Graft transmission and cytopathological studies of a severe pear disease, pear black necrotic leafspot（PBNLS), were carried out to determine the causal agent of the disease. No evidence was found that a fungal or bacterial pathogen could be the causal agent of the disease. Attempts to transmit the agent by sap-inoculation to other plants including herbaceous hosts failed. How-ever, the pathogen was readily graft-transmitted from symptomatic diseased pears to healthy pears. Graft transmission of the pathogen was also demonstrated by using an indicator plant, PS-95, developed in the laboratory through various grafting methods. Ultrastructural study of the disease revealed the consistent presence of flexuous rod-shaped virus-like particles (VLP) in the symptomatic leaves of both Niitaka cultivar and indicator pear, PS-95. The particles, approximately 12 nm in diameter with undetermined length, occurred in the cytoplasm of mesophyll parenchyma cells. Cells with VLPs also contained fibril-containing vesicles, which are common in cells infected with plant viruses with ssRNA genome. The vesicles were formed at the tonoplast. Based on the symptomatology, the presence of fibril-containing vesicles, and graft-transmissibility, it is believed that the VLPs that occurred on symptomatic leaves of black necrotic leafspot of pear are viral in nature, possibly those of a capillovirus.

Heteroduplex mobility assay (HMA) and single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analyses combined with PCR were developed for genetic differentiation of various phytoplasma isolates. In the HMA and SSCP analyses, differences in the mobility shifts and the SSCP band patterns identified three distinct types of phyto-plasmas: Type Ⅰ, jujube witches'-broom (JWB) and ligustrum witches'-broom (LiWB); Type Ⅱ, mulberry dwarf（MD) and sumac witches'-broom (SuWB); and Type Ⅲ, paulownia witches'-broom (PaWB). Results of the sequence analyses revealed that phytoplasmas of JWB and MD had 100％ homology with LiWB and SuWB, respectively. On the other hand, PaWB phyto-plasma had 97.8% homology with MD phytoplasma. The PCR-HMA and SSCP techniques were very useful in determining variations in sequence among several isolates of phytoplasmas. Furthermore, the methods were rapid, economical, highly sensitive, and easy to handle with the gels.

Systemic virus symptoms caused by a Potexvirus were observed on leaves of infected hosta (Hasta spp.) plants cultivated in Seoul, Korea. Symptoms on diseased hosta plants include mosaic, mottle, irregular blotchy patches, and chlorotic spots on or distortion of the leaves. No other viruses, such as Cucumber mosaic virus, Lily symptomless virus, or Potyvirus, were detected from the same plants by electron microscopy and by Western blot and RT-PCR analyses, indicating that they were singly infected by the potexvirus. The symptoms differed among cultivars and species of hosta, and affected the quality of plants for commercialization, as well as, plant growth and flowering of susceptible cultivars. Most of the cultivars and species investigated were susceptible to the virus, while some were not infected by the virus at all. Purified virus particles were of filamentous type with unaggregated forms 540 nm in length, which is a typical potexviral morphology. The virus consisted of a single-stranded RNA molecule of 6 kb long for genome and single component of coat protein (CP) about 27 kDa. The CP strongly reacted with the antiserum against Hosta vims X (HVX), suggesting that the virus is an isolate of HVX. This is the first report of the occurrence and identification of HVX from hosta plants in Korea.

An isolate of Odontoglossum ringspot virus (ORSV) was identified from Cymbidium var. 'Grace Kelly' showing ringspot symptom on the floral and leaf parts, and was denoted as cymbidium ringspot isolate (ORSV-CR). In ultrathin sections of leaf tissue from diseased Cymbidium plants, clusters of virus particles were observed in the vacuole and cytoplasm. In the Western blot hybridization, the virus strongly reacted with ORSV-specific antiserum indistinguishable from ORSV, suggesting that the vims is serologically identical with ORSV. ORSV-CR sap was inoculated onto 20 species belonging to 12 genera. Systemic infection occurred in Cymbidium sp., Nicotiana benthamiana and N. clevelandii, the host of which was found to be different from that of ORSV-Cy, the Korean strain of ORSV. The analysis of coat protein (CP) gene showed that ORSV-CR was highly homologous to the known isolates of ORSV, with over 95.6% identity in amino acid level. Phylogenetic tree analysis of CP showed that ORSV-CR was clustered with the known ORSV isolates, suggesting that ORSV is a very stable tobamovirus.

A rod-shaped virus was isolated from pepper showing mild mosic during the winter growing seasons of 2001 and 2002 in Korea. Based on its biological reactions, serological relationships, reverse transcription-poly-merase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using specific primers, and nucleotide sequence analysis of coat protein (CP) gene, the isolated virus was identified as Tobacco mild green mosaic virus (TMGMV) and designated as Korean pepper isolate (TMGMV-KP). Crude sap from infected tissue was mechanically transmitted to various indicator plants, which produced characteristic symptoms of tobamovirus infection. However, no symptom was observed in Gomphorena globosa. In RT-PCR assays with specific primers toy respective detection of TMGMV, Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV), Pepper mild mottle virue (PMMoV), and Tomato mosaic virus (ToMV), a single strong band of about 500 bp in length was produced from the sample used only with TMGMV primers. The amplified DNA was cloned and the nucleotide sequence was determined. Sequence comparisons with the CP gene of other tobamoviruses indicated that TMGMV-KP shared 99.3％ identity with TMGMV Japanese isolate and only 59.1, 58.6, and 58.1％ identity with TMV, PMMoV and ToMV, respectively. This is the first report of TMGMV in Korea.

Wheat samples showing typical spot blotch symptoms on stems and sheaths were collected from the field after physiological maturity, and were sealed in paper bags and stored in the laboratory at room temperature to study the survival of Bipolaris sorokiniana conidia on wheat straw. The materials were observed at monthly intervals to assess the conidia viability during storage. After 4 months, the frequency of individual conidia already present on wheat straw at the time of sampling was reduced and appeared to be progressively replaced by the formation of round structures consist-ing of conidia aggregates. After 5 months, distinct, individual conidia were no longer detected, and only 'clumps of conidia' were observed. These dark black aggregates or 'clumps of conidia’measured 157-170$\mu\textrm{m}$ in diameter and were grouped into boat-shaped olivacious conidia showing thick wall and measuring 50-82$\times$20-30$\mu\textrm{m}$. The germination was unipolar and below 0.5%, suggesting the occurrence of dormancy, In contrast, individual conidium produced on wheat during the growing season were 96-130$\times$16-20$\mu\textrm{m}$, slightly curved, hyaline to light pale, and euseptate with a bipolar germination reaching 98-100%. Bipolaris sorokiniana conidia produced on PDA were 55-82$\times$20-27$\mu\textrm{m}$, tapered at both ends, dark brown to olivacious, distoseptate, showed up to 1% germination, and were predominantly unipolar. Results of the present study suggest that B. sorokiniana conidia belonged to two different physiological categories corresponding to the pathogen's infection phase and its survival, respectively. The infection phase is characterized by a high germination percentage as opposed to the survival phase harboring apparent dormancy.

Bacteriophage of Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri, a causal agent of citrus canker disease, was studied for its cultural characteristics. The relative efficiency of plat-ing (EOP) of 11 phages used to 13 strains off, axonopodis pv. citri tested ranged from 0.8 to 1, indicating that the phages are homogeneous. Homogeneity of the phages suggests that citrusphage belongs to a single group CPK as reported in a previous study. Typical one-step growth of a phage P5 selected from the citrusphages was observed. The EOP of the P5 was dependent upon the media, pH, and temperature. It was observed that multiplication of the phage cultured in Wakimotos potato semisynthetic media at $25^{\circ}C$ was more effective than that in other temperatures, regardless of the bacterial strains and media used. It was observed that pH 6.5 is optimal for multiplication of the phage. In comparison of the EOP among citrusphages $CP_1$, $CP_2$, and P5, multiplicative characteristic of phage P5 in the bacteria on time-course was similar with that of phage $CP_1$. Thus, it was concluded that citrusphage group CPK from Korea is $CP_1$ based on host specificity of the phage as described in a previous study, homogeneity, and its multiplication pattern.

The potato scab is caused by several species of Streptomyces. Among these species, only pathogenic strains were found to produce thaxtomin A characterized by necrotic bioassay and HPLC. In this study, identification of the pathogenic strains of Streptomyces was performed through the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) by using specific pathogenicity primer sets derived from the nec1 gene sequences of Streptomyces scabies. The expected PCR products were obtained approximately 580 bp and confirmed by sequencing. This PCR technique can be used effectively to identify the pathogenic Streptomyces species, that cause scab on potato tubers.

Apple scar skin viroid (ASSVd) has been one of the most destructive diseases in Korean apple orchards. Symptoms of the scar skin viroid disease were detected in various apple cultivars, namely, Sansa, Fuji, Chukwang, Miki-Life, Hongro, and Songbongeum cultivated in the southern part of Korea. The RNA molecules were extracted from the apples bearing dapple apple symptoms with the application of CF-11 RNA extraction method. The purified RNAs were used for the synthesis of cDNA with RT-PCR. The PCR products were cloned and sequenced. The viroid RNA molecules from the six different cultivars bearing the dapple symptos showed the same nucleotide sequences as that of the Korean strain of ASSVd（ASSVd-K). ASSVd-K was detected from apple orchards in Kunwi, Sangju, Uiseong, Yeong-yang, Andong, and Youngduk in Gyeongbuk Province in 2001, and in Muju in Jeonbuk Province in 2002. As the viroid disease could be propagated vegetatively, it can be widely transmitted gradually in Korea.