• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.215-219
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• 2012

To examine genetic divergences of two endemic Sorex caecutiens subspecies from Korea (S. c. hallamontanus in Korean Jeju Island and S. c. annexus in the mainland Korean Peninsula), we obtained partial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) sequences (429 bp) and complete cytochrome b sequences (1,140 bp) from the two Korean subspecies, and we compared these sequences to the corresponding sequences of S. caecutiens, obtained from GenBank. We found that Jeju S. c. hallamontanus is one of three clades within S. caecutiens, with an average Jukes-Cantor distance of 1.57% in the COI sequences and the distance of 2.07% and 11 fixed site differences in the cytochrome b sequences, indicating that Jeju S. c. hallamontanus is one endemic subspecies with concordant genetic distinctness, although further analyses with nuclear DNA sequences are necessary to confirm these findings. However, S. c. annexus from the mainland Korean Peninsula was not divergent from S. c. macropygmaeus from northeastern China and adjacent Russia, indicating that S. c. annexus from the mainland Korean Peninsula is another endemic subspecies with only morphological differences, although it is necessary to reexamine the subspecies status of S. c. annexus.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.33-36
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• 2019

The marine interstitial annelid Pharyngocirrus uchidai(Sasaki, 1981) has been only known from Japan. In this study, we report the occurrence of P. uchidai for the first time in four localities along the eastern coast of Korea: Bukmyeon, Gamchu, Gase, and Oeongchi. Species identification was confirmed by comparison of DNA barcoding sequences with morphological examination from the type locality, Oshoro, Japan. We generated a total of 25 sequences of a partial segment (580 bp) of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene (COI), representing five specimens from each locality. Maximum intra-specific variation was 1.2% in terms of Kimura two-parameter (K2P) distance, observed between two individuals each from Gamchu (i.e., between two specimens from the single locality), Gamchu and Oeongchi, Gamchu and Oshoro, and Oeongchi and Oshoro. On the other hand, an identical haplotype was found in all the five localities, substantiating our species identification for the Korean populations. Inter-specific K2P distance between P. uchidai and an unidentified Saccocirrus sp. from Canada (based on public database entries) was 22.4-23.4%.

• Entomological Research
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.559-566
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• 2018

In Korea, the centipede called "Wang-ji-ne" or "O-gong" is used as an important medicinal resource. This centipede has been known as Scolopendra subspinipes mutilans Koch 1878. Recent studies have assessed its taxonomic treatment in several geographical populations from China, Japan and Taiwan, but not Korea. We therefore attempted to assess exact species status for the Korean population of this subspecies using both morphological and DNA barcode methods. The result inferred from DNA barcoding showed that the Korean population is S. mutilans explicitly separated from S. subspinipes. Within S. mutilans, the Korean population is morphologically identical and genetically closer to the Chinese population rather than island populations of Japan and Taiwan. Particularly, the mainland populations from Korea and China share six haplotypes from 17 despite being far apart geographically.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.86.1-86.8
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• 2020

Background: Dicyemids are parasites found in the renal sac of cephalopods. The first species of dicyemid was found from kidneys of the Korean common octopus Callistoctopus minor. Objectives: This study aimed to identify the dicyemid and investigate the effect on renal sac of host. Methods: In this study, we compared the morphological characteristics of isolate to dicyemids (Dicyema sphyrocephalum, Dicyema clavatum, and Dicyema dolichocephalum) reported from C. minor in Japan. We compared the 18S ribosomal RNA (rDNA) and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) sequences of isolate to the sequences of D. shyrocephalum and D. clavatum. The infected octopuses renal tissues were histologically compared with the tissues of uninfected individuals. Results: The morphological characteristic of this isolated species corresponds to D. sphyrocephalum. The sequences similarities of 18S rDNA and COI gene of isolate are 99.7% and 98.1% with D. sphyrocephalum. We observed morphological changes in the epithelia folds of kidney at the dicyemids attached areas. Conclusions: The present study identified the isolate as D. sphyrocephalum and this is the first report of dicyemid species from Republic of Korea. Further studies on the effects of dicyemids on growth and health status of cephalopods will be needed.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Fisheries and Ocean Technology
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• v.59 no.3
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• pp.253-262
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• 2023

To identify sand crab Ovalipes punctatus populations and establish management units for each population, mtDNA COI regions were analyzed. As a result, the clade of O. punctatus in Korea were separated by two with a genetic distance of 0.17-2.08%, and there was no significant difference in the result of pairwise FST values representing genetic differentiation by sampling areas (p > 0.05). Also, no geographical separation found in the distribution of haplotypes and the results of the haplotype network. This result suggests that O. punctatus larvae were dispersed for a long time by the ocean current by suffering meroplanktonic period for 1 month, and increased the gene flow due to the development of the swimming legs for the increase in mobility. Therefore, in the results of mtDNA COI region analysis of O. punctatus in the East Sea, Yellow Sea, South Sea and East China Sea (Ieodo) of Korea, no clear intra-species differentiation was found.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.47-58
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• 2007

The tiny dragonfly, Nannophya pygmaea(Odonata: Libellulidae) is one the smallest dragonflies in the world and listed as a second-degree endangered wild animal and plant in Korea. For the long-term conservation of such endangered species, an investigation on nation-wide genetic magnitude and nature of genetic diversity is required as a part of conservation strategy. We, thus, sequenced a portion of mitochondrial COI gene, corresponding to "DNA Barcode" region(658 bp) from 68 N. pygmaea individuals collected over six habitats in Korea. The sequence data were used to investigate genetic diversity within populations and species, geographic variation within species, phylogeographic relationship among populations, and phylogenetic relationship among haplotypes. Phylogenetic analysis and uncorrected pairwise distance estimate showed overall low genetic diversity within species. Regionally, populations in southern localities such as Gangjin and Gokseong in Jeollanamdo Province showed somewhat higher genetic diversity estimates than those of remaining regions in Korean peninsula. Although geographic populations of N. pygmaea were subdivided into two groups, distance- or region-based geographic partition was not observed.

• The Korean Journal of Malacology
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.275-283
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• 2010

Many freshwater snail taxa are difficult to identify using morphological traits due to phenotypic plasticity. However, using of molecular DNA marker in combination with morphological traits can provide a reliable means for discriminating among freshwater snail taxa including cryptic species. To discriminate among Korean freshwater snail taxa and resolve their systematic relationships, wesequenced a fragment of mtDNA cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene from 82 specimens collected from ten different sites distributed along the Korean peninsula. We identified more than seven freshwater snail taxa including cryptic species in Korea. Whereas traditional shell morphology of freshwater snails offers only weak discriminatory power for recognizing 'good' taxa, DNA sequence data provided positive and reliable identification. In addition, a major Semisulcospira clade was clearly separated from the remaining lineages observed including cryptic species. However, a phylogenetic tree inferred from the COI gene data did not fully resolve systematic relationships among pleurocerid taxa in Korea. Establishing more robust shell characteristics for identifying taxa unambiguously and hence improving traditional key shell morphology characters for freshwater snail species is an urgent requirement and will require more rigorous examination of all nominal taxa. While molecular data generated here will be useful for species identification and for describing the systematic relationships among Korean freshwater snails, further analysis will be required.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.7-16
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• 2014

Many species of Lymantria are important forestry pests, including L. dispar which is well known distributed from Asia to North America as an invasive species. Like of most other genera of moths, the systematic of this genus is still in dispute, especially on the monophyly and the relationship within this genus due to the fact that genus is very large and varied. This genus was morphologically defined only by a single aphomorphy. To clarify the monophyly of the genus Lymantria, to reveal the phylogenetic relationship among the Indonesian species, and to establish the genetic characters of Indonesian Lymantria, we analyzed 9 species of Indonesian Lymantria involving 33 other species distributed around the world based on nucleotide sequence variation across a 516-bp region in the CO I gene. The results showed that the base composition of this region was a high A+T biased (C: 0.3333). The results also showed that the monophyly of Lymantria was not supported by bootstrap tests at any tree building methods. Indonesian species was distributed into four different groups but the relationship among them was still in dispute. It indicates that relationships among the basal nodes (groups) proposed here were least valid due to the fact that the number of species may not be enough to represent the real number of species in the nature. Moreover CO I gene sequences alone were not able to resolve their relationships at the basal nodes. More investigations were needed by including more species and other genes that the more conserved.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.155-165
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• 2004

In Korean Peninsula including neighboring islands and Japanese Islands identical firefly species or the species belonging to same genera occur together in both territories. These geographic firefly species, nonetheless, have never been subject to taxonomic consideration together until recently, lacking clear species status and phylogenetic relationships. A recent serial study of these fireflies using luciferase gene and/or portions of mitochondrial DNA sequences provided some insight into these populations in terms of validity of species name, phylogenetic relationships, and speciation event. In this article, thus, we have reviewed the recent progress on phylogenetic and/or population genetic aspects of these species, i.e., Hotaria-group fireflies, Luciola lateralis, and Pyrocoelia rufa to better understand the firefly species in these regions.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.59 no.1
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• pp.73-78
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• 2020

The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (Smith, 1797), originated from tropical and subtropical America is one of sporadic agricultural pests in the world. Since the moth has high migration capacity, it rapidly expanded the world distribution such as Africa in 2016, India in 2018, and East-Asian countries in 2019. In Korea, this species was firstly found at maize fields of Jeju Island, in early June 2019, and subsequently detected at many counties of Jeolla-do and Gyeongsang-do in June and July 2019. The first invaded populations of S. frugiperda in Korea were genetically confirmed as one species, S. frugiperda by using a mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene, and analyzed to be comprised of two haplotypes (hap-1 and hap-2) each belonging to different clades. Among 31 COI sequences, the hap-1 sequence was predominant, accounting for 93.5%.