Seoul National University · Agricultural and Biological Sciences
Professor Doil Choi's research lab specializes in plant molecular biology and molecular plant pathology, with a focus on understanding the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying plant innate immunity and stress responses. The lab investigates key regulatory genes and enzymes—such as HMGR, NLR receptors, and methionine sulfoxide reductases—involved in the biosynthesis of defense compounds and signaling pathways in Solanaceous plants like potato, pepper, and tomato. Using advanced genomic and molecular techniques, including QTL mapping, subtractive cloning, and functional genomics, the lab explores how plants perceive and respond to pathogens and environmental stresses at the molecular level. Their work contributes to the development of disease-resistant crops through a deep understanding of plant immune systems and stress adaptation mechanisms.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
Induction of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMGR) is essential for the biosynthesis of sesquiterpenoid phytoalexins and steroid derivatives in Solanaceous plants following stresses imposed by wounding and pathogen infection. To better understand this complex step in stress-responsive isoprenoid synthesis, we isolated three classes of cDNAS encoding HMGR (hmg1, hmg2, and hmg3) from a potato tuber library using a probe derived from an Arabidopsis HMGR cDNA. The potato cDNAs had e
Induction of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (HMGR; EC 1.1.1.34) is essential for the synthesis of steroid derivatives and sesquiterpenoid phytoalexins in solanaceous plants following mechanical injury or pathogen infection. Gene-specific probes corresponding to different HMGR genes (hmg1 and hmg2) were used to study HMGR expression in potato tissue following treatment with methyl jasmonate, a lipoxygenase product of linolenic acid, or arachidonic acid, an elicitor present in the
The cloning and characterization of genes expressed in plant disease resistance could be an initial step toward understanding the molecular mechanisms of disease resistance. A metallothionein-like gene that is inducible by tobacco mosaic virus and by wounding was cloned in the process of subtractive cloning of disease resistance-response genes in Nicotiana glutinosa. One 530-bp cDNA clone (KC9-10) containing an open reading frame of 81 amino acids was characterized. Genomic Southern blot hybridi
Most agricultural traits are controlled by quantitative trait loci (QTLs); however, there are few studies on QTL mapping of horticultural traits in pepper (Capsicum spp.) due to the lack of high-density molecular maps and the sequence information. In this study, an ultra-high-density map and 120 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from a cross between C. annuum'Perennial' and C. annuum'Dempsey' were used for QTL mapping of horticultural traits. Parental lines and RILs were resequenced at 18×
Plants have evolved an elaborate innate immune system against invading pathogens. Within this system, intracellular nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat (NLR) immune receptors are known play critical roles in effector-triggered immunity (ETI) plant defense. We performed genome-wide identification and classification of NLR-coding sequences from the genomes of pepper, tomato, and potato using fixed criteria. We then compared genomic duplication and evolution features. We identified intact 267, 4
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are inevitably generated in aerobic organisms as by-products of normal metabolism or as the result of defense and development. ROS readily oxidize methionine (Met) residues in proteins/peptides to form Met-R-sulfoxide or Met-S-sulfoxide, causing inactivation or malfunction of the proteins. A pepper (Capsicum annuum) methionine sulfoxide reductase B2 gene (CaMsrB2) was isolated, and its roles in plant defense were studied. CaMsrB2 was down-regulated upon inoculation
The CCR4-associated factor 1 (CAF1) protein belongs to the CCR4-NOT complex, which is an evolutionary conserved protein complex and plays an important role in the control of transcription and mRNA decay in yeast and mammals. To investigate the function of CAF1 in plants, we performed gain- and loss-of-function studies by overexpression of the pepper CAF1 (CaCAF1) in tomato and virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) of the gene in pepper plants. Overexpression of CaCAF1 in tomato resulted in signifi
Plants have evolved hundreds of nucleotide-binding and leucine-rich domain proteins (NLRs) as potential intracellular immune receptors, but the evolutionary mechanism leading to the ability to recognize specific pathogen effectors is elusive. Here, we cloned Pvr4 (a Potyvirus resistance gene in Capsicum annuum) and Tsw (a Tomato spotted wilt virus resistance gene in Capsicum chinense) via a genome-based approach using independent segregating populations. The genes both encode typical NLRs and ar
The onion (Allium cepa L.) is one of the most widely cultivated and consumed vegetable crops in the world. Although a considerable amount of onion transcriptome data has been deposited into public databases, the sequences of the protein-coding genes are not accurate enough to be used, owing to non-coding sequences intermixed with the coding sequences. We generated a high-quality, annotated onion transcriptome from de novo sequence assembly and intensive structural annotation using the integrated
Plants possess hundreds of intracellular immune receptors encoding nucleotide-binding domain leucine-rich repeat (NLR) proteins. Full-length NLRs or a specific domain of NLRs often induce plant cell death in the absence of pathogen infection. In this study we used genome-wide transient expression analysis to identify a group of NLRs (ANLs; ancient and autonomous NLRs) carrying autoactive coiled-coil (CC<sup>A</sup> ) domains in pepper (Capsicum annuum). CC<sup>A</sup> -mediated cell death mimics
Nonhost resistance (NHR) is a plant immune response to resist most pathogens. The molecular basis of NHR is poorly understood, but recognition of pathogen effectors by immune receptors, a response known as effector-triggered immunity, has been proposed as a component of NHR. We performed transient expression of 54 Phytophthora infestansRXLR effectors in pepper (Capsicum annuum) accessions. We used optimized heterologous expression methods and analyzed the inheritance of effector-induced cell dea
WRKY family proteins are a class of plant-specific transcription factors involved in stress response signaling pathways. In this study a gene encoding a putative WRKY protein was isolated from a pepper EST database (http://genepool.kribb.re.kr). The cDNA, named Capsicum annuum WRKY2 (CaWRKY2), encodes a putative polypeptide of 548 amino acids, containing two WRKY domains with zinc finger motifs and two potential nuclear localization signals. Northern blot analyses showed that CaWRKY2 mRNA was pr
VIGS with tandem constructs harboring <i>An2</i> as a visible reporter in anthocyanin-rich pepper plants can facilitate the application of functional genomics in the study of metabolic pathways and fruit biology.
Potyviruses are one of the most destructive viral pathogens of Solanaceae plants. In Capsicum annuum landrace CM334, a broad-spectrum gene, Pvr4 is known to be involved in resistance against multiple potyviruses, including Pepper mottle virus (PepMoV), Pepper severe mosaic virus (PepSMV), and Potato virus Y (PVY). However, a potyvirus avirulence factor against Pvr4 has not been identified. To identify the avirulence factor corresponding to Pvr4 in potyviruses, we performed Agrobacterium-mediated
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