Sejong University Doctoral Candidate Ogyu Kwon's Research Paper Published in International Journal

Research Findings Contributing to Food Security
OsRALF26 Peptide Induces Immune Responses Across Plant Species
Potential for Next-Generation Crop Protection Strategies Demonstrated

Sejong University announced on August 18 that a research paper, with doctoral candidate Ogyu Kwon from the Department of Bioindustrial Resource Engineering as the first author, has been published in the international journal Rice Science (IF 6.1).

(From left) Sejong University Bioindustrial Resource Engineering Professor Changjin Park's research team members: student Dajeong Lee, doctoral candidate Aram Jeong, graduate students Jiheon Kim and Seungjun Yoo, and doctoral candidate Ogyu Kwon. Sejong University

Rice Science is an SCI-level international journal, ranked 7th (top approximately 5%) in the field of Agronomy and 23rd (top approximately 8%) in the field of Plant Science, making it a highly prestigious academic journal worldwide.

The title of the paper is "Cross-Species Induction of Plant Immunity by the Oryza-Specific Small Secreted Peptide, OsRALF26." The research team investigated whether OsRALF26 (Rapid Alkalinization Factor 26), a small secreted peptide found only in rice, can induce immune responses across different plant species.

Experimental results confirmed that not only rice treated with OsRALF26, but also Arabidopsis, tomato, and wheat, exhibited enhanced pathogen resistance and immune responses.

Through this, the study demonstrated that OsRALF26 acts as an endogenous immune elicitor in response to damage or pathogen invasion, and suggested the potential for new crop protection strategies utilizing plant-specific peptides.

This research is the first to show that a peptide evolved in a lineage-specific manner can induce immune responses across species. It is expected to serve as an important foundation for developing next-generation biotechnology-based strategies to enhance broad-spectrum disease resistance.

Doctoral candidate Ogyu Kwon stated, "Through countless experiments and trial and error, I have gained invaluable experience that has helped me grow as a researcher," and added, "I aim to further expand basic research in plant immunity and molecular biology to contribute to the advancement of life sciences."