• Current Research on Agriculture and Life Sciences
• /
• v.21
• /
• pp.1-9
• /
• 2003

Plants are often subjected to periods of soil and atmospheric water deficit during their life cycle. To find critical levels for identification of tolerant rice variety to salt- and drought-stresses, we investigated the water deficiency in the leaf of a Dongjinbyeo (DJ) cultivar, identified as intolerant variety, subjected to NaCl- and Polyethylene glycol 6000 (PEG)- treatments. The relative water content and water potential in leaf of DJ plant sharply declined along the high concentration and time after treatment in NaCl- and PEG-treated rice plants. To elucidate the method of simple screening of tolerant variety to salt- and drought-stresses, we examined the relationship between relative water content and water potential of leaves in NaCl- and PEG-treated rice plants. The relationship between relative water content and water potential in leaf of DJ plant showed the highest correlation in 80 mM NaCl-treatment, and showed high correlation only 8% PEG treatment. These results indicate that the critical level of salt stress for screening of tolerant rice was 80 mM NaCl at 48 h after NaCl treatment, and the critical concentration of drought stress for screening of tolerant rice was 8% PEG at 96 h after PEG treatment.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
• /
• v.39 no.1
• /
• pp.39-44
• /
• 2019

Drought is one of the key limiting factors that adversely affects the growth and productivity of crop plants. For the enhancement of drought tolerance in crop plants, the identification of basic mechanisms of a plant to drought stress is necessary. In this study, we compared physiological and biochemical responses of five local Arundenilla hirta ecotypes to drought stress. These ecotypes were previously collected from various parts of Korean peninsula, including Youngduk, Gunsan, Jangsoo, Jinju-1 and Yecheon. A. hirta plants were exposed to drought stress for 14 and 17 days respectively, followed by re-watering for 3 days. The results showed that the lipid peroxidation (MDA), hydrogen peroxide ($H_2O_2$), DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging activity, and proline level were significantly increased while the chlorophyll content was decreased by drought stress in A. hirta leaves. The highest proline content and DPPH scavenging activity were shown in Ecotype of Youngduk with least MDA and $H_2O_2$ levels while the highest MDA and $H_2O_2$ contents, and least proline and DPPH levels were shown in Gunsan, respectvely. These results indicate that the Youngduk is the most tolerant and Gunsan is the most sensitive ecotype among the five different collections. Together, these results provide a new insight of overall physiological responses of A. hirta to drought stress.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.47 no.4
• /
• pp.241-249
• /
• 2023

Background: This study analyzed the drought responses of five forest tree species grown in Korean peninsula, Korean fir Abies koreana (Ak), eastern white pine Pinus strobus (Ps), keyaki Zelkova serrata (Zs), tulip tree Liriodendron tulipifera (Lt), and Japanese elm Ulmus japonica (Uj). Physiological (chlorophyll, root collar diameter [RCD]) and biochemical responses (non-structural carbohydrates, proline, lipid peroxidase and abscisic acid [ABA]) of the plants grown under mild (MD) and severe drought (SD) were compared. Results: In this study, three soil moisture regimes: control (100% precipitation), MD (60% reduction in precipitation) and SD (20% reduction in precipitation) were applied. Soil moisture content showed high water content in control site compared to MD and SD. A decline in RCD was found for Korean fir, keyaki, and tulip plants, with eastern white pine and Japanese elm showing no significant decline to the prolonged drought exposure (both MD and SD). Total chlorophyll showed a significant decline in Korean fir and tulip, with the sugar levels indicating a significant increase in Korean fir and keyaki species under SD compared to control plants. Non-significant decline in sugar level was noted for eastern white pine and Japanese elm. High accumulation of ABA, malondealdehyde and proline was noted in Korean fir, tulip, and keyaki under SD compared to control. Signs of tree mortality was only observed in Korean fir under MD (38%) and SD (43%). Conclusions: The observed findings indicate the drought responses of five tree species. The majority of the morpho-physiological (especially mortality) and biochemical variables assessed in our study indicate superior long-term drought resistance of Ps and Uj compared to the highly sensitive Ak, and moderately sensitive Lt and Zs. The results provided will help species selection for afforestation programs and establishment of sustainable forests, especially of drought-tolerant species, under increased frequency and intensity of spring and summer droughts.

• Research in Plant Disease
• /
• v.25 no.3
• /
• pp.136-142
• /
• 2019

Drought stress is considered as one of major abiotic stresses; it leads to reduce plant growth and crop productivity. In this study, we selected bacterial strains for alleviating drought stress in chili pepper plants. As drought-tolerant bacteria, 28 among 447 strains were pre-selected by in vitro assays including growth in drought condition with polyethylene glycol and plant growth-promoting traits including production of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate deaminase, indole-3-acetic acid and exopolysaccharide. Sequentially, 7 among pre-selected 28 strains were screened based on relative water content (RWC); GLC02 and KJ40, among seven strains were finally selected by RWC and malondialdehyde (MDA) in planta trials under an artificial drought condition by polyethylene glycol solution. Two strains GLC02 and KJ40 reduced drought stress in a natural drought condition as well as an artificial condition. Strains GLC02 or KJ40 increased shoot fresh weight, chlorophyll and stomatal conductance while they decreased MDA in chili pepper plants under a natural drought condition. However, two strains did not show biocontrol activity against diseases caused by Phytophthora capsici and Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria in chili pepper plants. Taken together, strains GLC02 or KJ40 can be used as bio-fertilizer for alleviation of drought stress in chili pepper plants.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Plant Biotechnology Conference
• /
• 2002.04a
• /
• pp.41-47
• /
• 2002

Adverse environmental conditions such as drought, high salt and cold/freezing are major factors that reduces crop productivity worldwide. According to a survey, $50-80\%$ of the maximum potential yield is lost by these 'environmental or abiotic stresses', which is approximately ten times higher than the loss by biotic stresses. Thus, Improving stress-tolerance of crop plants is an important way to improve agricultural productivity. In order to develop such stress-tolerant crop plants, we set out to identify key stress signaling components that can be used to develop commercially viable crop varieties with enhanced stress tolerance. Our primary focus so far has been on the identification of transcription factors that regulate stress responsive gene expression, especially those involved in ABA-mediated stress response. Be sessile, plants have the unique capability to adapt themselves to the abiotic stresses. This adaptive capability is largely dependent on the plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA), whose level increases under various stress conditions, triggering adaptive response. Central to the response is ABA-regulated gene expression, which ultimately leads to physiological changes at the whole plant level. Thus, once identified, it would be possible to enhance stress tolerance of crop plants by manipulating the expression of the factors that mediate ABA-dependent stress response. Here, we present our work on the isolation and functional characterization of the transcription factors.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Plant Biotechnology Conference
• /
• 2002.04b
• /
• pp.41-47
• /
• 2002

Adverse environmental conditions such as drought, high salt and cold/freezing are major factors that reduces crop productivity worldwide. According to a survey, 50-80% of the maximum potential yield is lost by these 'environmental or abiotic stresses', which is approximately ten times higher than the loss by biotic stresses. Thus, improving stress-tolerance of crop plants is an important way to improve agricultural productivity. In order to develop such stress-tolerant crop plants, we set out to identify key stress signaling components that can be used to develop commercially viable crop varieties with enhanced stress tolerance. Our primary focus so far has been on the identification of transcription factors that regulate stress responsive gene expression, especially those involved in ABA-mediated stress response. Be sessile, plants have the unique capability to adapt themselves to the abiotic stresses. This adaptive capability is largely dependent on the plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA), whose level increases under various stress conditions, triggering adaptive response. Central to the response is ABA-regulated gene expression, which ultimately leads to physiological changes at the whole plant level. Thus, once identified, it would be possible to enhance stress tolerance of crop plants by manipulating the expression of the factors that mediate ABA-dependent stress response. Here, we present our work on the isolation and functional characterization of the transcription factors.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.47 no.1
• /
• pp.27-32
• /
• 2014

Plant abiotic stress tolerance has been modulated by engineering the trehalose synthesis pathway. However, many stress-tolerant plants that have been genetically engineered for the trehalose synthesis pathway also show abnormal development. The metabolic intermediate trehalose 6-phosphate has the potential to cause aberrations in growth. To avoid growth inhibition by trehalose 6-phosphate, we used a gene that encodes a bifunctional in-frame fusion (BvMTSH) of maltooligosyltrehalose synthase (BvMTS) and maltooligosyltrehalose trehalohydrolase (BvMTH) from the nonpathogenic bacterium Brevibacterium helvolum. BvMTS converts maltooligosaccharides into maltooligosyltrehalose and BvMTH releases trehalose. Transgenic rice plants that over-express BvMTSH under the control of the constitutive rice cytochrome c promoter (101MTSH) or the ABA-inducible Ai promoter (105MTSH) show enhanced drought tolerance without growth inhibition. Moreover, 101MTSH and 105MTSH showed an ABA-hyposensitive phenotype in the roots. Our results suggest that over-expression of BvMTSH enhances drought-stress tolerance without any abnormal growth and showes ABA hyposensitive phenotype in the roots.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
• /
• v.43 no.4
• /
• pp.444-449
• /
• 2016

Deep rooting, which enables plants to extract water from greater soil depths, is a critical strategy for improving plant survival under water-deficient conditions. However, as it is difficult to observe intact root systems belowground, several techniques have been developed to screen deep- and shallow-rooting phenotypes in rice. Here, we introduce a simple and convenient method for deep- and shallow-rooting phenotyping using a unique combination of sand, soil, and plastic mesh netting. Vandana, a drought-tolerant rice variety, and Dongjin, a Korean japonica rice variety, were used to analyze root phenotypes. No significant differences in root length were observed in rice grown under irrigated conditions regardless of net position, whereas roots were significantly longer, and ratio of deep root (RDR) values were significantly higher in Vandana rice grown under semi-drought conditions. In summary, this simple and useful method represents a low-cost means of phenotyping the roots of rice and other crops grown in various-sized pots and at multiple plant growth stages.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.24 no.2
• /
• pp.196-208
• /
• 2014

During the life cycle of plants, water deficit leads to an adverse effect on its growth and development. To increase the productivity of crops, overcoming such drought stress is one of the most important issues in the field of plant study. Among plant hormones, the phytohormone, abscisic acid (ABA) plays a crucial role in eliciting resistance to drought stress as well as in multiple developmental processes, such as seed germination, stomatal closure, and seedling growth. Therefore, further understanding of the ABA-mediated signal transduction pathway in plants is an effective strategy to generate drought-tolerant plants. Posttranslational modification, such as phosphorylation and ubiquitination, is an efficient mechanism for plants to acquire quick adaptation against environmental stress conditions since this process directly affects pre-existing signaling components by modulating protein activity and stability. Here, recent reports on ABA signaling are reviewed, especially focusing on ABA transport, perception, signaling, and posttranslational modification in ABA-mediated cellular responses. Also, we present future prospects on how the control of such a mechanism can be applied to generate useful agricultural crops.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
• /
• v.35 no.6
• /
• pp.485-489
• /
• 1992

Plants are altered not only in the outward appearance but also in their physiological and biochemical properties with reaction to the environmental stresses; particularly, the biosynthetic system of protein in situ rapidly responds to this. In order to investigate the change of properties of polypeptides in rice plants induced by several stresses, the seedlings were subjected to exposure to NaCl, drought, and low and high temperatures, respectively, and then some aspects of polypeptide variations were compared. Without exception, the rice plant, which is somewhat tolerant to environmental change, shows the alteration in several polypeptides. Moreover, newly synthesized polypeptides were observed in response to stresses. The existing proteins for the primary metabolic pathways were markedly decreased as each treatment progressed.