• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.265-275
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• 2002

Flavonoid biosynthesis is one of the most extensively studied areas in the secondary metabolism. Due to the study of flavonoid metabolism in diverse plant system, the pathways become the best characterized secondary metabolites and can be excellent targets for metabolic engineering. These flavonoid-derived secondary metabolites have been considerably divergent functional roles: floral pigment, anticancer, antiviral, antitoxin, and hepatoprotective. Three species have been significant for elucidating the flavonoid metabolism and isolating the genes controlling the flavonoid genes: maize (Zea mays), snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus) and petunia (Prtunia hybrida). Recently, many genes involved in biosynthesis of flavonoid have been isolated and characterized using mutation and recombinant DNA technologies including transposon tagging and T-DNA tagging which are novel approaches for the discovery of uncharacterized genes. Metabolic engineering of flavonoid biosynthesis was approached by sense or antisense manipulation of the genes related with flavonoid pathway, or by modified expression of regulatory genes. So, the use of a variety of experimental tools and metabolic engineering facilitated the characterization of the flavonoid metabolism. Here we review recent progresses in flavonoid metabolism: confirmation of genes, metabolic engineering, and applications in the industrial use.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.89-98
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• 2008

The purpose of this study was to suggest the basic data for establishment of wildflower pastures. The experimental design includes two treatments: Native wildflower pasture (NWP, Kentucky bluegrass + native wildflower 8 species) and Introduced wildflower pasture (IWP, Kentucky bluegass + introduced wildflower 24 species). The field trials were carried out on the experimental pastures plots at Chungnam National University throughout from Sep. 2006 to Dec. 2007. The results obtained are as fellows: In terms of the flower color in the wildflower pastures, the IWP was found more various than the NWP. But such problems as seasonal distribution and continuity were raised and moreover the time of flowering depended mainly upon the spring season. Even though the flower color in the NWP did not show up its variousness, seasonal distribution and continuity were found comparatively satisfactory. To perennially maintain the botanical composition, the variousness of wildflower species are found important after examining locally the beginning rearing and flowering characteristics of wildflowers as well as the basic turfgrass. Moreover, when the wildflower pastures was constructed in autumn, since most of the introduced wildflower were annuals, it maintained various botanical composition before wintering, but after wintering the botanical composition were found simplified due to the winter tolerance. The NWP did not show any problems in the winter tolerance but it could not make the botanical composition diversified. Accordingly, to maintain the wildflower pasture for many years, diversifying wildflower species based upon perennials including annuals seems to be good.