<i>Carex pseudochinensis</i> H. Lév. & Vaniot is an endemic species in Korea and is included in the clade of section <i>Paludosae</i> in the recent classification system. We present the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of <i>C. pseudochinensis</i> based on the POLAP pipeline with both long- and short-read sequences. The mitochondrial genome is 997,628 bp in length, containing two large regions of 536.94 and 419.04 kbp, respectively, and a pair of direct repeat regions of about 20.25 kbp. The genome contains 57 genes, including 31 protein-coding genes, 20 tRNAs, and 6 rRNAs. Phylogenetic analysis based on mitochondrial proteomes, including those from ten species of related taxa, confirmed a close phylogenetic relationship between <i>C. breviculmis</i> and <i>C. pseudochinensis</i>.

<i>Carex pseudochinensis</i> H. Lév. & Vaniot is an endemic species in Korea and is included in the clade of section <i>Paludosae</i> in the recent classification system. We present the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of <i>C. pseudochinensis</i> based on the POLAP pipeline with both long- and short-read sequences. The mitochondrial genome is 997,628 bp in length, containing two large regions of 536.94 and 419.04 kbp, respectively, and a pair of direct repeat regions of about 20.25 kbp. The genome contains 57 genes, including 31 protein-coding genes, 20 tRNAs, and 6 rRNAs. Phylogenetic analysis based on mitochondrial proteomes, including those from ten species of related taxa, confirmed a close phylogenetic relationship between <i>C. breviculmis</i> and <i>C. pseudochinensis</i>.

In this study, the complete 16,184 bp mitochondrial genome of <i>Cyclograpsus intermedius</i> was determined from a specimen collected in South Korea. It consists of 13 protein-coding, 22 tRNA, 2 rRNA genes, and a non-coding A + T rich region. The base composition of the heavy strand in the mitochondrial genome was 34.7% A, 10.7% G, 18.7% C, and 35.9% T, resulting in a G + C content of 29.4%. A maximum-likelihood phylogenetic tree based on the 13 mitochondrial protein-coding genes showed that <i>C. intermedius</i> clustered together with the Varunidae. These molecular data will be useful for studying the evolutionary relationships among crab species.

Natural rubber is usually synthesized in the rubber particles present in the latex of rubber-producing plants such as the Pará rubber tree (<i>Hevea brasiliensis</i>) and rubber dandelion (<i>Taraxacum kok-saghyz</i>). Since the detailed lipid compositions of fresh latex and rubber particles of the plants are poorly known, the present study reports detailed compound lipid composition, focusing on phospholipids and galactolipids in the latex and rubber particles of the plants. In the fresh latex and rubber particles of both plants, phospholipids were much more dominant (85-99%) compared to galactolipids. Among the nine classes of phospholipids, phosphatidylcholines (PCs) were most abundant, at <b>~</b>80%, in both plants. Among PCs, PC (36:4) and PC (34:2) were most abundant in the rubber tree and rubber dandelion, respectively. Two classes of galactolipids, monogalactosyl diacylglycerol and digalactosyl diacylglycerol, were detected as 12% and 1%, respectively, of total compound lipids in rubber tree, whereas their percentages in the rubber dandelion were negligible (< 1%). Overall, the compound lipid composition differed only slightly between the fresh latex and the rubber particles of both rubber plants. These results provide fundamental data on the lipid composition of rubber particles in two rubber-producing plants, which can serve as a basis for artificial rubber particle production in the future.

Hevea brasiliensis, the most abundant rubber crop, is used widely for the commercial production of natural rubber. To reduce the risk of a shortage in the supply of natural rubber that may arise from a single major rubber crop, rubber dandelion (Taraxacum kok-saghyz) has been developed as an alternative rubber-producing crop by using a transgenic approach. However, it is necessary to identify a suitable promoter for the transfer of rubber biosynthesis-related genes to the species. In this study, the promoter region of H. brasiliensis PEP16, which was isolated as a potentially important component in rubber biosynthesis, was sequenced and a pPEP16::GUS fusion construct was introduced into T. kok-saghyz. Histological and fluorometric studies using transgenic T. kok-saghyz plants indicated that the HbPEP16 promoter was highly activated in a laticiferous tissue-specific manner under normal growth conditions and that promoter activation was tightly regulated by various hormones and external signals. These findings suggested that the HbPEP16 promoter may be a useful molecular tool for the manipulation of gene expression in the laticiferous tissues of T. kok-saghyz.

Sorghum (<i>Sorghum bicolor</i> (L.)) Moench is an important food for humans and feed for livestock. Sorghum contains dhurrin which can be degraded into toxic hydrogen cyanide. Here, we report the expression patterns of 14 candidate genes related to dhurrin ((S)-4-Hydroxymandelnitrile-<i>β</i>-D-glucopyranoside) metabolism and the effects of the gene expression on specific metabolite content in selected sorghum accessions. Dhurrin-related metabolism is vigorous in the early stages of development of sorghum. The dhurrin contents of most accessions tested were in the range of approximately 6-22 μg mg^-1 fresh leaf tissue throughout growth. The <i>p</i>-hydroxybenzaldehyde (pHB) contents were high at seedling stages, but almost nonexistent at adult stages. The contents of <i>p</i>-hydroxyphenylacetic acid (pHPAAc) were relatively low throughout growth compared to those of dhurrin or pHB. Generally, the expression of the candidate genes was higher at seedling stage than at other stages and decreased gradually as plants grew. In addition, we identified significant SNPs, and six of them were potentially associated with non-synonymous changes in <i>CAS1</i>. Our results may provide the basis for choosing breeding materials to regulate cyanide contents in sorghum varieties to prevent HCN toxicity of livestock or to promote drought tolerance or pathogen resistance.

Silicon (Si) is one of the beneficial plant mineral nutrients which is known to improve biotic and abiotic stress resilience and productivity in several crops. However, its beneficial role in underutilized or "orphan" crop such as tef [<i>Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter</i>] has never been studied before. In this study, we investigated the effect of Si application on tef plant performance. Plants were grown in soil with or without exogenous application of Na₂SiO₃ (0, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0 mM), and biomass and grain yield, mineral content, chlorophyll content, plant height, and expression patterns of putative Si transporter genes were studied. Silicon application significantly increased grain yield (100%) at 3.0 mM Si, and aboveground biomass yield by 45% at 5.0 mM Si, while it had no effect on plant height. The observed increase in grain yield appears to be due to enhanced stress resilience and increased total chlorophyll content. Increasing the level of Si increased shoot Si and Na content while it significantly decreased the content of other minerals including K, Ca, Mg, P, S, Fe, and Mn in the shoot, which is likely due to the use of Na containing Si amendment. A slight decrease in grain Ca, P, S, and Mn was also observed with increasing Si treatment. The increase in Si content with increasing Si levels prompted us to analyze the expression of Si transporter genes. The tef genome contains seven putative Si transporters which showed high homology with influx and efflux Lsi transporters reported in various plant species including rice. The tef <i>Lsi</i> homologs were deferentially expressed between tissues (roots, leaves, nodes, and inflorescences) and in response to Si, suggesting that they may play a role in Si uptake and/or translocation. Taken together, these results show that Si application improves stress resilience and yield and regulates the expression of putative Si transporter genes. However, further study is needed to determine the physiological function of the putative Si transporters, and to study the effect of field application of Si on tef productivity.

<i>Forsythia saxatilis</i> (Nakai) Nakai is an endemic species in Korea. We present the second complete chloroplast genome sequence of <i>F. saxatilis</i> showing that the chloroplast genome is 156,376 bp in length containing four subregions: a large single-copy (LSC) region of 87,097 bp, a small single-copy (SSC) region of 17,859 bp, and a pair of inverted repeat regions (IRs) of 25,710 bp. The genome contains 131 genes including 88 protein-coding genes, 35 <i>tRNA</i>s, and eight rRNAs. We found 40 base differences in 17 sites between our chloroplast genome and the previously reported chloroplast genome sequences of <i>F. saxatilis</i>. All of the differences were found in a region of 832 bp in the LSC region except for one site, which indicated potential sequencing errors in building the previously reported genome because of little substitutions in the homologous region of the other <i>Forsythia</i> species and even of <i>Abeliophyllum distichum</i>, a sister to <i>Forsythia</i>. The new chloroplast genomes of <i>F. saxatilis</i> and those of <i>F. x intermedia</i> and <i>F. viridissima</i> are identical, which suggests that <i>F. saxatilis</i> is maternally closely related to the other two species.