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Bruchid (Callosobruchus chinenesis L.) and pod sucking bug (Riptortus clavatus Thunberg) are serious insect pests during the reproduction stage and seed storage period of legume crops worldwide. However, few sources of resistance to each of these insects have been identified and characterized, and no genetic studies have been carried out with simultaneous tests of these two insects. In this study, the inheritance of seed resistance to Callosobruchus chinenesis L. and Riptortus clavatus Thunberg was examined in a mungbean cultivar, Jangan mungbean, which was developed by backcrossing with the V2709 resistant donor. The F1, F2, and F3 seed generations were developed from the cross between susceptible and resistant parents, and evaluated for resistance to the two insects. It was found that resistance to bruchid and bean bug was controlled by a single dominant gene in the F1 and F2 seeds. However, the segregation pattern of reciprocal reaction to each insect in F2 seeds showed seeds were susceptible to each insect. These results suggest that the resistance genes in Jangan mungbean to bug and weevil are either different or closely linked with each other. A genetic linkage map 13.7 cM in length with 6 markers was successfully constructed. Two QTLs were identified for bruchid resistance, and a QTL for bean bug resistance was detected. One of the QTLs for resistance to bruchid was shared with the QTL for bean bug. These newly developed closely linked markers will be used for cloning of the resistance genes to bruchid and bean bug in the future.

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BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVESBenign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) is a major cause of abnormal overgrowth of the prostate mainly in the elderly. Corni Fructus has been reported to be effective in the prevention and treatment of various diseases because of its strong antioxidant effect, but its efficacy against BPH is not yet known. This study was designed to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of Corni Fructus water extract (CF) in testosterone-induced BPH rats.MATERIALS/METHODSTo induce BPH, rats were intraperitoneal injected with testosterone propionate (TP). Rats in the treatment group were orally administered with CF with TP injection, and finasteride, which is a selective inhibitor of 5α-reductase type 2, was used as a positive control.RESULTSOur results showed that the increased prostate weight and histopathological changes in BPH model rats were suppressed by CF treatment. CF, similar to the finasteride-treated group, decreased the levels of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone by TP treatment in the serum, and it also reduced 5α-reductase expression and concentration in prostate tissue and serum, respectively. In addition, CF significantly blocked the expression of the androgen receptor (AR), AR co-activators, and proliferating cell nuclear antigen in BPH rats, and this blocking was associated with a decrease in prostate-specific antigen levels in serum and prostate tissue.CONCLUSIONSThese results suggest that CF may weaken the BPH status through the inactivation of at least 5α-reductase and AR activity and may be useful for the clinical treatment of BPH.

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