• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.643-654
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• 2021

Phytophthora capsici is one of the most destructive hemibiotrophic pathogens; it can cause blight in chili peppers, and secrete various effector proteins to infect the plants. These effectors contain an N-terminal conserved RXLR motif. Here, we generated full-length RXLR effector coding genes using primer pairs, and cloned them into the pGR106 vector for in planta expression. Two of these genes, PcREK6 and PcREK41 (P. capsici RXLR effector from the Korea isolate), were further characterized. PcREK6 and PcREK41 genes showed that they encode effector proteins with a general modular structure, including the N-terminal conserved RXLR-DEER motif and signal peptide sequences. PcREK6 and PcREK41 expressions were strongly induced when the chili pepper plants (Capsicum annuum) were challenged with P. capsici. These results provide molecular evidence to elucidate the virulence or avirulence factors in chili pepper. Our results also showed that two effectors induce hypersensitive response (HR) cell death when expressed in chili leaves. Cell death suppression assays in Nicotiana benthamiana revealed that most effectors could not suppress programmed cell death (PCD) triggered by Bcl-associated X (BAX) or Phytophthora infestans elicitin (INF1). However, PcREK6 fully suppressed PCD triggered by BAX, while PcREK41 partially suppressed PCD triggered by INF1 elicitin. These results suggest that PcREK effectors from P. capsici interact with putative resistance (R) proteins in planta, and different effectors may target different pathways in a plant cell to suppress pattern-triggered immunity (PTI) or effector-triggered immunity (ETI).

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.51-57
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• 2009

The purpose of the study was to assess the relative preference for hot & spicy sauces using conjoint analysis, with focus on English consumers. From the results of the study, we were able to derive a standard with the best sauce attributes. The respondent group was selected from the CCFRA's customer database. The qualification criteria for inclusion in the sample were: the primary grocery shopper in the household, a consumer of a range of home cooked oriental & far eastern cuisines, enjoyed hot & spicy chili-based foods, and willing to buy hot chili-based oriental sauces. A total of 676 respondents completed the survey in which 76% were women, and all respondents were between the ages of 18 and 65 years. An online survey method was used and a conjoint analysis was adopted. In conjoint analysis, a product is described as a combination of a set of attribute levels, where a utility value is estimated for each attribute level. In summing up the results of this study, the sensory property (flavor) attribute was most important, the second was brand, and the third was price. For the sensory property attribute, a mild chili sauce of blended garlic, sugar, and lime scored highest. In terms of brand, Blue Dragon was selected as the best. The lesser known Korean Kochujang brand of "Hot&Joy" scored lowest with respect to brand value. Encouraging, however, was the description based on the Hot&Joy product: a hot chili sauce blended with ginger and garlic, which held appeal across age groups and genders. In terms of price, 75p per bottle had the best score.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.178-184
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• 2010

Four major diseases of chili pepper including two fungal diseases, anthracnose (Colletotrichum acutatum) and Phytophthora blight (Phytophthora capsici), and two bacterial diseases, bacterial wilt (Ralstonia solanacearum) and bacterial spot (Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria), were investigated under future climate-change condition treatments in growth chambers. Treatments with elevated $CO_2$ and temperature were maintained at $720ppm{\pm}20ppm$ $CO_2$ and $30^{\circ}C{\pm}0.5^{\circ}C$, whereas ambient conditions were maintained at $420ppm{\pm}20ppm$ $CO_2$ and $25^{\circ}C{\pm}0.5^{\circ}C$. Pepper seedlings or fruits were infected with each pathogen, and then the disease progress was evaluated in the growth chambers. According to paired t-test analyses, bacterial wilt and spot diseases significantly increased by 24% (p=0.008) and 25% (p=0.016), respectively, with elevated $CO_2$ and temperature conditions. On the other hand, neither Phytophthora blight (p=0.906) nor anthracnose (p=0.125) was statistically significant. The elevated $CO_2$ and temperature accelerated the progress of bacterial wilt by two days and bacterial spot by one day compared to the ambient treatment. Temperature regime studies of the diseases without changes in $CO_2$ confirmed that the accelerated bacterial disease progress was mainly due to the increased temperature rather than the elevated $CO_2$ conditions.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.11
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• pp.1885-1889
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• 2007

The tissue blot immunobinding assay (TBIA) is widely used for the detection and localization of plant viruses in various plant tissues. The basic experimental procedures of TBIA sampling and blotting were simplified using commercially available micropipette tips. This method was termed the ring-blot immunobinding assay (R-BIA), as the blot on the membrane forms a ring shape. The detection efficacy of R-BIA was tested for two chili pepper viruses, pepper mild mottle tobamovirus (PMMoV) and pepper mottle potyvirus (PepMoV), following the optimized serological procedures of TBIA (length of the incubation period and BSA concentration, and primary and secondary antibodies). Sensitivity of the R-BIA was about 1 ng/ml of purified PMMoV in pepper leaf sap from a healthy pepper plant. R-BIA also showed high specificity in the detection of PMMoV and PepMoV. Moreover, the modified sampling and blotting procedures were simpler and more reliable than other TBIA methods (such as whole-leaf blotting and crushed-leaf blotting), suggesting that the R-BIA may be used for medium- to large-scale detection of plant viruses in laboratories with minimal facilities.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.113-120
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• 2009

Microscopic study of chili pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) infected with Phytophthora capsici, causing Phytophthora blight of chili pepper, was conducted to compare histological and cytological characteristics in the root and stem of susceptible (C. annuum cv. Bugang) and resistant (C. annuum cv. CM334) pepper cultivars. The susceptible pepper roots and stems were extensively penetrated and invaded by the pathogen initially into epidermal cells and later cortical and vascular cells. Host cell walls adjacent to and invaded by the infecting hyphae were partially dissolved and structurally loosened with fine fibrillar materials probably by cell wall-degrading enzymes of the pathogen. In the resistant pepper, the pathogen remained on root epidermal surface at one day after inoculation, embedded and captured in root exudation materials composed of proteins and polysaccharides. Also the pathogen appeared to be blocked in its progression at the early infection stages by thickened middle lamellae. At 3 days after inoculation, the oomycete hyphae were still confined to epidermal cells of the root and at most outer peripheral cortical cells of the stem, resulting from their invasion blocked by wound periderms formed underneath the infection sites and/or cell wall appositions bounding the hyphal protrusions. All of these aspects suggest that limitation of disease development in the resistant pepper may be due to the inhibition of the pathogen penetration, infection, invasion, and colonization by the defense structures such as root exudation materials, thickened middle lamellae, wound peridems and cell wall appositions.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.155-160
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• 2007

In order to develop chili pepper bacterial spot resistant cultivars and near-isogenic lines (NILs) to prompt the molecular mapping of the resistance gene, we have run backcross breeding program since 1994. Two resistance genes against Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. vesicatoria Bs2 from Fla. XVR 3-25 and Bs3 from our breeding line 25-11-3-2, were introduced into a land race, Chilseongcho (abbreviated to Chilseong hereafter) with good fruit guality. We report here the testing of $BC_4F_3\;to\;BC_4F_5$. We found that $BC_4F_5$ lines of the crosses were homozygous with respect to the respective genes of introduction. The lines, in which Bs2 gene was introduced, were hypersensitively resistant to both race 1 and race 3 of X. axonopodis pv. vesicatoria, whereas, those in which Bs3 was introduced were resistant to race 1.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.172-184
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• 2012

An infection risk model for Phytophthora blight on chili pepper was developed to estimate the first date of disease occurrence in the field. The model consisted of three parts including estimation of zoosporangium formation, soil water content, and amount of active inoculum in soil. Daily weather data on air temperature, relative humidity and rainfall, and the soil texture data of local areas were used to estimate infection risk level that was quantified as the accumulated amount of active inoculum during the prior three days. Based on the analysis on 190 sets of weather and disease data, it was found that the threshold infection risk of 224 could be an appropriate criterion for determining the primary infection date. The 95% confidence interval for the difference between the estimated date of primary infection and the observed date of first disease occurrence was $8{\pm}3$ days. In the model validation tests, the observed dates of first disease occurrence were within the 95% confidence intervals of the estimated dates in the five out of six cases. The sensitivity analyses suggested that the model was more responsive to temperature and soil texture than relative humidity, rainfall, and transplanting date. The infection risk model could be implemented in practice to control Phytophthora blight in chili pepper fields.

• Mycobiology
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.184-191
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• 2017

The anthracnose disease caused by Colletotrichum species is well-known as a major plant pathogen that primarily causes fruit rot in pepper and reduces its marketability. Thirty-five isolates representing species of Colletotrichum were obtained from chili fruits showing anthracnose disease symptoms in Chungcheongnam-do and Chungcheongbuk-do, South Korea. These 35 isolates were characterized according to morphological characteristics and nucleotide sequence data of internal transcribed spacer, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate-dehydrogenase, and ${\beta}$-tubulin. The combined dataset shows that all of these 35 isolates were identified as C. scovillei and morphological characteristics were directly correlated with the nucleotide sequence data. Notably, these isolates were recorded for the first time as the causes of anthracnose caused by C. scovillei on pepper in Korea. Forty cultivars were used to investigate the pathogenicity and to identify the possible source of resistance. The result reveals that all of chili cultivars used in this study are susceptible to C. scovillei.

• Mycobiology
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.113-117
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• 2010

Trichoderma strains were evaluated under field conditions to assay their efficacy in suppressing Alternaria fruit rot disease and promoting chili plant growth. The experiment was conducted at the Botanical Garden, Rajshahi University, Bangladesh from July 2006 to March 2007. Application of Trichoderma harzianum IMI 392432 significantly (p = 0.05) suppressed the disease compared to Alternaria tenuis (T2) treatment and improved both growth and yield. The treatment T4 (T. harzianum IMI-392432 + A. tenuis) was most effective in reducing disease percentage (72.27%) compared to A. tenuis (T1) treatment. The highest seed germination rate (85.56%) and the highest growth and yield (12.5 g/plant) was also recorded in the same treatment (T4), followed by T5 (T. harzianum IMI-392433 + A. tenuis), T6 (T. harzianum IMI-392434 + A. tenuis), T2 (T. virens IMI-392430 + A. tenuis), and T3 (T. pseudokoningii IMI-392431 + A. tenuis) treatment, while single treatment with A. tenuis significantly decreased these values.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.205-209
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• 2009

The loci of the 5S and 45S rRNA genes were localized on chromosomes in five species of Capsicum, namely, annuum, chacoense, frutescens, baccatum, and chinense by FISH. The 5S rDNA was localized to the distal region of one chromosome in all species observed. The number of 45S rDNA loci varied among species; one in annuum, two in chacoense and frutescens, and chinense, and four in baccatum, with the exceptions that 'CM334' of annuum had three loci and 'tabasco' of frutescens gad one locus. 'CM334'-derived BAC clones, 384B09 and 365P05, were screened with 5S rDNA as a probe, and BACs 278M03 and 262A23 were screened with 25S rDNA as a probe. Both ends of these BAC clones were sequenced. FISH with these BAC probes on pachytenes from 'CM334' plant showed one 5S rDNA locus and three 45S rDNA loci, consistent with the patterns on the somatic chromosomes. The 5S rDNA probe was also applied on extended DNA fibers to reveal that its coverage measured as long as 0.439 Mb in the pepper genome. FISH techniques applied on somatic and meiotic chromosomes and fibers have been established for chili to provide valuable information about the copy number variation of 45S rDNA and the actual physical size of the 5S rDNA in chili.