Bicyclic polystyrene was prepared by combining atom transfer radical polymerization and click chemistry. The bicyclic polymer was separated from concurrently produced acyclic (branched) polymers through fractional precipitation, and its purity was quantified by two-dimensional liquid chromatography analysis. The structure of bicyclic polymer was characterized by SEC, MALDI–TOF MS, 1H NMR, and FT-IR.

Ralstonia solanacearum (Rso) is a causal agent of bacterial wilt in Solanaceae crops worldwide including Republic of Korea. Rso virulence predominantly relies on type III secreted effectors (T3Es). However, only a handful of Rso T3Es have been characterized. In this study, we investigated subcellular localization of and manipulation of plant immunity by 8 Rso T3Es predicted to harbor a nuclear localization signal (NLS). While 2 of these T3Es elicited cell death in both Nicotiana benthamiana and N. tabacum, only one was dependent on suppressor of G2 allele of skp1 (SGT1), a molecular chaperone of nucleotide-binding and leucine-rich repeat immune receptors. We also identified T3Es that differentially regulate flg22-induced reactive oxygen species production and gene expression. Interestingly, several of the NLS-containing T3Es translationally fused with yellow fluorescent protein accumulated in subcellular compartments other than the cell nucleus. Our findings bring new clues to decipher Rso T3E function in planta.

The leaves and seed oil of Perilla crop (Perilla frutescens L.) have attracted interest as health foods in East Asia. This crop has been traditionally cultivated and used for a long time as a folk plant, especially in Korea. In our study, the 22 SSR markers and eight morphological traits were used to assess the genetic diversity and population structure, to select a core collection of 400 Perilla accessions conserved in the RDA-Genebank of South Korea. A total of 173 alleles were detected and the number of alleles per locus ranged from 4 to 15 (average = 7.9). Gene diversity and polymorphic information content ranged from 0.138 to 0.868 (average = 0.567) and 0.134 to 0.853 (average = 0.522), respectively. The 400 accessions were not clearly distinguished geographically by STRUCTURE and UPGMA analyses. A core collection (44 accessions) was selected from the entire collection by using PowerCore. The core collection accounted for 11.0% of the entire Perilla collection, including 100% of the number of alleles maintained in the whole collection and with similar or greater Shannon–Weaver and Nei diversity indices than the whole collection. The core collection selected by SSR markers was evenly distributed in three clusters on a scatter plot by eight morphological traits. The first core collection of Perilla accessions was constructed, and it maintained allelic richness. Further modification of the core collection is expected with the continuous addition of new accessions of the two cultivated types of Perilla crop and their weedy types.

In this study, 1,2,3‐triazole crosslinked polymers were synthesized as a new binder for solid rocket propellant systems by reacting the azide groups of the polymer with the ethynyl groups of a dipolarophile curing agent. All the mixtures were cured in an oven at 52°C for 7 days, and the curing reactivity of the products was analyzed using a Fourier transform‐infrared spectrometer. The carbonyl group adjacent to the triple bond, which acts as an electron‐withdrawing group, considerably accelerated the 1,3‐dipolar cycloaddition reaction between the azide and ethynyl functional groups, affording rubbery materials. The modulus of the polymers increased whereas the elongation at the break decreased with increasing ratio of the crosslinker to the prepolymer, resulting in highly crosslinked polymers. The molecular weights between the crosslinking points and interaction parameters of the 1,2,3‐triazole crosslinked polymers were determined from the swelling data, Flory–Rehner equation, and Mooney–Rivlin equation. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014, 131, 40594.

Perilla seed oil has been attracting attention in South Korea as a health food. Five fatty acids of 100 Perilla accessions were identified as follows: palmitic acid (PA) (5.10–9.13%), stearic acid (SA) (1.70–3.99%), oleic acid (OA) (11.1–21.9%), linoleic acid (LA) (10.2–23.4%), and linolenic acid (LNA) (54.3–75.4%). Additionally, the 100 Perilla accessions were divided into two groups (high or low) based on the total fatty acid content (TFAC). By using an association analysis of 40 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers and the six Perilla seed oil traits in the 100 Perilla accessions, we detected four SSR markers associated with TFAC, five SSR markers associated with LNA, one SSR marker associated with LA, two SSR markers each associated with OA and PA, and four SSR markers associated with SA. Among these SSR markers, four SSR markers (KNUPF14, KNUPF62, KNUPF72, KNUPF85) were all associated with TFAC and LNA. Moreover, two SSR markers (KNUPF62, KNUPF85) were both associated with TFAC, LNA, and OA. Therefore, these SSR markers are considered to be useful molecular markers for selecting useful accessions related to fatty acid contents in Perilla germplasm and for improving the seed oil quality of Perilla crop through marker-assisted selection (MAS) breeding programs.