형질전환 들잔디 개발의 최근 동향

Recent developments in biotechnological improvement of Zoysia japonica Steud

Zoysiagrass (Zoysia japonica Steud.), also called Korean or Japanese lawngrass, is the most popular warmseason turfgrass in Korea and is widely used for home lawns, parks, roadsides, golf courses and athletic fields. Its use is rapidly expanding in Korea and the other countries, due to its excellent characteristics which include tolerance to heat, drought and salinity. As the utilization area of this turfgrass increases, there is an increase in the demand for improved cultivars with disease and insect tolerance or with herbicidetolerance or with extended greening periods. Conventional breeding methods have been used to improve the traits described above with limited success. However, with the advances in biotechnology, genetic transformation can be utilized for turfgrass improvement. In this paper, we review recent progress in biotechnological improvement of zoysiagrass and discuss future molecular breeding of this species.