• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.103-113
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• 2003

Twenty five isolates of Alternaria were obtained from various solanaceous crops in Korea. For all isolates, morphological characteristics of the conidia were determined and compared with those of representative isolates of A. solani and A. tomatophila. A selection of the isolates and the representative Alternaria isolates were evaluated for Pathogenicity to potato, tomato, egg plant and red pepper. Molecular characteristics of 17 isolates of Alternaria inculding the representative isolates were determined using sequence analysis of IRS rDNA and histone H3 gene, and URP-PCR analysis. Based on morphological characteristics, the isolates from the solanaceous crops were grouped as identical or very similar to either A. tomatophila (ATO), A. solani (ASO), and unidentified Alternaria sp. (ASP). Isolates of ASO were moderately pathogenic to all the solanaceous crops tested, but ATO isolates were highly pathogenic to tomato and the ASP isolate was pathogenic only to potato. Among the molecular markers used in this study, the URP-PCR analysis was found to be appropriate for taxonomic resolution of these species. Based on the conidial morphology, pathogenicity test and molecular characteristics, A. tomatophila (early blight of tomato) could be distinguished from A. solani (early blight of potato), and the Alternaria sp. (ASP) from potato, which was closely related to ASO in conidial morphology, was considered as a new species.

• 한국균학회소식:학술대회논문집
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• 2018.05a
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• pp.13-13
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• 2018

Alternaria is a ubiquitous fungal genus, widely distributed in the environment and a range of different habitats. It includes both plant pathogenic and saprophytic species, which can affect crops in the field or cause post-harvest spoilage of plant fruits and kernels. Numerous Alternaria species cause damage to agricultural products including cereal grains, fruits and vegetables, and are responsible for severe economic losses worldwide. Most Alternaria species have the ability to produce a variety of secondary metabolites, which may play important roles in plant pathology as well as food quality and safety. Alternariol (AOH), alternariol monomethyl ether (AME), tenuazonic acid (TeA), tentoxin (TEN) and altenuene (ALT) are considered the main Alternaria compounds thought to pose a risk to human health. However, food-borne Alternaria species are able to produce many additional metabolites, whose toxicity has been tested incompletely or not tested at all. Both alternariols are mutagenic and their presence in cereal grain has been associated with high levels of human esophageal cancer in China. TeA exerts cytotoxic and phytotoxic properties, and is acutely toxic in different animal species, causing hemorrhages in several organs. The possible involvement of TA in the etiology of onyalai, a human hematological disorder occurring in Africa, has been suggested. Altertoxins (ALXs) have been found to be more potent mutagens and acutely toxic to mice than AOH and AME. Other metabolites, such as TEN, are reported to be phytotoxins, and their toxicity on animals has not been demonstrated up to now. Vegetable foods infected by Alternaria rot are obviously not suitable for consumption. Thus, whole fresh fruits are not believed to contribute significantly with Alternaria toxins to human exposure. However, processed vegetable products may introduce considerable amounts of these toxins to the human diet if decayed or moldy fruit is not removed before processing. The taxonomy of the genus is not well defined yet, which makes it difficult to establish an accurate relationship between the contaminant species and their associated mycotoxins. Great efforts have been made to organize taxa into subgeneric taxonomic levels, especially for the small-spored, food associated species, which are closely related and constitute the most relevant food pathogens from this genus. Several crops of agricultural value are susceptible to infection by different Alternaria species and can contribute to the entry of Alternaria mycotoxins in the food chain. The distribution of Alternaria species was studied in different commodities grown in Argentina. These food populations were characterized through a polyphasic approach, with special interest in their secondary metabolite profiles, to understand their full chemical potential. Alternaria species associated with tomato, bell pepper, blueberry, apples and wheat cultivated in Argentina showed a surprisingly high metabolomic and mycotoxigenic potential. The natural occurrence of Alternaria toxins in these foods was also investigated. The results here presented will provide background for discussion on regulations for Alternaria toxins in foods.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.26 no.4 s.73
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• pp.273-275
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• 1987

Changes in the numbers of air-borne spores of Alternaria mali causing the Alternaria leaf spot of apple were investigated in apple orchards, by monitoring their AM- toxin(host-specific toxin) producing ability. Most of the air-borne Alternaria in apple orchards were not AM-toxin producers. In culture, only about 2% of Alternaria isolates from a commercially managed apple orchards produced the toxin that was highly toxic only to susceptible leaves.

• Korean Journal Plant Pathology
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.151-157
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• 1995

국내에서 분리한 20종의 Alternaria 277개 균주를 사용하여 Alternaria 진균소독인 altenuene(ALT), altertoxin-I(ATX-I) 및 tenuazonic acid(TA)의 in vitro에서의 생성능과 그 분포를 조사하였다. 각 사용균주를 200g의 살균된 쌀배지에 접종하여 $25^{\circ}C$에서 3주간 배양하였다. Alternaria 배양체들을 methanol로 추출하고 용매분획과 TLC 및 HPLC분석을 통하여 순화하였다. A. alternata와 그와 형태적으로 유사한 A. kikuchiana, A. longipes 및 A. mail는 비록 종간 및 종내의 균주간에 생성량의 차이는 매우 다양하였지만 TA를 비롯한 5종의 진균독소를 모두 생성하였다. A sesami와 A. sesamicola는 4종의 진균독소(AOH, AME, ALT, ATX-I)를 생성하였고 A. cucumerina, A. dauci, A. macrospora, A. porri, A. solani, A. tagetica와 A. zinniae와 같은 대형분생포자와 긴 beak를 형성하는 7종의 Alternaria균들은 AOH와 AME만을 생성하였다. A. brassicicola, A. helianthi, A. panax, A. radicina 및 A. raphani등 5종의 Alternaria는 5종의 진균 독소를 모두 생성하지 않았다.

• Mycobiology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.27-42
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• 2001

The taxonomy of the Alternaria spp. has been a subject, of controversy because of their high variability in conidial morphology and polymorphism displayed even in pure cultures. The published Korean literature on the genus Alternaria is scattered and fragmentary, and pertains to about 25 species with special emphasis on occurrence and pathogenicity, but mycological studies on this group of fungi are insufficient. This is the first series of detailed and consolidated account of Korean species of Alternaria, which includes 11 species; viz., Alternaria brassicae, A. brassicicola, A. cinerariae, A. dauci, A. dianthi, A. dianthicola, A. helianthi, A. helianthinffciens, A. iridicola, A. japonica and A. protenta. Detailed diagnostic descriptions, specific characterizations, taxonomic discussions and illustrations for each species are presented.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.543-553
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• 2017

Sesame (Sesamum indicum) is an important oil seed crop of Asia. Yields can be negatively impacted by various factors, including disease, particularly those caused by fungi which create problems in both production and storage. Foliar diseases of sesame such as Alternaria leaf blight may cause significant yield losses, with reductions in plant health and seed quality. The work reported here determined the incidence of Alternaria species infecting sesame seeds grown in the Punjab, Pakistan. A total of 428 Alternaria isolates were obtained from 105 seed samples and grouped into 36 distinct taxonomic groups based on growth pattern and morphological characters. Isolation frequency and relative density of surface sterilized and non-surface sterilized seeds showed that three isolates (A13, A47 and A215) were the most common morphological groups present. These isolates were further identified using sequencing of the Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) region of ribosomal DNA (rDNA) and the Alternaria major allergen gene (Alt a 1). Whilst ITS of rDNA did not resolve the isolates into Alternaria species, the Alt a 1 sequences exhibited > 99% homology with Alternaria alternata (KP123850.1) in GenBank accessions. The pathogenicity and virulence of these isolates of Alternaria alternata was confirmed in inoculations of sesame plants resulting in typical symptoms of leaf blight disease. This work confirms the identity of a major source of sesame leaf blight in Pakistan which will aid in formulating effective disease management strategies.

• Korean Journal Plant Pathology
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 1995

Alternaria alternata and A. solani were identified from 130 Alternaria isolates obtained from red pepper fruits, and three species including A. alternata, A. sesami and A. sesamicola were detected from 150 isolates from sesame seeds. Among the 4 Alternaria species, A. alternata was the predominant fungus from both plants, having incidence of 95.4% in red pepper and 56.0% in sesame. Of the total 280 isolates, cultures on autoclaved rice of 75 isolates were tested for toxicity to 21-day-old virgin female rats. Out of 50 isolates of A. alternata, 17 were lethal to rats, inducing congestion and hemorrhage of stomach and intestine and kidney enlargement, and 8 caused lack of weight gain or weight loss. The other 25 isolates of A. alternat and all the isolates of A. sesami, A. sesamicola and A. solani, showed no significant indication of toxicity. Production of mycotoxins in the rice cultures of the above 75 isolates belonging to 4 species was analyzed. Alternaria cultures were extracted with methanol and purified by using solvent partition, thin-layer chromatography, and high performance liquid chromatography. Of the four species tested, all produced alternariol (AOH) and alternariol monomethyl ether (AME), three (A. alternata, A. sesami and A. sesamicola) produced alternuene (ALT) and altertoxin-I (ATX-I), and only A. alternata produced tenuazonic acid (TA). TA was produced by all of the highly toxic (lethal to rats) isolates of A. alternata, but not by any nontoxic isolates.

• Korean Journal Plant Pathology
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.66-71
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• 1996

79종의 식물재료의 Alternaria alternata에 대한 항균활성을 조사한 결과, 7가지 식물재료가 항균활성이 있었고, 11가지는 확실치 않았으며, 나머지 61가지는 항균활성이 나타나지 않았다. A. alternata에 항균활성이 나타난 7가지 식물재료 중 계피가 활성이 가장 높았으며, 오미지와 천궁이 중정도의 활성을 보였으며, 나머지는 약한 활성을 나타내었다. 항균 활성 성분은 계피와 천궁의 경우는 diethyl ether에 분리되었고, 오미자의 경우는 butanol에 분리되었다. 계피의 diethyl ether 추출물은 1,000 배액 이하에서 식별 가능한 항균활성이 나타났다. 계피의 성분으로 cinnam aldehyde가 가장 높은 활성을 보여, 이 물질이 계피의 주요 항균물질로 사료된다.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.227-238
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• 2012

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.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.115-121
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• 1985

An aerial survey for fungal flora in Seoul has been carried out by Petri plate exposure method for a period of one year. A total of 2227 fungal spores appeared in the plates. Of these, Cladosporium was the commonest fungus representing 43.5% of the total spore count followed by Penicillium (15.8%). Alternaria (10.5%), and Aspergillus (3.8%). There were seasonal variations in the prevalence of fungal spores. The occurrence of these fungi was greatly affected by climatic conditions. However, Alternaria appeared to prefer warmer weather. A comparison of fungal population from the outdoor and indoor air was also investigated to support the view that Alternaria is abundant population from the outdoor air and that Cladosporium from the indoor air depending on their availability in the atmosphere.