Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades are conserved signaling modules in the eukaryotic cells. They are involved in many major cell processes in fungi such as stress responses, vegetative growth, pathogenicity, secondary metabolism and cell wall integrity. In this review, we summarized the advances of research on the MAPK signaling pathways in Alternaria species. As major phytopathogenic fungi, Alternaria species reduce crop production. In contrast to the five MAPK pathways known in yeast, only three MAPK pathways as Fus3/Kss1-type, Hog1-type, and Slt2-type have been characterized in Alternaria. The Fus3/Kss1-type MAPK pathway participates in regulation of vegetative growth, conidiation, production of some cell-wall-degrading enzymes and pathogenicity. The Hog1-type pathway is involved in osmotic and oxidative stress, fungicides susceptibility and pathogenicity. The Slt2-type MAP kinases play an important role on maintaining cell wall integrity, pathogenicity and conidiation. Although recent advances on the MAPK pathways in Alternaria spp. reveal many important features on the pathogenicity, there are many unsolved problems regarding to the unknown MAP kinase cascade components and network among other major signal transduction. Considering the economic loss induced by Alternaria spp., more researches on the MAPK pathways will need to control the Alternaria diseases.

Phytoplasmas have been associated with more than 46 plant species in Korea. Several vegetables, ornamentals, fruit trees and other crop species are affected by phytoplasma diseases. Six 16Sr groups of phytoplasmas have been identified and these phytoplasmas are associated with 63 phytoplasma diseases. Aster yellows phytoplasmas are the most prevalent group and has been associated with more than 25 diseases in Korea. Jujube witches' broom, paulownia witches' broom and mulberry dwarf diseases cause economic losses to host trees throughout the country. So far, Korean phytoplasmas belong to six species of 'Candidatus Phytoplasma'; 'Ca. P. asteris', 'Ca. P. pruni$^*$', 'Ca. P. ziziphi', 'Ca. P. trifolii', 'Ca. P. solani$^*$' and 'Ca. P. castaneae'. The diseases are distributed throughout the country and most of them were observed in Gyeongbuk and Chonbuk provinces. At least four insect vectors; Cyrtopeltis tenuis, Hishimonus sellatus, Macrosteles striifrons and Ophiola flavopicta have been identified for phytoplasma transmission.

Potato (Solanum tuberosum) is one of the most important food crops worldwide and yields of potato can be affected by virus infection. While more than 40 viruses have been found in potato, only nine viruses (potato leafroll virus, potato viruses A, M, S, V, X and Y, potato moptop virus and tobacco rattle virus) and one viroid (potato spindle tuber viroid) have a significant economic impact on potato, worldwide. This review describes the geographical distribution of the most important viruses infecting potato and the genes for resistance or tolerance that have been identified against these various infectious agents. In some cases such resistance genes have been found only in other Solanum species. Few genes for resistance to the vectors of these viruses have been obtained and even fewer have been deployed successfully. However, transgenic resistance in potato has been achieved against seven of these disease agents.

Protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A), a family of serine/threonine protein phosphatases, plays an important role in balancing the phosphorylation status of cellular proteins for regulating diverse biological functions in eukaryotic organisms. Despite intensive studies in mammals, limited information on its role is available in filamentous fungi. Here, we investigated the functional roles of genes for a putative B' delta regulatory subunit (FgPP2AR) and a catalytic subunit (FgPP2AC) of PP2A in a filamentous ascomycete, Fusarium graminearum. Molecular characterization of an insertional mutant of this plant pathogenic fungus allowed us to identify the roles of FgPP2AR. Targeted gene replacement and complementation analyses demonstrated that the deletion of FgPP2AR, which was constitutively expressed in all growth stages, caused drastic changes in hyphal growth, conidia morphology/germination, gene expression for mycotoxin production, sexual development and pathogenicity. In particular, overproduction of aberrant cylindrical-shaped conidia is suggestive of arthroconidial induction in the ${\Delta}FgPP2AR$ strain, which has never been described in F. graminearum. In contrast, the ${\Delta}FgPP2AC$ strain was not significantly different from its wild-type progenitor in conidiation, trichothecene gene expression, and pathogenicity; however, it showed reduced hyphal growth and no perithecial formation. The double-deletion ${\Delta}FgPP2AR;{\Delta}FgPP2AC$ strain had more severe defects than single-deletion strains in all examined phenotypes. Taken together, our results indicate that both the putative regulatory and catalytic subunits of PP2A are involved in various cellular processes for fungal development in F. graminearum.

The bacteria B1-9 that was isolated from the rhizosphere of the green onion could promote growth of pepper, cucumber, tomato, and melon plants. In particular, pepper yield after B1-9 treatment on the seedling was increased about 3 times higher than that of control plants in a field experiment. Partial 16S rDNA sequences revealed that B1-9 belongs to the genus Pantoea ananatis. Pathogenecity tests showed non-pathogenic on kimchi cabbage, carrot, and onion. The functional characterization study demonstrated B1-9's ability to function in phosphate solubilization, sulfur oxidation, nitrogen fixation, and indole-3-acetic acid production. To trace colonization patterns of B1-9 in pepper plant tissues, we used $DRAQ5^{TM}$ fluorescent dye, which stains the DNAs of bacteria and plant cells. A large number of B1-9 cells were found on the surfaces of roots and stems as well as in guard cells. Furthermore, several colonized B1-9 cells resided in inner cortical plant cells. Treatment of rhizosphere regions with strain B1-9 can result in efficient colonization of plants and promote plant growth from the seedling to mature plant stage. In summary, strain B1-9 can be successfully applied in the pepper plantation because of its high colonization capacity in plant tissues, as well as properties that promote efficient plant growth.

The root rot of pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) caused by Phytophthora capsici is one of the most important diseases affecting this crop worldwide. This work presents the evaluation of the capacity of Streptomyces griseus H7602 to protect pepper plants against Phytophthora capsici and establishes its role as a biocontrol agent. In this study, we isolated an actinomycete strain H7602 from rhizosphere soil, identified it as Streptomyces griseus by 16S rRNA analysis and demonstrated its antifungal activity against various plant pathogens including P. capsici. H7602 produced lytic emzymes such as chitinase, ${\beta}$-1,3-glucanase, lipase and protease. In addition, crude extract from H7602 also exhibited destructive activity toward P. capsici hyphae. In the pot trial, results showed the protective effect of H7602 against pepper from P. capsici. Application of H7602 culture suspension reduced 47.35% of root mortality and enhanced growth of pepper plants for 56.37% in fresh root and 17.56% g in fresh shoot as compared to control, resulting in greater protection to pepper plants against P. capsici infestation. Additionally, the enzymatic activities, chitinase and ${\beta}$-1,3-glucanase, were higher in rhizosphere soil and roots of pepper plants treated with H7602 than other treated plants. Therefore, our results indicated a clear potential of S. griseus H7602 to be used for biocontrol of root rot disease caused by P. capsici in pepper.

The fungus Pyrenophora graminea is the causal agent of barley leaf stripe disease. Two leaf stripe isolates PgSy3 (exhibiting high virulence on the barley cultivar 'Arabi Abiad') and PgSy1 (exhibiting low virulence on Arabi Abiad), were mated and 63 progeny were isolated and phenotyped for the reaction on Arabi Abiad. The population segregated in a 1:1 ratio, 32 virulent to 31 avirulent (${\chi}^2$ = 0.05, P = 0.36), indicating single gene control of PgSy3 virulence on Arabi Abiad. Among 96 AFLP markers identified, three AFLP markers, E37M50-400, E35M59-100 and E38M47-800 were linked to the virulence locus VHv1 in isolate PgSy3. The results of this study indicate that (the three markers) are closely linked to VHv1 and are unique to isolates carrying the virulence locus. This work represents an initial step towards map-based cloning of VHv1 in P. graminea.

Genetic diversity among Pseudomonas syringae pv. morsprunorum isolates from Prunus mume in Korea and Japan was investigated by comparative sequence analysis of the 16S rRNA gene. The strains included 24 field isolates recovered from P. mume in Korea along with seven Japanese strains. Two strains isolated from P. salicina in Japan, one strain from P. avium in the United Kingdom, and the pathotype strain were also used for comparison with their 16S rRNA gene sequences. Nearly complete 16S rRNA gene sequences were sequenced in all 35 strains, and three sequence types, designated types I, II and III, were identified. Eleven strains consisting of five Korean isolates, five Japanese strains, and one strain from the United Kingdom belonged to type I, whereas the pathotype strain and another 19 Korean isolates belonged to type III. Another four Japanese strains belonged to type II. Type I showed 98.9% sequence homology with type III. Type I and II had only two heterogeneous bases. The 16S rRNA sequence types were correlated with the races of P. syringae pv. morsprunorum. Type I and II strains belonged to race 1, whereas type III isolates were included in race 2. Sequence analyses of the 16S rRNA gene from P. syringae pv. morsprunorum were useful in identifying the races and can further be used for epidemiological surveillance of this pathogen.

Petunia hybrida is commonly used in landscapes and interiors for its attractive flower. Virus-like foliar symptoms, including a mosaic with dark green islands surrounding the veins and chlorosis on the leaf margins, were observed on a petunia plant from Icheon, Gyeonggido, Korea. Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) was identified in the symptomatic petunia by serological testing for the presence of CMV coat protein (CP) with a direct antibody-sandwich-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. An agent was mechanically transmitted to indicator plant species including Chenopodium quinoa. Examination of the inoculated plant leaves by RT-PCR analysis and electron microscopy revealed the presence of specifically amplified CP products and spherical virions of approximately 28 nm in diameter, respectively, providing confirmation of a CMV infection. Analysis of CP sequences showed that CMV petunia isolate (CMVYJC) shared 82.5-100% amino acid sequence identity with CPs of representative CMV strains. Phylogenetic analysis of CPs supports that CMV-YJC is a member of CMV subgroup IA (CMV-IA) and has biological properties of CMV-IA on host species. To our knowledge, this is the first report of CMV from P. hybrida in Korea.

Populations of plant-parasitic nematodes were evaluated in soil and root samples from areas planted with passion fruit, or covered with adjacent native cerrado vegetation, in five different cropping regions of the Brazilian Federal District. From July 2007 to January 2008, twenty samples had been collected in five Rural Centers (N$\acute{u}$cleo Rural-NR) planted with passion fruit. In five sites, samples were also collected in native cerrado vegetation. Specimens of nine genera of plant-parasitic nematodes (Meloidogyne, Helicotylenchus, Rotylenchulus, Scutellonema, Pratylenchus, Paratylenchus, Hemicycliophora, Xiphinema and Criconemoides) were found in the present survey. Important nematode pathogens, such as Rotylenchulus reniformis and Meloidogyne spp. were observed in the passion fruit plantations throughout five major producing regions of the Brazilian Federal District.

Fusarium root disease can be a serious problem in forest and conservation nurseries in the western United States. Fusarium inoculum is commonly found in most container and bareroot nurseries on healthy and diseased seedlings, in nursery soils, and on conifer seeds. Fusarium spp. within the F. oxysporum species complex have been recognized as pathogens for more than a century, but attempts to distinguish virulence by correlating morphological characteristics with results of pathogenicity tests were unsuccessful. Recent molecular characterization and pathogenicity tests, however, revealed that selected isolates of F. oxysporum are benign on Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) seedlings. Other morphologically indistinguishable isolates, which can be virulent, were identified as F. commune, a recently described species. In a replicated greenhouse study, inoculating Douglas-fir seedlings with one isolate of F. oxysporum prevented expression of disease caused by a virulent isolate of F. commune. Moreover, seedling survival and growth was unaffected by the presence of the F. oxysporum isolate, and this isolate yielded better biological control than a commercial formulation of Bacillus subtilis. These results demonstrate that an isolate of nonpathogenic F. oxysporum can effectively reduce Fusarium root disease of Douglas-fir caused by F. commune under nursery settings, and this biological control approach has potential for further development.

Plants are the promising reservoirs for natural products with their diverse secondary metabolites. Many invasive plants have been introduced in Korea, which adversely affect on the native ecosystem but holds difficulty removing them due to their proliferation. In this study, we evaluated disease control efficacy of methanol extracts from four invasive plant species against 7 representative crop pathogens. Methanol extract of Phytolacca americana effectively suppressed rice blast, tomato gray mold, and tomato late blight in a dose dependent manner. The methanol extract of Amorpha fruticosa also exhibited potent antifungal activity against pepper anthracnose in a concentration dependent way. These data suggest that the extracts of P. americana and A. fruticosa can be developed as plant disease protection agents against rice blast, tomato gray mold, tomato late blight, and pepper anthracnose. Furthermore, more extensive research will be required to identify and isolate active compounds from problematic invasive plant species to develop valuable agrochemicals.

This study was conducted to investigate host and non-host disease resistances of kimchi cabbage plants to bacterial infection. Kimchi cabbage leaves responded differently to infections with a virulent strain of Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris (Xcc) 8004 and two strains (85-10 and Bv5-4a.1) of non-host bacteria X. campestris pv. vesicatoria (Xcv). Non-host bacteria triggered a rapid tissue collapse of the leaves showing as brown coloration at the infected sites, highly increased ion leakage, lipid peroxidation and accumulation of UV-stimulated autofluorescence materials at the inoculated sites. During the observed interactions, bacterial proliferations within the leaf tissues were significantly different. Bacterial number of Xcc 8004 progressively increased within the inoculated leaf tissues over time, while growths of two non-host bacteria Xcv strains were distinctly limited. Expressions of pathogenesis-related genes, such as GST1, PR1, BGL2, VSP2, PR4 and LOX2, were differentially induced by host and non-host bacterial infections of X. campestris pathovars. These results indicated that rapid host cellular responses to the non-host bacterial infections may contribute to an array of defense reactions to the non-host bacterial invasion.