeks, Korean white ginseng showed relatively low the content of blood glucose and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol.After the five weeks, compared with the other treatments, Korean red ginseng increased white blood cells, platelet distributionwidth and average volume of platelet. Korean white ginseng decreased low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. American ginsengdecreased blood creatinine in healthy volunteers. In conclusion, through test the blood routine, urine routine, liver function,renal function, blood glucose, blood lipid and electrocardiogram, the healthy volunteers continuous taking ginsengfor 35 days (3 g/day) is safe and reliable, and have no obvious adverse reactions and side effects.Key Words : Panax ginseng, Panax quinquefolium, Food Safety

Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer) has been widely used for medicinal purposes and contains potent plant secondary metabolites, including ginsenosides. To obtain transcriptomic data that offers a more comprehensive view of functional genomics in P. ginseng, we generated genome-wide transcriptome data from four different P. ginseng tissues using PacBio isoform sequencing (Iso-Seq) technology. A total of 135,317 assembled transcripts were generated with an average length of 3.2 kb and high assembly completeness. Of those unigenes, 67.5% were predicted to be complete full-length (FL) open reading frames (ORFs) and exhibited a high gene annotation rate. Furthermore, we successfully identified unique full-length genes involved in triterpenoid saponin synthesis and plant hormonal signaling pathways, including auxin and cytokinin. Studies on the functional genomics of P. ginseng seedlings have confirmed the rapid upregulation of negative feed-back loops by auxin and cytokinin signaling cues. The conserved evolutionary mechanisms in the auxin and cytokinin canonical signaling pathways of P. ginseng are more complex than those in Arabidopsis thaliana. Our analysis also revealed a more detailed view of transcriptome-wide alternative isoforms for 88 genes. Finally, transposable elements (TEs) were also identified, suggesting transcriptional activity of TEs in P. ginseng. In conclusion, our results suggest that long-read, full-length or partial-unigene data with high-quality assemblies are invaluable resources as transcriptomic references in P. ginseng and can be used for comparative analyses in closely related medicinal plants.

This study was performed to identify optimal harvesting time of ginseng seeds and to examine the effect of GA3 treatment for improvement of seed stratification rate. Ginseng seeds harvested from Land race, Chunpoong and Yun- poong cultivar in July 20 were tested for stratification rate. It was shown that stratification rates of land race, Yunpoong and Chunpoong cultivar were 94.1%, 93.1%, and 82.6%, respectively. Seeds of Chunpoong cultivar harvested 10-15 days later showed a comparable stratification rate to that of Land race, indicating that late harvest of Chunpoong seeds is beneficial for the increase of stratification rate. The higher stratification rate was found in mature seeds (92.3%) than immature seeds (37.8%), both of which were harvested in July 20. Stratification rate of mature seeds harvested in July 15 was 87.5%, dem- onstrating optimal harvesting time of ginseng seeds with higher stratification rate is after mid-July. An exponential growth of endosperms of ginseng seeds was observed from early June to mid-June and then slow growth was observed. There was no obvious growth of embryos from fertilization to mid-August. After the this time, embryos quickly grew until late October. Thus, appropriate stratification control is essential during the period (from early September to late October) in order to optimize embryo growth and development. While no increase of stratification rate was observed in seeds treated with 50 ppm of GA3, significant increases were observed in seeds treated with 100 ppm of GA3. At this concentration of GA3, the stratification rate of Land race, Chunpoong and Yunpoong cultivar was 95.0%, 95.3%, and 96.5%, respectively.

*Ginseng Research Division, Department of Herbal Crop Research, NIHHS, RDA, Eumseong 369-873, Korea.**Department of Plant Bioscience, Pusan National University, Miryang 627-706, Korea.***Department of Plant Resources, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 361-763, Korea.****National Agrobiodiversity Center, National Academy of Agricultural Science, RDA, Suwon 441-853, Korea.ABSTRACT : The transcriptomes of four ginseng accessions such as Cheonryang (Korean ginseng cultivar), Yunpoong(Korean ginseng cultivar), G03080 (breeding line of Korean ginseng), and P. quinquefolius (American ginseng) was charac-terized. As a result of sequencing, total lengths of the reads in each sample were 156.42 Mb (Cheonryang cultivar), 161.95Mb (Yunpoong cultivar), 165.07 Mb (G03080 breeding line), and 166.48 Mb (P. quinquefolius). Using a BLAST searchagainst the Phytozome databases with an arbitrary expectation value of 1E-10, over 20,000 unigenes were functionally anno-tated and classified using DAVID software, and were found in response to external stress in the G03080 breeding line, as wellas in the Cheonryang cultivar, which was associated with the ion binding term. Finally, unigenes related to transmembranetransporter activity were observed in Cheonryang and P. quinquefolius , which involves controlling osmotic pressure and tur-gor pressure within the cell. The expression patterns were analyzed to identify dehydrin family genes that were abundantlydetected in the Cheonryang cultivar and the G03080 breeding line. In addition, the Yunpoong cultivar and P. quinquefoliusaccession had higher expression of heat shock proteins expressed in Ricinus communis. These results will be a valuableresource for understanding the structure and function of the ginseng transcriptomes.Key Words : Panax ginseng, P. quinquefolius, Transcriptomes, Next Generation Sequencing

This study was conducted to find out the optimum composition of nursery soil for raising seedling of ginseng (Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer). Total 9 kinds of raw materials were used such as peat-moss, perlite, leaf mould, rice bran, gull's guano, castor-oil plant bark, palm bark, cow manure and chicken manure for optimum composition of nursery soil in ginseng. Occurrence of damping-off in ginseng was lowered about 50% in nursery soil type 1, 2 and 4 than in other types nursery soil in June, and occurrence rate of rusty root also lowest in nursery soil type 1. As the salinity of nursery soil increased, so did the occurrence of physiological disorder in ginseng seedling. The cause of salinity increasing in nursery soil has closely relation to NO3-N, P2O5 and Na + content. Plant height, root length, diameter and weight were longer and heavier in nursery soil type 1 (mixing ratio of peat-moss, perlite and leaf mould was 50 : 20 : 30 based in volume) than in other types of nursery soil. So nursery soil type 1 was selected for raising seedling of ginseng. pH and electric conductivity (EC) of selected nursery soil type 1 was 5.55 and 0.13 dS/m. Contents of NO3-N and P2O5 were 21.0 and 40.0 ㎎/L, and K + 0.36, Ca 2+ 3.38, Mg 2+ 2.01 and Na + 0.09 cmol + /L, respectively.

*Department of Herbal Crop Research, NIHHS, RDA, Eumseong 369-873, Korea.**National Agrobiodiversity Center, NAAS, RDA, Suwon 441-707, Korea.***Experiment Research Institute of National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service, MIFAFF, Seoul 150-043, Korea.****Department of Food Science and Technology, Seoul Women’s University, Seoul 139-774, Korea.*****Department of Crop Science and Biotechnology, Dankook University, Cheonan 330-714, Korea.ABSTRACT : The development of random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and expressed sequence tag-derivedsimple sequence repeats (EST-SSRs) provided a useful tool for investigating Korean ginseng genetic diversity. In this study,18 polymorphic markers (7 RAPD and 11 EST-SSR) selected to assess the genetic diversity in 31 ginseng accessions (11Korean ginseng cultivars and 20 breeding lines). In RAPD analysis, a total of 53 unique polymorphic bands were obtainedfrom ginseng accessions and number of amplicons ranged from 4 to 11 with a mean of 7.5 bands. Pair-wise genetic similaritycoefficient (Nei) among all pairs of ginseng accessions varied from 0.01 to 0.32, with a mean of 0.11. On the basis of theresulting data, the 31 ginseng accessions were grouped into six clusters. As a result of EST-SSR analysis, 11 EST-SSR mark-ers detected polymorphisms among the 31 ginseng accessions and revealed 49 alleles with a mean of 4.45 alleles per primer.The polymorphism information content (PIC) value ranged from 0.06 to 0.31, with an average of 0.198. The 31 ginsengaccessions were classified into five groups by cluster analysis based on Nei’s genetic distances. Consequently, the results ofginseng-specific RAPD and EST-SSR markers may prove useful for the evaluation of genetic diversity and discrimination ofKorean ginseng cultivars and breeding lines.Key Words : Korean Ginseng, Cultivar, Breeding Line, Genetic Characteristics, DNA Marker, RAPD, EST-SSR

Korean ginseng (P. ginseng C. A. Meyer) is one of the most important medicinal plant in the world. Under- standing genetic variability among the assortment of Korean ginseng is important for breeding. The aim of this study was to molecularly characterize Korean ginseng cultivar and breeding lines through the use of eight previously reported STS markers (MFGp183, MFGp130, MFGp110, UFGp74, UFGp163, MFGp108, MFGp81 and UFGp156). All STS markers produced interpretable electropherograms from 31 accessions consisting of 11 Korean ginseng cultivars and 20 breeding lines. When eight STS markers were combined, we identified to total 19 genetic patterns; in particular, nine cultivars (Chun- poong, Yunpoong, Gopoong, Gumpoong, Sunpoong, Sunone, Cheongseon, Sunhyang, Cheonryang) and 5 breeding lines (G08012, G04079, G04075, G08036, G04110) in ginseng samples can be discriminated from the others. Together with other available markers, these STS markers will contribute to the management of ginseng genetic resources and the protection of breeders' rights.

*Department of Herbal Crop Research, NIHHS, RDA, Eumseong 369-873, Korea. **Department of Crop Science, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 305-764, Korea.ABSTRACT : The present study was investigated the effect of planting density on plant growth and yield of Panax ginsengC. A. Meyer. Sowing density is one of the most important factors affecting yield. The value of roots have affected by shape,color, weight and degree of disease injury in ginseng. Also, it needed to minimize elapsed time for 5 years including pre-planting field management and cultivation period. We were conducted to evaluate that planting densities and varieties onthe growth, yield and missing rate. The direct sowing was treated seeds density as a four levels (seeds; 72, 90, 120, 144) and10 different varieties with 3 years old ginseng roots. Root weight was significantly affected by planting density and variety,but the number of lateral root and yield were affected by only planting density. Growth index was related to variety andplanting density. Also, Root shape index was affected by both varieties and planting densities. Suitable planting density andvariety were 120 plant per 1.62㎡ and Gopoong, respectively. Results showed that it was also a significant difference(p = 5%) in variety of planting density on growth. Key Words : Panax ginseng, Varieties, Direct Sowing Cultivation, Planting Density

Department of Herbal Crop Research, NIHHS, RDA, Eumseong 369-873, Korea.ABSTRACT: This study was carried out to investigate the difference of the content of soil chemical components and growthcharacteristics in five years old ginseng affected by application of manure in paddy-converted field. As all livestock manureregardless of kinds increased along with the whole soil chemical component, including the pH and EC in 2008. Change in theEC of control plot was slightly increased but not exceeded 1 ds/m over the years. However, the changes in the EC of livestockmanure regardless of kinds and amounts were highly increased and irregularly exceeded 1.5 ds/m in 2012. The 5 years oldginseng root fresh weight, treatment of fertilizing pig manure compost 4 ton per 10 areas (PMC 4t on/10a) and fowl manurecompost 4 ton per 10 areas (FMC 4 ton/10a), were superior to the others. But there were no difference between PMC 4 ton/10a, FMC 4 ton/10a and control. The standing crop rate 39.6%, treatment of fertilizing cattle manure compost 4 ton per10 areas (CMC 4 ton/10a), was best in all livestock manure. However that was relatively lower than control. Physiologicaldisorder occurrence rates of livestock manure related with leaf and root of ginseng were also higher than that of control. Ifexcessively using non-decomposed livestock manure, It would be caused physiological disorder in many ways. It is a bigproblem to be producing the quality ginseng. More research is needed to find out the economic and effective fertilizer.Key Words : Korean Ginseng, Paddy-Converted Field, Livestock Manure, Physiological Disorder