Hyun Uk Kim

• PhD
• Professor (Full) at Sejong University

Main Conclusion Pennycress, as an emerging oilseed crop with high oil content, faces challenges but offers potential for sustainable bioproducts; ongoing research aims to enhance its traits and quality. Abstract Pennycress (Thlaspi arvense L.) is an emerging oilseed crop with many advantages, such as high seed oil (27–39%) and monounsaturated fatt...

Genome-scale metabolic models (GEMs) and other constraint-based models (CBMs) play a pivotal role in understanding biological phenotypes and advancing research in areas like metabolic engineering, human disease modelling, drug discovery, and personalized medicine. Despite their growing application, a significant challenge remains in ensuring the re...

Seed triacylglycerol (TAG), a major component of vegetable oil, consists of a glycerol esterified with three fatty acids. Vegetable oil has industrial applications and is widely used as edible oil. The increasing demand for plant oils, owing to population growth, it is crucial to enhance the oil content in seeds. We found castor WRINKLED1A (RcWRI1A...

Perilla [Perilla frutescens (L.) var frutescens] is a traditional oil crop in Asia, recognized for its seeds abundant in α-linolenic acid (18:3), a key omega-3 fatty acid known for its health benefits. Despite the known nutritional value, the reason behind the higher 18:3 content in tetraploid perilla seeds remained unexplored. Gamma irradiation yi...

Triacylglycerols (TAGs) are the storage oils of plant seeds, and these lipids provide energy for seed germination and valuable oils for human consumption. Three diacylglycerol acyltransferases (DGAT1, DGAT2, and DGAT3) and phospholipid:diacylglycerol acyltransferases participate in the biosynthesis of TAGs. DGAT1 and DGAT2 participate in the biosyn...

Plant breeding has evolved significantly over time with the development of transformation and genome editing techniques. These new strategies help to improve desirable traits in plants. Perilla is a native oil crop grown in Korea. The leaves contain many secondary metabolites related to whitening, aging, antioxidants, and immunity, including rosmar...

Plant triacylglycerols (TAG) are used in food and various industrial feedstocks. LEAFY COTYLEDON 2 (LEC2), a master positive regulator of TAG biosynthesis, regulates a complex network of transcription factors (TFs) during seed development. Aside from WRINKLED1 (WRI1), the TFs regulated by LEC2 related to TAG biosynthesis have not yet been identifie...

The fatty acids content of castor (Ricinus communis L.) seed oil is 80-90% ricinoleic acid, which is a hydroxy fatty acid (HFA). The structures and functional groups of HFAs are different from those of common fatty acids and are useful for various industrial applications. However, castor seeds contain the toxin ricin and an allergenic protein, whic...

Fatty acid biosynthesis 2 (FAB2) is an essential enzyme responsible for the synthesis of unsaturated fatty acids in chloroplast membrane lipids found in leaves and triacylglycerols (TAG) in seeds. FAB2 functions at the junction of saturated to unsaturated fatty acid conversion in chloroplasts by converting 18:0-ACP to 18:1-ACP. In the present study...

Camelina (Camelina sativa) is an oil crop with a short growing period, resistance to drought and cold, low fertilizer requirements, and can be transformed using floral dipping. Seeds have a high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids, especially ɑ-linolenic acid (ALA), at 32–38%. ALA is an omega-3 fatty acid that is a substrate for eicosapentaenoic...

Environmental cues regulate the transition of many plants from vegetative to flowering development. Day length, or photoperiod, is one cue that synchronizes flowering by changing seasons. Consequently, the molecular mechanism of flowering control is prominent in Arabidopsis and rice, where essential genes like FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) homolog, HEADIN...

Camelina ( Camelina sativa ) is an oil crop with a short growing period, resistance to drought and cold, low fertilizer requirements, and can be transformed using floral dipping. Camelina seeds have a high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids, especially ɑ-linolenic acid (ALA) at 32–38%. ALA is an omega-3 fatty acid (FA) that is a substrate for e...

Triacylglycerol (TAG), which is a neutral lipid, has a structure in which three molecules of fatty acid (FA) are ester-bonded to one molecule of glycerol. TAG is important energy source for seed germination and seedling development in plants. Depending on the FA composition of the TAG, it is used as an edible oil or industrial material for cosmetic...

Recent studies of chloroplast‐localized Sec14‐like protein (CPSFL1, also known as phosphatidylinositol transfer protein 7, PITP7) showed that CPSFL1 is necessary for photoautotropic growth and chloroplast vesicle formation in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). Here, we investigated the functional roles of CPSFL1/PITP7 using two A. thaliana mutants...

Background Castor (Ricinus communis L.) seeds contain unusual fatty acid, hydroxy fatty acid (HFA) used as a chemical feedstock for numerous industrial products. Castor cultivation is limited by the potent toxin ricin in its seeds and other poor agronomic traits, so it is advantageous to develop a suitable HFA-producing crop. Significant research e...

Lipids are one of the primary biological molecules in plants, and yet compared to proteins and nucleic acids there are still considerable gaps in our knowledge about their function that need to be researched. Building on the foundations of established biochemical studies on plant lipids, recent molecular biological approaches have revealed a number...

Fibrillins (FBNs) are the major structural proteins of plastoglobules (PGs) in chloroplasts. PGs are associated with defense against abiotic and biotic stresses, as well as lipid storage. Although FBN2 is abundant in PGs, its independent function under abiotic stress has not yet been identified. In this study, the targeting of FBN2 to PGs was clear...

Triacylglycerol (TAG), an ester derived from glycerol and three fatty acids (FAs), is synthesized during seed development and controlled by transcriptional regulation. We examined the mechanism regulating the FA composition of developing Arabidopsis thaliana seeds. The seed‐specific DC3 PROMOTER‐BINDING FACTOR2 (DPBF2) transcription factor was upre...

Fibrillins (FBNs) are a family of genes in cyanobacteria, algae, and plants. The proteins they encode possess a lipid binding motif, exist in various types of plastids, and are associated with lipid bodies called plastoglobules (PGs), implicating them in lipid metabolism. FBNs present in the thylakoid and stroma are involved in the storage, transpo...

The photosystem II PsbS protein of thylakoid membranes is responsible for regulating the energy-dependent, non-photochemical quenching of excess chlorophyll excited states as a short-term mechanism for protection against high light (HL) stress. However, the role of PsbS protein in long-term HL acclimation processes remains poorly understood. Here w...

Triacylglycerol (TAG), a major energy reserve in lipid form, accumulates mainly in seeds. Although TAG levels are usually low in vegetative tissues because of the repression of seed maturation programs, these programs are derepressed upon the exposure of vegetative tissues to environmental stresses. Metabolic reprogramming of TAG accumulation is dr...

CRISPR/Cas9 is a commonly used technique in reverse-genetics research to knock out a gene of interest. However, when targeting a multigene family or multiple genes, it is necessary to construct a vector with multiple single guide RNAs (sgRNAs) that can navigate the Cas9 protein to the target site. In this protocol, the Golden Gate cloning method wa...

The demand for vegetable oil, which is mainly used for dietary purposes and cooking, is steadily increasing worldwide. It is often desirable to reduce unsaturation levels of fatty acids in order to increase storage stability and reduce trans-fat generation during cooking. Functional disruption of FATTY ACID DESATURASE 2 (FAD2) prevents the conversi...

Brassinosteroids (BRs) play crucial roles in various biological processes, including plant developmental processes and response to diverse biotic and abiotic stresses. However, no information is currently available about this gene family in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). In the present investigation, we identified the BZR gene family in wheat to und...

PIN-FORMED (PIN) genes play a crucial role in regulating polar auxin distribution in diverse developmental processes, including tropic responses, embryogenesis, tissue differentiation, and organogenesis. However, the role of PIN-mediated auxin transport in various plant species is poorly understood. Currently, no information is available about this...

Seed oils are used as edible oils and increasingly also for industrial applications. Although high-oleic seed oil is preferred for industrial use, most seed oil is high in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and low in monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) such as oleic acid. Oil from Camelina, an emerging oilseed crop with a high seed oil content an...

Simple Summary The FIBRILLIN11 (FBN11) of Arabidopsis has a lipid-binding FBN domain and a kinase domain. FBN11 is present in chloroplasts and is involved in salt and osmotic stress responses during seed germination. In mannitol, the seed germination rate of the fbn11 mutants significantly reduced compared to that of the wild type. The ABA-dependen...

Hydroxy fatty acids (HFAs) have numerous industrial applications but are absent in most vegetable oils. Physaria lindheimeri accumulating 85% HFA in its seed oil makes it a valuable resource for engineering oilseed crops for HFA production. To discover lipid genes involved in HFA synthesis in P. lindheimeri, transcripts from developing seeds at var...

Powdery mildew (PM) is a fungal disease occurring in both field and greenhouse conditions worldwide. It infects many plant species and reduces both the productivity and quality of crops. Melon (Cucumis melo L.) is an economically important crop. In order to develop a molecular marker that can be used more conveniently in the development of PM-resis...

Determining the role of castor lysophosphatidic acid acyltransferases (RcLPATs) provides information that aid in understanding the biosynthesis mechanism of castor oil (triacylglycerols, TAG), which contains 90 % ricinoleic acid (18:1OH), a hydroxy fatty acid (HFA) with numerous industrial applications. The entire family of seven RcLPATs was shown...

In plants, lipids function in a variety of ways. Lipids are a major component of biological membranes and are used as a compact energy source for seed germination. Fatty acids, the major lipids in plants, are synthesized in plastid and assembled by glycerolipids or triacylglycerols in endoplasmic reticulum. The metabolism of fatty acids and triacyl...

LIKE HETEROCHROMATIN PROTEIN1 (LHP1) encodes the only plant homologue of the metazoan HETEROCHROMATIN PROTEIN1 (HP1) protein family. LHP1 is necessary for proper epigenetic regulation of a range of developmental processes in plants. LHP1 is a transcriptional repressor of flowering related genes, such as FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT), FLOWERING LOCUS C (FL...

Soybean is a major crop that is used as a source of vegetable oil for human use. To develop transgenic soybean with high α-linolenic acid (ALA; 18:3) content, the FAD3-1 gene isolated from lesquerella (Physaria fendleri) was used to construct vectors with two different seed-specific promoters, soybean β-conglycinin (Pβ-con) and kidney bean phaseoli...

Plants are immobile and, to overcome harsh environmental conditions such as drought, salt, and cold, they have evolved complex signaling pathways. Abscisic acid (ABA), an isoprenoid phytohormone, is a critical signaling mediator that regulates diverse biological processes in various organisms. Significant progress has been made in the determination...

Plants are immobile, and, to overcome harsh environmental conditions, such as drought, salt, and cold, they have evolved complex signaling pathways. Abscisic acid (ABA), an isoprenoid phytohormone, is a critical signaling mediator that regulates diverse biological processes in various organisms. Significant progress has been made in the determinati...

Perilla (Perilla frutescens (L.) var. frutescens) is an oilseed crop that produces a large amount of α-linolenic acid (ALA, 18:3), an ω-3 fatty acid in seeds. Perilla is also a fragrant leafy herb with great health benefits. To develop value-added perilla crop, we surveyed the fatty acid composition and oil content of 87 germplasms accessions maint...

Camelina (Camelina sativa, Cs) is an emerging crop for the production of biodiesel and biofeedstock. This study aims to develop transgenic plants that have the advantage of two traits: improved drought resistance and oil content. Three genes, CsMYB96A, CsMYB96B, and CsMYB96C, were isolated from camelina stem. The deduced amino acid sequence of the...

Strigolactone (SL) is a recently discovered class of phytohormone that inhibits shoot branching. The molecular mechanism underlying SL biosynthesis, perception, and signal transduction is vital to the plant branching phenotype. Some aspects of their biosynthesis, perception, and signaling include the role of four MORE AXILLARY GROWTH genes, MAX3, M...

Triacylglycerols (TAGs), a major lipid form of energy storage, are involved in a variety of plant developmental processes. While carbon reserves mainly accumulate in seeds, significant amounts of TAG have also been observed in vegetative tissues. Notably, the accumulation of leaf TAGs is influenced by environmental stresses such as drought stress,...

Lesquerella (Physaria fendleri) contains a major unusual hydroxy fatty acid, lesquerolic acid (14-hydroxy-eicos-cis-11-enoic acid, C20:1-OH), at 55–60% of seed oil which has industrial value. The remaining seed oil comprises mainly common fatty acids including α-linolenic acid (octadec-cis-9,12,15-enoic acid, C18:3) at 10.7–15.8%. C18:3 is produced...

Most oilseeds contain polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as linoleic acid (LA) and α-linolenic acid (ALA) that are important essential fatty acids for human health. γ-Linolenic acid (GLA) and stearidonic acid (SDA), synthesized from LA and ALA by Δ6 desaturase, respectively, are mainly obtained from algae and fish. Given the benefits of GLA and SDA...

The INDETERMINATE DOMAIN (IDD) genes comprise a conserved transcription factor family that regulates a variety of developmental and physiological processes in plants. Many recent studies have focused on the genetic characterization of IDD family members and revealed various biological functions, including modulation of sugar metabolism and floral t...

Background Polyunsaturated fatty acids such as linoleic acid (LA) and α-linolenic acid (ALA) are abundant in vegetable oils and are important for human health. In the body, LA and ALA are respectively converted to the omega-6 fatty acid γ-linolenic acid (GLA) and the omega-3 fatty acid stearidonic acid (SDA) by Δ6 desaturase (D6DES). Currently, die...

Data S1 List of metabolites and metabolic reactions in ginseng genome‐scale metabolic network.

Figure S1 Integrated pipeline for genome annotation (IPGA). Figure S2 Number of coding exons (CDS) comparison between plant species. Figure S3 Alternative splicing (AS) events in P. ginseng. Figure S4 The Ks distribution of paralog gene pairs and orthologs of five dicot plants. Figure S5 An example of zigzag extension of scaffold sequence. Fig...

Table S1 Whole genome sequencing (WGS) data generated in this study. Table S2 Statistics of P. ginseng draft genome sequence ver.1.0. Table S3 Mapping status of mate‐pair reads. Table S4 Validation summary of the P. ginseng genome assembly using 13 BAC clones. Table S5 Statistics of BUSCO assessment of genome assembly and gene set prediction in...

Fibrillin (FBN) is a plastid lipid-associated protein found in photosynthetic organisms from cyanobacteria to plants. In this study, 10 CsaFBN genes were identified in genomic DNA sequences of cucumber (Chinese long and Gy14) through database searches using the conserved domain of FBN and the 14 FBN genes of Arabidopsis. Phylogenetic analysis of Cs...

Several studies have shown that neither the formal representation nor the functional requirements of genome-scale metabolic models (GEMs) are precisely defined. Without a consistent standard, comparability, reproducibility, and interoperability of models across groups and software tools cannot be guaranteed. Here, we present memote ( https://github...

Fibrillin (FBN) is a plastid lipid-associated protein found in photosynthetic organisms from cyanobacteria to plants. In this study, 10 CsaFBN genes were identified in genomic DNA sequences of cucumber (Chinese long and Gy14) through database searches using the conserved domain of FBN and the 14 FBN genes of Arabidopsis. Phylogenetic analysis of Cs...

Maturing seeds stimulate fatty acid (FA) biosynthesis and triacylglycerol (TAG) accumulation to ensure carbon and energy reserves. Transcriptional reprogramming is a key regulatory scheme in seed oil accumulation. In particular, TAG assembly is mainly controlled by the transcriptional regulation of two key enzymes, acyl-CoA:diacylglycerol acyltrans...

Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer, reputed as the king of medicinal herbs, has slow growth, long generation time, low seed production, and complicated genome structure that hamper its study. Here, we unveil the genomic architecture of tetraploid P. ginseng by de novo genome assembly, representing 2.98 Gbp with 59,352 annotated genes. Resequencing data indi...

Hydroxy fatty acids (HFAs) are valuable industrial raw materials used in many industries. Physaria lindheimeri accumulates over 80% HFA, in the form of lesquerolic acid (20:1OH), in its seed oil. Understanding the seed development of Physaria lindheimeri is an important step to utilizing this unique wild species as a genetic source of HFAs biosynth...

Vegetable oils, which are stored in seeds as triacylglycerol (TAG), represent a valuable source of food, fuel, and industrial raw materials. Given the increasing demand for vegetable oils, it is essential to increase vegetable oil production in a sustainable manner. To boost the supply of vegetable oil, strategies to produce oils in the vegetative...

Rab GTPases play an important role in regulating intracellular vesicular trafficking in eukaryotic cells. Previously, we found that Oryza sativa rice Rab11 (OsRab11) is required for the regulation of vesicular trafficking from the trans- Golgi network (TGN) to the plasma membrane (PM) and/or vacuoles. To further elucidate the relationship between v...

Plastoquinone-9 (PQ-9) is essential for plant growth and development. Recently, we found that fibrillin5 (FBN5), a plastid lipid binding protein, is an essential structural component of the PQ-9 biosynthetic pathway in Arabidopsis. To investigate the functional conservation of FBN5 in monocots and eudicots, we identified OsFBN5, the Arabidopsis FBN...

Triacylglycerol (TAG) is an energy-rich reserve in plant seeds that is composed of glycerol esters with three fatty acids. Since TAG can be used as a feedstock for the production of biofuels and bio-chemicals, producing TAGs in vegetative tissue is an alternative way of meeting the increasing demand for its usage. The WRINKLED1 (WRI1) gene is a wel...

Key message: We described identification, expression, subcellular localization, and functions of genes that encode fatty acid desaturase enzymes in Perilla frutescens var. frutescens. Perilla (Perilla frutescens var. frutescens) seeds contain approximately 40 % of oil, of which α-linolenic acid (18:3) comprise more than 60 % in seed oil and 56 % o...

We generated γ-linolenic acid (GLA, C18:3Δ6,9,12)-producing transgenic Brassica napus transformed with McD6DES, the Δ6-desaturase gene identified from pike eel (Muraenesox cinereus) under the control of the seed-specific vicilin promoter. Seed-specific expression of McD6DES in B. napus produced up to 8.4% of GLA by creating a double bond at the six...

Aerial plant surfaces are coated by a cuticular wax layer to protect against environmental stresses, such as desiccation. In this study, we investigated the functional relationship between MYB94 and MYB96 transcription factors involved in cuticular wax biosynthesis. Both MYB94 and MYB96 transcripts were abundantly expressed in the aerial organs of...

Background: Perilla (Perilla frutescens (L.) var frutescens) produces high levels of α-linolenic acid (ALA), a ω-3 fatty acid important to health and development. To uncover key genes involved in fatty acid (FA) and triacylglycerol (TAG) synthesis in perilla, we conducted deep sequencing of cDNAs from developing seeds and leaves for understanding...

Vegetable oil is not only important for its edibility but for industrial purposes. High-oleic vegetable oil is especially useful for making biodiesel because it is highly stable against oxidation. Transgenic oilseed crops with modified fatty acid compositions have been developed with several biotechnological gene-silencing methods. The seed oils wi...

Castor oil is the only commercial source of hydroxy fatty acid that has industrial value. The production of castor oil is hampered by the presence of the toxin ricin in its seed. Lesquerella seed also accumulates hydroxy fatty acid and is free of ricin, and thus it is being developed as a new crop for hydroxy fatty acid production. A high-throughpu...

Fibrillins are lipid-associated proteins in plastids and are ubiquitous in plants. They accumulate in chromoplasts and sequester carotenoids during the development of flowers and fruits. However, little is known about the functions of fibrillins in leaf tissues. Here, we identified fibrillin 5 (FBN5), which is essential for plastoquinone-9 (PQ-9) b...

The role of RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) to regulate expression of genes seems to be very important. RBPs play important roles in RNA related bioprocess such as transcription, pre-mRNA splicing, polyadenylation, transport, localization, translation, turn over and maintenance of structure. Despite of many researches on RNA binding proteins, detailed...

Reconstitution of nonnative, very-long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (VLC-PUFA) biosynthetic pathways in Arabidopsis thaliana was undertaken. The introduction of three primary biosynthetic activities to cells requires the stable coexpression of multiple proteins within the same cell. Herein, we report that C22 VLC-PUFAs were synthesized from C18...

Very-long-chain fatty acids (VLCFAs) are important precursors of many cellular hydrophobic substances involved in many aspects of plant growth and development. They are synthesized by a microsomal fatty acid elongation (FAE) system through sequential additions of C2 moiety to long-chain fatty acid. While the FAE process has been intensively investi...

Seed germination is a key developmental transition that initiates the plant life cycle. The timing of germination is determined by coordinated action of two phytohormones, gibberellin (GA) and abscisic acid (ABA). In particular, ABA plays a key role in integrating environmental information and inhibiting the germination process. Utilization of embr...

The synthesis of fatty acids and glycerolipids in wild-type Arabidopsis leaves does not typically lead to strong triacylglycerol (TAG) accumulation. LEAFY COTYLEDON2 (LEC2) is a master regulator of seed maturation and oil accumulation in seeds. Constitutive ectopic LEC2 expression causes somatic embryogenesis and defects in seedling growth. Here, w...

Key message Hydroxy fatty acids produced in plant seed oil are important industrial material. This review focuses on the use of metabolic engineering approaches for the production of hydroxy fatty acids in transgenic plants. Abstract Vegetable oil is not only edible but can also be used for industrial purposes. The industrial demand for vegetabl...

Intracellular antioxidants include low molecular weight scavengers of oxidizing species, and enzymes which degrade superoxide and hydroperoxides. Such antioxidants systems prevent oxidative damage to cellular component by scavenging free radicals and activated oxygen species. Hydrophobic scavengers are found in cell membrane where they interrupt ch...

The PISTILLATA is a floral organ identity gene required for the flower development. To gain a better understanding of the BnPI-1 promoter function, the promoter 5 deletion analysis was conducted, both in transgenic Brassica napus and transgenic Arabidopsis. In the beta-glucuronidase (GUS) expression assay of transgenic B. napus, most of the 5' dele...

The 12S globulin protein cruciferin is main seed storage protein in Brassica napus. To gain a better understanding of the Bncru4 promoter function, we conducted the promoter 5′ deletion analysis in transgenic Arabidopsis. In the β-glucuronidase (GUS) expression assay, Bncru4 promoter was strongly active in transgenic seeds. In addition, deletion of...

Vegetable oils (triacylglycerols) produced mainly in seeds of plants are used for valuable foods that supply essential fatty acids for humans as well as industrial raw materials and biofuel production. As the demanding for vegetable oils has increased, plant metabolic engineering to produce triacylglycerols in biomass such as leaves has been consid...

L-Arginine is an important amino acid for diverse industrial and health product applications. Here we report the development of metabolically engineered Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 21831 for the production of L-arginine. Random mutagenesis is first performed to increase the tolerance of C. glutamicum to L-arginine analogues, followed by systems...