This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. ABSTRACT The latest report on the draft genome of Brassica rapa sequence has been published. To elucidate the functions of these genes and to efficiently search for agriculturally useful genes, a Full-length cDNA Over-eXpressor (FOX) gene hunting system was used. The FOX library from Chinese cabbage was introduced into rice via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Approximately 1,150 FOX-rice lines were generated. Genomic PCR analysis indicated that the average length of FL-cDNAs introduced into individual lines was 900~1,200 bp. Basic Local Alignment System Tool (BLAST) analysis of the FL-cDNA genes revealed that 35.5% have unknown function. Most of the randomly selected transgenic rice lines showed overexpression (92%) of these genes relative to the wild-type Gopum. Moreover, 94% of the 850 transgenic rice lines were moderately tolerant (slightly yellow) to cold and 9 lines were tolerant (seedlings were light green). Morphological evaluation of the transgenic rice lines showed minimal phenotypic alteration (12%). Approximately 25.1% and 22% of the plants were significantly ahead in the days to heading and had elevated chlorophyll content, respectively. Other agronomic traits such as filled grains, number of tiller, panicle length, and culm and plant height were relatively less variable among the transgenic lines. These results provide a resource for defining genes that are associated with tolerance in transgenic rice lines.

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Background: The ginseng ginsenosides, which have various physiological activities, are known to be more abundant in the leaves than in the roots, and the consumers' interest in ginseng sprout as a functional vegetable has been increasing. Methods and Results: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of growth period on growth properties, active ingredients and rheology of ginseng sprouts cultivated in a non-heated greenhouse equipped with a shade net for 60 days, starting from the end of May to the middle of July. The chlorophyll content of the leaves decreased, but their length and width increased with increasing cultivation days. In particular, growth increased significantly until 40 days, but only slightly after 50 days. The stem length did not increase greatly from the 20 th to the 30 th day of cultivation, but increased significantly from the 30 th to the 40 th day, and then further increased gradually. The weight of the leaves, stems, and roots increased slightly, but not change significantly. After 40 days of cultivation, the total ginsenoside content increased by 1.07 times in the leaves and decreased by 0.80 times in the roots with increasing cultivation days. The leaf contents of ginsenosides Rg 1 , Re, Rb 1 , Rc, F 3 and F 4 increased with increasing cultivation days. The rheological properties of ginseng sprout showed the greatest influence on stem hardening with increasing cultivation days. Conclusions: Therefore, based on the growth characteristics, active ingredients and physical properties, 40 days after sowing was considered to be an appropriate harvesting time for ginseng sprouts.

To increase the consumption of white ginseng (WG), we evaluated the bioactive components and antioxidant activity of the extracts obtained after supplementation with 0, 1.0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5, and 10.0% Adenophora triphylla var. japonica Hara leaf (ATL). The total polyphenol (TP) and total flavonoid (TF) contents of white ginseng extracted without ATL (WA1) were 0.67±0.11 mg･GAE/mL and 1.16±0.08 mg･QE/100 mL, respectively, and the TP and TF content of the ATL extract were 10.22±0.24 mg･GAE/mL and 145.67±8.17 mg･QE/100 mL, respectively. The 50% inhibition concentration (IC50) of DPPH was determined to be 189.48±1.74 μL/mL in the WA3 extract (2.5% ATL), whereas the IC50 obtained with ABTS was 71.01±2.97 μL/mL in the WA4 extract (5.0% ATL), imparting a synergistic effect more than twice exerted by WA1. The total ginsenoside and β-carotene contents were determined to be in the range 1.00∼1.06 mg/mL and 0.64∼1.26 μg/mL, respectively, in the WA4∼WA6 extracts (supplemented with 5∼10% ATL). Total polyphenol, total flavonoid, total ginsenoside content, and antioxidant activities were found to be highly correlated with WG extract supplemented with 5∼10% ATL. Taken together, our results indicate a potential to develop a beneficial new WG extract supplemented with ATL.