Environmental factors greatly influence the growth, development, and even genetic characteristics of plants. The mechanisms by which sound influences plant growth, however, remain obscure. Previously, our group reported that several genes were differentially regulated by specific frequenciesof sound treatmentusing a sound-treated subtractive library. In this study, we used a proteomic approach to investigate plant responses to sound waves in Arabidopsis. The plants were exposed to 250-Hz or 500-Hz sound waves, and total proteins were extracted from leaves 8 h and 24 h after treatment. Proteins extracted from leaves were subjected to 2-DE analysis. Thirty-eight spots were found to be differentially regulated in response to sound waves and were identified using MALDI-TOF MS and MALDI-TOF/TOF MS. The functions of the identified proteins were classified into photosynthesis, stress and defense, nitrogen metabolism, and carbohydrate metabolism. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the analysis of protein changes in response to sound waves in Arabidopsis leaves. These findings provide a better understanding of the molecular basis of responses to sound waves in Arabidopsis.

Although lichen-derived compounds are commercially valuable, few studies have determined their modes of action. This study used a chemogenomic approach to gain insight into the mechanisms of one of well-known lichen-derived compound, vulpinic acid.

Cankers are localized dead areas in the bark of stems, branches or twigs of many types of trees and shrubs, and are usually caused by fungi. We observed severe canker symptoms in oak trees located in Gyeongnam province in 2011. A total 31 trees were discovered with cankers of varied size, with an average of 48.5 × 15.2 cm. Black, half-rounded globular mound shaped stromata were associated with the cankers, and the asci of the fungi associated with the cankers were cylindrical shaped with their spore-bearing parts being up to 84 µm in length. The average fungal ascospores size was 7.59 × 4.23 µm. The internal transcribed spacer sequence for the canker causing fungus showed 99% similarity to the sequence of Annulohypoxylon truncatum. In this study, the isolated fungus was precisely described and then compared with fungi of similar taxa.

Lichen-forming fungi and extracts derived from them have been used as alternative medicine sources for millennia and recently there has been a renewed interest in their known bioactive properties for anticancer agents, cosmetics and antibiotics. Although lichen-forming fungus-derived compounds are biologically and commercially valuable, few studies have been performed to determine their modes of action. This study used chemical-genetic and chemogenomic high-throughput analyses to gain insight into the modes of action of Caloplaca flavoruscens extracts. High-throughput screening of 575 lichen extracts was performed and 39 extracts were identified which inhibited yeast growth. A C. flavoruscens extract was selected as a promising antifungal and was subjected to genome-wide haploinsufficiency profiling and homozygous profiling assays. These screens revealed that yeast deletion strains lacking Rsc8, Pro1 and Toa2 were sensitive to three concentrations (IC25.5, IC25 and IC50, respectively) of C. flavoruscens extract. Gene-enrichment analysis of the data showed that C. flavoruscens extracts appear to perturb transcription and chromatin remodeling.

BACKGROUND: Some microorganisms extant in nature have ability to suppress various plant pathogens, and also can promote plant growth. Thus microorganisms are such great source of antimicrobial agents to develop antagonistic microorganism production and eco-friendly crop management. We isolated the microorganisms in various eco-friendly formulations. The suppressive abilities against plant pathogens have been characterized in vitro level. METHODS AND RESULTS:The indigenous microorganisms have been isolated from Cooked rice, Black sugar, Rice Bran, and Red clay using dilution plating method. Population of bacteria and fungi were above 10 7 in the all formulations. We isolated and pure cultured the microorganisms based on morphological characteristics. Three major plant pathogens (Fusarium oxysporum, Rhizoctonia solani, Phytophthora capsici) have been used to select antagonistic microorganisms. Total 20 bacteria and 9 fungi showed the pathogen growth suppression ability in vitro condition. The selected microorganisms were identified by ITS sequence similarity. CONCLUSION: All tested eco-friendly formulations contained high-density of the microorganisms. Among the isolated microorganisms, Bacillus spp. and Streptomyces spp. showed the most effective antifungal activity against the plant pathogens such as F. oxysporum, R. solani, and P. capsici. Among the selected fungi Trichoderma sp. demonstrated antifungal activity. Our results suggest that the currently adapted eco-friendly formulations might useful for sustain agricultural system.