Two recessive genes (cyv1 and cyv2) are known to confer resistance against Clover yellow vein virus (ClYVV) in pea. cyv2 has recently been revealed to encode eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) and is the same allele as sbm1 and wlm against other potyviruses. Although mechanical inoculation with crude sap is rarely able to cause infection of a cyv2 pea, biolistic inoculation of the infectious ClYVV cDNA clone does. At the infection foci, the breaking virus frequently emerges, resulting in systemic infection. Here, a derived cleaved-amplified polymorphic sequence analysis showed that the breakings were associated with a single nonsynonymous mutation on the ClYVV genome, corresponding to an amino-acid substitution at position 24 (isoleucine to valine) on the P1 cistron. ClYVV with the point mutation was able to break the resistance. This is a first report demonstrating that P1 is involved in eIF4E-mediated recessive resistance.

The complete genomic nucleotide sequence and genome structure of Lily symptomless virus (LSV), a lily-infecting carlavirus, have been obtained. The genome of the Korean strain of LSV, LSV-Kr, was 8394 nucleotides long and contained six open reading frames (ORFs) coding for proteins of Mr 220 kDa (1948 aa), 25 kDa (228 aa), 12 kDa (106 aa), 7 kDa (64 aa), 32 kDa (291 aa) and 16 kDa (140 aa) from the 5' to 3' end, respectively, which is typical of carlaviruses. Genetic heterogeneity was observed in the ORF1 gene. A total of 221 of 5,847 nucleotides (nt) were heterologous in the ORF1 of replicase; 162 nt portions were silent and 59 nt resulted in amino acid changes. This heterogeneity indicates that the LSV-infecting lily plants contained a genetically heterogeneous population of LSV (quasispecies). Overall similarities to those of other carlaviruses for the six ORFs of LSV were from 76.1% to 31.6% and from 87.3% to 13.7%, at nucleotide and amino acid levels, respectively. The ORF1 replicase gene of LSV shares 40.9% to 56.8% and 48.9% and 58.6% identities with that of 5 other carlaviruses at the amino acid and nucleotide levels, respectively. LSV was closest to Blueberry scorch virus (BlScV) in this ORF, among the carlaviruses for which sequence information is available. The three triple gene blocks (ORF2-4), ORF5 (coat protein) and 3'-proximal 16 kDa ORF6 genes were further analyzed, and phylogenetic trees for the coding regions indicate that the LSV was the most closely related to Kalanchoe latent virus and BlScV. This is the first report of the complete nucleotide sequence and genome structure of LSV.

Purple corn is a maize variety (Zea mays L.) with high anthocyanin content. When purple corn is used as forage, its anthocyanins may mitigate oxidative stresses causing lower milk production in dairy cows. In this study, we analyzed quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for anthocyanin pigmentation of maize organs in an F2 population derived from a cross between the Peruvian cultivar ‘JC072A’ (purple) and the inbred line ‘Ki68’ (yellowish) belonged to Japanese flint. We detected 17 significant QTLs on chromosomes 1–3, 6, and 10. Because the cob accounts for most of the fresh weight of the plant ear, we focused on a significant QTL for purple cob on chromosome 6. This QTL also conferred pigmentation of anther, spikelet, leaf sheath, culm, and bract leaf, and was confirmed by using two F3 populations. The gene Pl1 (purple plant 1) is the most likely candidate gene in this QTL region because the amino acid sequence encoded by Pl1-JC072A is similar to that of an Andean allele, Pl-bol3, which is responsible for anthocyanin production. The markers designed for the Pl1 alleles will be useful for the breeding of F1 lines with anthocyanin pigmentation in cobs.

Monitoring of genetically modified (GM) crops has been emphasized to prevent their potential effects on the environment and human health. Monitoring of the inadvertent dispersal of transgenic maize in several fields and transport routes in Korea was carried out by qualitative multiplex PCR, and molecular analyses were conducted to identify the events of the collected GM maize. Cytogenetic investigations through fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) of the GM maize were performed to check for possible changes in the 45S rDNA cluster because this cluster was reported to be sensitive to replication and transcription stress. Three GM maize kernels were collected from a transport route near Incheon port, Korea, and each was found to contain NK603, stacked MON863 x NK603, and stacked NK603 x MON810 inserts, respectively. Cytogenetic analysis of the GM maize containing the stacked NK603 x MON810 insert revealed two normal compact 5S rDNA signals, but the 45S rDNA showed a fragile phenotype, demonstrating a “beads-on-a-string” fragmentation pattern, which seems to be a consequence of genetic modification. Implications of the 45S rDNA cluster fragility in GM maize are also discussed.

Bean yellow mosaic virus (BYMV; genus Potyvirus, family Potyviridae) causes severe losses to various legume species and a number of non-legume species, particularly freesia plants. In a survey of virus diseases in Gyeonggi province, Korea, BYMV isolates were identified from many cultivated freesia species. Here, we determined the complete nucleotide sequences of a BYMV freesia isolate (BYMV-Fr; accession number FJ492961). BYMV-Fr genome consists of 9,545 nucleotides (nt) excluding the poly (A) tail and encodes 3,057 amino acid (aa), with an AUG start and UAG stop codon, containing one open reading frame typical of a potyvirus polyprotein. The polyprotein of BYMV-Fr was divided to ten proteins and the cleavage sites of each protein were determined. The coat protein (CP) and polyprotein of BYMV-Fr were compared at the aa level with those of the previously reported 4 BYMV isolates. BYMV-Fr shared 90.1 to 97.1 and 91.0 to 92.5% at the CP and polyprotein homology. Interestingly, BYMV-Fr showed identities of a lower level at the nt level of 5' noncoding region (61.4 to 67.6%) and at the aa level of P1 (71.4 to 72.8%), comparing with four BYMV isolates. Based on the aa sequence diversity of CP and polyprotein, phylogenetic analysis with the four BYMV isolates showed two distinct groups and BYMV-Fr and most BYMV isolates were most closely related to the clover yellow vein virus among 52 potyviruses. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the complete genome sequence of BYMV freesia strain.Keywords : Bean yellow mosaic virus, Freesia, Genetic diversity, Potyvirus, RT-PCR, Sequence analysis IntroductionFreesia is a small genus of southern African Iridaceae subfamily Ixioideae, which has been familiar to horticulturists and valued by them for the beauty and fragrance of the flowers. Freesia was first grown in Europe in the mid-18th century and become one of the most popular plants in horticulture in the last half of the 19th century. Appealing shapers of freesias make them suitable line flowering for any arrangement, and their wide range of color increases their versatility (Wang, 2006), resulting that freesias are excellent cut flowers. The flowers are popular used for weddings and make fragrant additions to bouquets and body flowers. Freesias are known to be infected by Bean yellow mosaic virus (BYMV), Freesia mosaic virus, Cucumber mosaic virus, Tobacco rattle virus and ophioviruses (Brunt, 1995;Vaira et al., 2006). BYMV belongs to the genus Potyvirus in the family Potyviridae and the virus is distributed worldwide (Bos, 1970). In comparison with the majority of potyviruses, BYMV has a relatively broad range of plant species. BYMV infects beans, peas, lupins, clovers and dicotyledonous ornamental crops such as gladiolus, bulbous iris, gentians, and some orchids. In particular, BYMV severely affects plant growth, yield and quality of flowers and corms in freesias (Derks et al., 1980;Magie and Poe, 1972). Many isolates of BYMV are recognized and have been divided into a BYMV subgroup along with the closely related ...