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How functional genetics research can be applied to improving crop yields is a timely challenge. One of the most direct methods is to produce larger inflorescences with higher productivity, which should be accompanied by a balance between stem cell proliferation and lateral organ initiation in meristems. Unbalanced proliferation of stem cells causes the fasciated inflorescences, which reflect the abnormal proliferation of meristems, derived from the Latin word ‘fascis’, meaning ‘bundle’. Maize, a model system for grain crops, has shown tremendous yield improvements through the mysterious transformation of the female inflorescence during domestication. In this review, we focus on maize inflorescence architecture and highlight the patterns of fasciation, including recent progress.

The ripening pattern of strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa) is different from other fruits, primarily because plant hormones affect the fruit’s quality in a different way than in other fruits. However, most studies on strawberries have focused on cultivation methods, control of pests and diseases, and breeding, and considerably less research has been done on hormones that determine strawberry internal quality. Even though strawberries have good indicators for gauging external quality, there is not enough data to for it to be related to internal quality. As such, we sought to better understand quality as strawberry fruit in specific six progressive developmental stages: flower buds, flowering, green fruits (GF), white fruits, pink fruits, and red fruits (RF). The internal quality and hormonal changes of ‘Seolhyang’ and ‘Maehyang’ cultivars were investigated on the basis of these developmental stages. This report highlights the changes in plant hormones that affect fruit ripening of ‘Seolhyang’ and ‘Maehyang’ cultivars. ABA, cytokinin, JA, and SA content increased gradually with maturity from the GF to the RF stage, while auxin content decreased gradually from GF to RF. Meanwhile, cytokinin and GA3 content exhibited fluctuations and differences between ‘Seolhyang’ and ‘Maehyang’ cultivars. The quality of strawberries was highest at the sixth (RF) stage in the both cultivars. Our results reveal that plant hormones play a role in the maturation of strawberry fruits and provide a foundation for their agricultural use in controlling the maturity of fruits.

Kadsura coccinea (KC), a beneficial plant for human health, has been used for centuries in China, Thailand, and Korea in folk medicine and food. There is evidence supporting the biological effects of highly bioactive ingredients in KC such as lignans, triterpenoids, flavonoids, phenolic acids, steroids, and amino acids. In this study, we aimed to explore the effects, functions, and mechanisms of the extracts from KC root (KCR), stem (KCS), leaf (KCL), and fruit (KCF) in UVA and UVB-irradiated keratinocytes and α-melanocyte stimulating hormone (α-MSH)-stimulated melanocytes. First, the total polyphenol and flavonoid contents of KCR, KCS, KCL, and KCF and their radical scavenging activities were investigated. These parameters were found to be in the following order: KCL &gt, KCR &gt, KCS &gt, KCF. UVA and UVB-irradiated keratinocytes were treated with KCR, KCS, KCL, and KCF, and keratinocyte viability, LDH release, intracellular ROS production, and apoptosis were examined. Our results demonstrated that KC extracts improved keratinocyte viability and reduced LDH release, intracellular ROS production, and apoptosis in the presence UVA and UVB irradiation. The overall photoprotective activity of the KC extracts was confirmed in the following order: KCL &gt, KCF. Moreover, KC extracts significantly decreased the intracellular melanin content and tyrosinase activity in α-MSH-stimulated melanocytes. Mechanistically, KC extracts reduced the protein and mRNA expression levels of tyrosinase, tyrosinase-related protein-1 (TRP-1), and tyrosinase-related protein-2 (TRP-2) in α-MSH-stimulated melanocytes. In addition, these extracts markedly downregulated myophthalmosis-related transcription factor expression and cAMP-related binding protein phosphorylation, which is upstream of the regulation of Tyrosinase, TRP-1, and TRP-2. The overall anti-melanogenic activity of the KC extracts was established in the following order. KCL &gt, KCF. Overall, the KC extracts exert photoprotective and anti-melanogenic effects, providing a basis for developing potential skin-whitening and photoprotective agents.

Petasites japonicus is an edible and medicinal plant with a good flavor, and it is a rich source of bioactive compounds. S-Petasin has been isolated from Petasites hybridus (L.), Petasites officinalis (L.) and Petasites formosanus, but not from Petasites japonicus. In this study, we found that hexane extracts of Petasites japonicus inhibited adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 cells. After this we isolated s-petasin from Petasites japonicus. Subsequently, the 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes were used to test whether s-petasin exerts an anti-adipogenic effect. The results showed that s-petasin presented strong anti-adipogenic activity. Further studies illustrated that s-petasin reduced glucose uptake. Moreover, results showed that triglyceride accumulation was inhibited by s-petasin in differentiated 3T3-L1 cells. Western blot assay indicated that s-petasin down-regulated the expression of PPAR-γ and its target genes in a dose dependent manner. In conclusion, we isolated s-petasin from Petasites japonicus and found that it exerted anti-adipogenic activity against 3T3-L1 cell differentiation through inhibition of the expression of PPAR-γ pathway signaling.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has become one of the most common medical problems. Inhibition of lipogenesis and promotion of lipolysis are two ways to prevent NAFLD. In this study, oleic acid-induced HepG2 cells are used as a NAFLD cell model to test whether s-petasin exerts inhibition of lipogenesis and promotion of the lipolysis effect. The results showed that s-petasin significantly inhibited the lipid level in oleic acid-induced HepG2 cells. Moreover, results showed that the triacylglycerol level was reduced by s-petasin in oleic acid-induced HepG2 cells. Western blot assay revealed that s-petasin stimulated phosphorylation of AMPKα and ACCα. The results also demonstrated that s-petasin can inhibit lipogenesis and enhance triacylglycerol turnover by down-regulation of FAS and SCD-1 and up-regulation of ATGL and HSL through the AMPK signaling-dependent regulation of transcriptional factors, FKHR and SREBP-1. This in vitro study indicates that s-petasin has potential as a candidate compound for NAFLD therapy.

Pelargonidin is a natural compound that exists widely in fruits, and exerts antioxidant, anti-atherosclerotic, anti-inflammatory, anti-hyperglycemic, and anti-diabetic activities. However, there have not been any studies concerning its anti-obesity potential to date. Therefore, we evaluated the anti-obesity potential of pelargonidin via inhibition of adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 cells. The cellular oil droplet content was decreased to 68.14%, 56.75%, and 48.39% and triglyceride accumulation decreased to 74.53%, 61.54%, and 47.86% after incubation with 5 μM, 10 μM, and 20 μM pelargonidin, respectively, when compared with DMSO group. Furthermore, pelargonidin treatment led to decrease in glucose consumption. Western blot assay illustrated that the expression of PPAR-γ was suppressed to 63.25%, 47.52%, and 21.23% after incubation with 5 μM, 10 μM, and 20 μM pelargonidin when compared with DMSO group. Then, we measured the expression of some target proteins of PPAR-γ, and found that pelargonidin decreased the expressions of HMGCR, LPL, Glut4, and A-FABP. Besides, the result of Luciferase Reporter Assay indicated that pelargonidin inhibited PPAR-γ transcription activity. These results indicated that pelargonidin exerts anti-adipogenic activity in 3T3-L1 cells through inhibition of PPAR-γ signaling pathway, and pelargonidin could be used as a potential anti-obesity agent.

This study was conducted to develop an SNP set that can be useful for marker-assisted breeding (MAB) in watermelon (Citrullus. lanatus L) using Genotyping-bysequencing (GBS) analysis of 20 commercial elite watermelon inbreds. The result of GBS showed that 77% of approximately 1.1 billion raw reads were mapped on the watermelon genome with an average mapping region of about 4,000 Kb, which indicated genome coverage of 2.3%. After the filtering process, a total of 2,670 SNPs with an average depth of 31.57 and the PIC (Polymorphic Information Content) value of 0.1~0.38 for 20 elite inbreds were obtained. Among those SNPs, 55 SNPs (5 SNPs per chromosome that are equally distributed on each chromosome) were selected. For the understanding genetic relationship of 20 elite inbreds, PCA (Principal Component Analysis) was carried out with 55 SNPs, which resulted in the classification of inbreds into 4 groups based on PC1 (52%) and PC2 (11%), thus causing differentiation between the inbreds. A similar classification pattern for PCA was observed from hierarchical clustering analysis. The SNP set developed in this study has the potential for application to cultivar identification, F1 seed purity test, and marker-assisted backcross (MABC) not only for 20 elite inbreds but also for diverse resources for watermelon breeding.

Background: There is a need to minimize economic damage by sorting infected seeds from healthy seeds before seeding. However, current methods of detecting infected seeds, such as seedling grow-out, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and the real-time PCR have a critical drawbacks in that they are time-consuming, labor-intensive and destructive procedures. The present study aimed to evaluate the potential of visible/near-infrared (Vis/NIR) hyperspectral imaging system for detecting bacteria-infected watermelon seeds.; Results: A hyperspectral Vis/NIR reflectance imaging system (spectral region of 400-1000 nm) was constructed to obtain hyperspectral reflectance images for 336 bacteria-infected watermelon seeds, which were then subjected to partial least square discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and a least-squares support vector machine (LS-SVM) to classify bacteria-infected watermelon seeds from healthy watermelon seeds. The developed system detected bacteria-infected watermelon seeds with an accuracy > 90% (PLS-DA: 91.7%, LS-SVM: 90.5%), suggesting that the Vis/NIR hyperspectral imaging system is effective for quarantining bacteria-infected watermelon seeds.; Conclusion: The results of the present study show that it is possible to use the Vis/NIR hyperspectral imaging system for detecting bacteria-infected watermelon seeds. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.; © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

A near-infrared (NIR) hyperspectral imaging (HSI) system was used to predict viability and vigor (in term of germination periods) in muskmelon seeds. Hyperspectral images of muskmelon seeds were acquired using a NIR push-broom HSI system covering the spectral range of 948–2494 nm. After NIR spectra collection, all seeds underwent a germination test to confirm their viability and vigor. The spectra from seeds with 3 and 5 germination days and nongerminated seeds were further used for development of a classification model of partial least-squares discriminant analysis (PLSDA). Most effective wavelengths were selected using three model-based variable selection methods, i.e., variable important in projection (VIP), selectivity ratio (SR), and significance multivariate correlation (sMC), which selected 23, 18, and 19 optimal variables, respectively, from full set of 208 variables. The selected variables from different waveband selection methods were found genuine and significant for interpreting the prediction results of seed viability and vigor. Subsequently, the PLS-DA model was constructed using individual VIP-, SR-, or sMC-selected variables. The results demonstrated that the PLSDA model developed with the selected optimal variables from the different methods provided comparable results for the calibration set; however, the PLSDA-SR method afforded the highest classification accuracy (94.6%) for a validation set used to determine the viability and vigor of muskmelon seeds. The wavelengths selected by the different methods represents chemical components of the seed and the attribute of germination ability was chosen most often.

Metastatic cancer is one of the main causes of cancer-related death since they rarely respond to available treatments. There is epidemiologic evidence that high garlic consumption decreases the incidence of cancer. Recent studies of our laboratory have revealed that a garlic-extracts is effective in suppressing metastasis. For experimental metastasis, C57BL/6 mice were injected intravenously with melanoma B16F10 cells in the tail vein, and were orally administered various concentrations (0, 50, 100 or 200 mg/kg body weight) of garlic hexane extract (GHE) for 21 days. The incidence and the area of the melanoma cell colony occupied by the poorly differentiated carcinoma were significantly lower in dose-dependent in 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg BW GHE–treated mice compared with control mice. In conclusion, the results of the present study show that GHE administration prevents lung metastasis in C57BL/6 mice.

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of fruit set internode on the germination of watermelon seeds. Generally fruits setted in higher than 20 internode were high percent of germination, fruit setted in low internode(5-10) is low. The higher fruit-set internode, fruit weight was significantly increased, but 1,000 seed weight was decreased the more fruit set internode. However number of seed was about 300 seeds irrespective of fruit-set internode. Investigating viability of seed by BP test, general percent germination was recorded highest at 5 flower cluster above 20 internode of fruit-set internode. In contrast, condition of fruit setted on 3, 4, 6 flower cluster were high percent of germination, regarded as unnormal germination not to be as normal seedling by 2~3%. Seed harvested at 5 flower-cluster had high viability on hypocotyl height and diameter of seedling through early growth test, but were not significant. Therefore 5 flower-cluster was optimum fruit-set internode to obtain high-quality seed.

The fermented products of various materials with the mushroom Cordyceps militaris mycelia and silkworm pupa changed the bioactive compounds and increased the biological activity. Fermentation of strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch. cv Sulhyang) mixed with silkworm pupa (Bombyx mori) using the mushroom Cordyceps militaris mycelia was undertaken using a solid culture. Previously frozen strawberries were fermented with 0, 25 and 50% of silkworm pupa (FS, FSP25, FSP50, respectively) or silkworm pupa (FP) using Cordyceps militaris, then the fermented products and non-fermented strawberry (NS) were extracted with 50 or 70% EtOH, or distilled water to determine the optimal fermentation conditions with regards to its anti-adipogenesis effect. The high-performance liquid chromatograph (HPLC) analysis showed that the levels of 7 bioactive compounds were changed after fermentation. Additionally, extracts of FSP25, FSP50 and FP showed different amounts of inhibition of adipogenesis in the 3T3-L1 cell line. FSP25 and FSP50 were most effective. FSP25E50, the 50% EtOH extract of FSP25, inhibited expression of the PPAR-γ pathway signaling. These results indicated that fermented strawberry might be used as a nutraceutical and functional food to give anti-adipogenesis activity.

Objective: To establish an efficacious and efficient fermentation method of enhancing the anti-adipogenesis effect of mulberry (Morus alba) leaves using Cordyceps militais. Methods: Dried mulberry leaves, dried mulberry leaves with 50% raw silkworm pupa and raw silkworm pupa were fermented with Cordyceps militais for 4 weeks at 25 °C, after which the dried mulberry leaves and fermented product were extracted with 70% ethanol and subjected to high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The contents of cordycepin, pelargonidin, chlorogenic acid, iso-quercetin and caffeic acid were determined. We then used the 3T3-L1 cells to investigate whether extracts of fermentation enhanced anti-adipogenesis activity in vitro. Results: HPLC showed that fermentation changed the contents of cordycepin, pelargonidin, chlorogenic acid, iso-quercetin and caffeic acid. Furthermore, fermented dried mulberry leaves with 50% raw silkworm pupa had a better efficacy of anti-adipogenesis than dried mulberry leaves, fermented dried mulberry leaves and fermented silkworm pupa and inhibited triglycerides accumulation and glucose consumption. Additionally, fermented dried mulberry leaves with 50% raw silkworm pupa inhibited PPAR-γ signaling. Conclusions: Fermentation with Cordyceps militaris enhanced anti-adipogenesis efficacy of mulberry leaves.

The present study was conducted to find a way to recycle the coir substrate by investigating changes in its physical and chemical properties based on the number of use year. Specific gravity of unused coir substrate was , while it was higher for the substrate used for 2 years. Porosity was different depending on the number of use year. The porosity of unused substrate was 51.9%, but it increased to 68.6% after used for 2 years. In general, physical and chemical properties were better in the coir substrate used for 2 years than in unused one. The number of leaves, leaf area, flesh weight and dry weight of oriental cabbage and lettuce were higher in coir substrate used for 2 years than those in unused one. Whereas, no significant difference was observed between the substrates used for one year and 2 years, indicating that the one time-used wast substrate could be recycled for cultivating vegetables. Growth of the vegetables was improved when organic fertilizer composed of complex organics with different mixing ratios was provided to the coir substrate, compared to untreated plot. The optimum mixing ratio of the wast substrate and complex organics was 2:8(v/v) for fertilization using wast coir substrate. Therefore, coir substrate generally wasted after being used for one time was reuseable by supplying organic fertilizer.

The inheritance of foreground stripe pattern in rind of watermelon fruits [Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai] was evaluated and molecular markers for selecting the Jubilee-type (JT) stripe pattern were developed based on bulked segregant analysis (BSA). Divergence in rind pattern among F2 progeny derived from crossing Crimson-type (CT) ‘Arka Manik’ (AM) with JT ‘TS34’ (TS) indicated that stripe pattern is a quantitative trait controlled by more than one gene. The BSA of F2 plants (derived from a cross between ‘AM’ and ‘TS’) using 60 random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) primers revealed a distinct RAPD band (AT14-900) polymorphic between ‘AM’ (CT) and ‘TS’ (JT). The AT14-900 sequence (925 bp) was blasted to the reference watermelon (97103) genome and high sequence similarity (97.8%) was identified on physical location of 26246077 to 26246993 bp on chromosome 6. Two expressed sequence tags (ESTs) designated ‘wsbin6-10’ and ‘wsbin6-11’ that were closely linked to AT14-900 on a genetic linkage map (developed using the F2 population derived from ‘AM’ x ‘TS’) were positioned 2,216 kb and 71 kb from AT14-900, respectively on the reference watermelon genome sequence. Marker genotyping of the F2 population showed that wsbin6-11 was tightly linked to the JT stripe pattern of ‘TS’ and could be a useful codominant marker for selecting this trait. In a test using 100 breeding lines, 34 of the 36 lines carrying the JT stripe pattern were homozygous for the wsbin6-11 marker (450 bp) derived from ‘TS’, while other lines (e.g., with no stripe or CT stripe pattern) were homozygous for the wsbin6-11 marker (420 bp) derived ‘AM’. These results indicated that wsbin6-11 would be a useful marker in watermelon breeding programs aiming to select for the JT stripe pattern from other various foreground and background rind patterns.

Bloomless cucumber fruits are commercially produced by grafting onto the pumpkin stocks (Cucurbita moschata ) to restricted silicon (SiO₂) absorption. Inhibition of silicon absorption in bloomless stocks is conferred by a mutant allele of the CmLsi1 homologous to Lsi1 in rice. In this study, we characterized the Lsi1 homologs in pumpkin (C. moschata ) and its coldtolerant wild relative C. ficifolia (‘Heukjong’) in order to develop a DNA marker for selecting a bloomless trait and to establish the molecular basis for breeding bloomless stock cultivars of C. ficifolia . A Cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (CAPS) marker (CM1-CAPS) was designed based on a non-sysnonymous single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP, C＞T) of the CmLsi1 mutant-type allele, and its applicability for Marker-assisted selection (MAS) was confirmed by evaluating three bloom and five bloomless pumpkin stock cultivars. Quantitative RT-PCR of the CmLsi1 for these stock cultivers implied that expression level of the CmLsi1 gene does not appear to be associated with the bloom/bloomless trait and may differ depending on plant species and tissues. A full length cDNA of the Lsi1 homolog [named CfLsi1 (B⁺)] of ‘Heukjong’ (C. ficifolia ), was cloned and sequence comparison between CmLsi1 (B⁺) and CfLsi1 (B⁺) revealed that there exists total 24 SNPs, of which three were non-synonymous. Phylogenetic analysis of CfLsi1 (B⁺) and Lsi1 homologs further revealed that CfLsi1 (B⁺) is closesly related to Nodulin 26-like intrinsic proteins (NIPs) and most similar to CpNIP1 of C. pepo than C. moschata.

This study has been carried out to present the valuation system of soil carbon sequestration potentials of soil in accordance with the new climate change scenarios(RCP). For th at, by analyzing variation of soil carbon of the each type of agricultural land use, it aims to develop technology to increase the amount of carbon emissions and sequestration. Among the factors which affects the estimation of determining the soil carbon model and influence power after the measurement on soil organic carbon, under the center of a causal relationship between the explanatory variables this study were investigated. Chemical fertilizers (NPK) decrea sed with increasing the amount of soil organic carbon and as with the first experimental results, when cultivating rice than pepper, the fact that soil organic carbon content increased has been found out. The higher the carbon dioxide concentration, the higher the amount of organic carbon in the soil and this result is reliable under a 10% significance level. On the other hand, soil organic carbon, humus carbon and hot water extractable carbon has been found out that was not affected the soils depth, sames as the result of the first year. The higher concentration of carbon dioxide, the higher carbon content of humus and hot water extractable carbon content. According to IPCC 2006 Guidelines and the new climate change scenario RCP 4.5 and the measurement results of the

We used infrared thermal signal measurement system and photothermal signal and image reconstruction techniques for viability estimation of pepper seeds. Photothermal signals from healthy and aged seeds were measured for seven periods (24, 48, 72, 96, 120, 144, and 168 h) using an infrared camera and analyzed by a regression method. The photothermal signals were regressed using a two-term exponential decay curve with two amplitudes and two time variables (lifetime) as regression coefficients. The regression coefficients of the fitted curve showed significant differences for each seed groups, depending on the aging times. In addition, the viability of a single seed was estimated by imaging of its regression coefficient, which was reconstructed from the measured photothermal signals. The time-resolved photothermal characteristics, along with the regression coefficient images, can be used to discriminate the aged or dead pepper seeds from the healthy seeds.

Tetragonia tetragonides is a medicinal plant native to ocean sand soil of southern provinces and has significant effects on the prevention and curing of gastroenteric disorders. Despite of its popularity, supply of the plant has never met the level of demand because of the absence of an adequate culturing method. The present study, thereby, was conducted for classifying the plants with geographically different characteristics, studying growth habits, developing a new culturing method and establishing a large scale propagation system of selected superior individual plants. The study was also aimed for revealing optimum conditions for seed treatment, fertilization, and efficient culturing system and thereby, for utilizing the plant as a new income source for rural communities. The seed was elongated with size of 2.6 mm (width) 1.8 mm (length). No difference in seed size was observed depending on different inhabitate. Each flower produced about 4.5~4.8 seeds. Germination rate was high for seeds matured for 40 days after fertilization, but deceased to 50% for seeds matured only for 20 or 30 days. Seed dormancy lasted 6 months and seed storage at humid facilitated germination. Mechanical obstruct of seed germination was due to seed coat and removal of seed coat enhanced the germination rate. Optimum temp. for seed storage was , and high germination rate was maintained for 350 days. However, for stratification condition or at room temperature, germination was significantly reduced as storage time increased Optimum treatment of plant growth regulators was soaking in 250 mg/L for 1 hr. The priming treatment with 50 mM at for two days improved the seed germination with 10% compared to non-treated control. The treatment of 20% NaOCl for 3 hr. improved the seed germination rate up to 10% and 1 day ahead.

The purpose of this article is analyzing the economic impacts of abnormal climate on total revenue of red pepper in Korea, with employing the equilibrium displacement model. Our simulation results show the rate of yield change, price change, and total revenue change according to the climate change scenarios. In th case of by RCP 8.5 Scenario, red pepper production volume would be expected to decrease by 77.2% compared to 2012 while price increasing by 29.6%. As a result, total revenue to be returned to farmers would be reduced by 47.6% than it was in 2012. In contrast, total revenue would be expected to decline by 29.6% according to RCP 4.5 scenario.

This study investigated the effects of (10Z)-1-[(5Z,8Z)-tetradeca-5,8-dienoyloxy]-3-[(Z)-tetradec-8-enoyloxy]propan-2-yl hexadec-10-enoate (TTPH) from garlic on the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cycloxygenase-2 (COX-2) systems in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages. The TTPH dose-dependently reduced nitrite accumulation and production of prostaglandin E2 in the supernatants of LPS-stimulated macrophages. Markedly reduced iNOS and COX-2 enzyme activities were observed in Western blots. In addition, a dose-dependent change in mRNA expression was recorded using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analyses. Moreover, TTPH exerted antiinflammatory activity by inducing heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) expression; this was supported by the use of the HO-1 inhibitor protoporphyrin IX, which abolished the inhibitory effect of TTPH on the production of nitric oxide, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin (IL)-1β, and IL-6 in LPS-stimulated macrophages. These observations indicate that TTPH inhibits the expression of iNOS and COX-2, and up-regulates HO-1 in activated macrophages. The possible link of this effect to the beneficial features attributed to garlic is discussed.

The leaves of Peatasites japonicus are a traditional oriental medicine with diverse biological activities. A simple and specific analytical method for the quantitative determination of bakkenolide B constituents from methanolic extract of the leaves of P. japonicus was developed. Bakkenolide B was isolated from the leaves of P. japonicus, and its structure was elucidated based on 1D, 2D NMR, and GC-MS spectral data. A liquid chromatographic method was developed to evaluate the quality of P. japonicus through determination of major active compound, bakkenolide B. The wavelengths at 254 and 215 nm were chosen to determine bakkenolide B. The recovery of the method was in the range of 98.6 to 103.1%, and bakkenolide B showed good linearity (r 2 =0.999) within test ranges. The developed method was applied to the determination of bakkenolide B in the plant part and seasonal changes. The results showed that the content of bakkenolide B in the leaf was higher than in the petiole and rhizome. In this study, a simple, rapid, and reliable high-performance liquid chromatography method was used to determine the percentage and composition of bakkenolide B in P. japonicus procured from different Petasites species plants in South Korea. The method can be employed in routine quantitative analysis and quality control of different products in the market.

The purpose of this article is analyzing the economic impacts of abnormal climate on fall chinese cabbage farmers and consumers in Korea, with employing the equilibrium displacement model. Our results show that there were little difference in gross farm income, even though there were significant yield reductions due to abnormal climate changes. However periodic occurrences of abnormal climates caused serious damage to consumption levels which had declined by 10.6~17.1 percent with higher prices by 15.3~24.6 percent than normal climate years since 1990.

Late blight (LB) is a devastating disease in tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum ), which is caused by the oomycete Phytophthora infestans (Mont.) de Bary. In this study, the LB-resistance gene Ph-3 was evaluated using a pathogenic isolate of P. infestans from Korea. Molecular mapping of the TG328 and TG591 regions, which are tightly linked to the Ph-3 locus, was performed using F 6 families derived by crossing the LB-resistant accession “L3708” ( Solanum pimpinellifolium ) with the LB-susceptible accession “AV107-4” ( S. lycopersicum ). The map indicated that the Ph-3 locus also conferred high resistance to the Korean isolate of P. infestans . To identify the putative Ph-3 gene, the ultracontig SL2.4ch09 of the S. pimpinellifolium draft-genome sequence, which contained the TG328 and TG591 clone sequences, was investigated. Four tandemly duplicated putative Ph-3 homologs (designated as Ph-3a, Ph-3b, Ph-3c, and Ph-3d in this study) belonging to the coiled-coil nucleotide-binding site leucine-rich repeat (CC-NBS-LRR) class of pathogen resistance genes were identified in a flanking region of TG328 and TG591. TG591 sequences and partial sequences of Ph-3c and Ph-3d were tandemly repeated. Protein sequences of Ph-3 homologs showed high sequence homology with Rpi-vnt1.1 and Rpi-vnt1.3, the CC-NBS-LRR LB-resistance genes in potato. Ph-3c and Ph-3d showed the highest protein sequence homology (80%) to Rpi-vnt1.1 and Rpi-vnt1.3, whereas Ph-3a and Ph-3b showed 70% homology to these genes. A set of sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR) markers that could distinguish each copy of the Ph-3 gene homolog were developed, and allelic compositions of the Ph-3 locus were compared between “L3708” and a variety of LB-susceptible tomato accessions. These SCAR markers proved useful, not only for studying the organization of the Ph-3 homologs in an individual tomato plant, but also for selection of the LB-resistance allele.