• Journal of Species Research
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.60-72
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• 2018

Our study aimed to discover indigenous prokaryotic species in Korea. A total of 29 bacterial species in the phylum Proteobacteria were isolated from freshwater and sediment of rivers and brackish zones in Korea. From the high 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity (${\geq}98.8%$) and formation of a robust phylogenetic clade with the closest species, it was determined that each strain belonged to an independent and predefined bacterial species. To our knowledge, there is no official report or publication that has previously described these 29 species in Korea. Specifically, we identified 10, 12, and seven species of eight, 12, and seven genera that belong to classes Alphaproteobacteria, Betaproteobacteria, and Gammaproteobacteria, respectively; all are reported as previously unrecorded bacterial species in Korea. The Gram reaction, colony and cell morphology, basic biochemical characteristics, isolation source, and strain IDs for each are also described.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.5 no.6
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• pp.309-314
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• 1995

Samples were collected from a commercial ethanol production plant to enumerate the bacterial contamination in each step of a starch based ethanol production process. Though the slurry of raw material used in the process carried bacteria with various colony morphology in the order of $10^4$ per ml, only the colonies of white and circular form survived and propagated through the processes to the order of $10^8$ per ml at the end of fermentation. Almost all of the bacterial isolates from the fermentation broth were lactic acid bacteria. Heterofermentative Lactobacillus fermentum and L. salivarius, and a facultatively heterofermentative L. casei were major bacteria of an ethanol fermentation. In a batch fermentation L. fermentum was more detrimental than L. casei to ethanol fermentation. In a cell-recycled fermentation, ethanol productivity of 5.72 g $I^{-1} h^{-1}$ was obtained when the culture was contaminated by L. fermentum, whilst that of the pure culture was 9.00 g $1^{-1} h^{-1}$. Similar effects were observed in a cell-recycled ethanol fermentation inoculated by fermentation broth collected from an industrial plant, which showed a bacterial contamination at the level of 10$^8$ cells per ml.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.57-61
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• 2006

In this study, morphology of perithecia, asci, ascospores, etc. of C. sphecocephala were examined for its telemorphic characteristics. Its colony grew up to 32 mm in diameter on potato dextrose agar (PDA) for 30 days under the condition of $24{\pm}1^{\circ}C$. PDBLA and PDBAA media were selected as optimal media for C. sphecocephala, on which the growth was 1.5 times as fast as on PDA medium. Moreover, PDBLA medium induced successfully the synnemata of anamorphic state. C. sphecocephala was able to be proliferated in vitro on both larva and adult of honeybee drone as its substrate. After inoculated onto the drone larva, it produced mycelium at $24{\pm}1^{\circ}C$, with the maximum yield up to $67{\pm}3mg$ on the $50^{th}$ day.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.592-599
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• 2019

Ostrea denselamellosa and Eriocheir japonica samples were collected from the Seomjin River in 2019 as part of the "Research of Host-Associated Bacteria" research program. Almost 200 bacterial strains were isolated from the O. denselamellosa and E. japonica samples and subsequently identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Among the bacterial isolates, ten strains possessed greater than 98.7% sequence similarity with published bacterial species that had not previously been recorded in Korea. These species were phylogenetically diverse, belonging to three phyla, four classes, seven orders, and eight genera. At the genus and class level, the previously unrecorded species belonged to Pseudoalteromonas, Aliivibrio, Rheinheimera, Leucothrix, and Shewanella of the class Gamma-proteobacteria, Olleya of the class Flavobacteriia, Algoriphagus of the class Cytophagia, and Lactococcus of the class Bacilli. The previously unrecorded species were further characterized by examining their Gram staining, colony and cell morphology, biochemical properties, and phylogenetic positions.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.204-209
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• 2020

In 2019, as a subset study to discover indigenous yeast species in Korea, a total of 20 yeast species were isolated from soil samples collected in Pochoen-si. Among them, eight strains were unreported species. From the high 26S rRNA gene sequence similarity and formation of a robust phylogenetic clade with the closest species, it was determined that each strain belonged to independent and predefined yeast species. The 20 strains were assigned to the genera Aureobasidium (1 strain) and Meyerozyma (1 strain) of the phylum Ascomycota and Cystofilobasidium (2 strains), Filobasidium (1 strain), Naganishia (2 strains), Bullera (3 strains), Leucosporidium (9 strains) and Sampaiozyma (1 strain) of the phylum Basidiomycota. There is no official report of the following species in Korea: Leucosporidium creatinivorum (4 strains), Leucosporidium escuderoi(2 strains), Leucosporidium golubevii(1 strain) and Leucosporidium intermedium (2 strains). Basic biochemical characteristics, colony and cell morphology are also described in the species description section.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.325-338
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• 2020

The animal gut is filled with highly diverse microbes associated with host metabolism, physiology, and pathology. However, numerous animal gut microbes have not been cultured or reported. We isolated various bacterial species using culture-dependent approaches during a comprehensive investigation of endangered endemic vertebrate species in the Republic of Korea. A total of 18 unrecorded bacterial species were isolated from the feces of an Oriental stork (Ciconia boyciana), and from the intestinal tracts of a cobitid fish (Kichulchoia multifasciata) and a Korean splendid dace (Coreoleuciscus splendidus). Based on a phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences, we discovered species belonging to the phyla Actinobacteria (eight species), Firmicutes (seven species), Proteobacteria (two species), and Bacteroidetes (one species). Based on their high 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities (>98.7%) and formation of monophyletic clades with type species, each species was classified into an independent and predefined bacterial species. Gram-stain reaction, colony and cell morphology, basic biochemical characteristics, isolation source, and NIBR IDs for each species are described in the species description section.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.339-345
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• 2020

The Earth contains billions of microbial species, although the vast majority cannot be cultured in laboratories and are thus considered unidentified and uncharacterized. Extremophiles are microorganisms that thrive in extreme conditions, including temperature, salinity, and pH. Extremophilic microorganisms have provided important insights for biological, metabolic, and evolutionary studies. Between 2017 and 2019, as part of a comprehensive investigation to identify bacterial species in Korea, eight bacterial strains were isolated from marine and non-marine environments in Jeju Island. These strains were cultured under extreme salinity or pH conditions. Phylogenetic analysis using 16S ribosomal RNA(rRNA) gene sequencing indicated that all eight strains belonged to the phyla Gammaproteobacteria, Bacilli, and Alphaproteobacteria. Based on their high 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities(>98.7%) and the formation of strong monophyletic clades with their closest related species, all isolated strains were considered as an unrecorded strain, previously unidentified species. Gram stain reaction, culture conditions, colony and cell morphology, biochemical characteristics, isolation source, and National Institute of Biological Resources(NIBR) IDs are described in this article. The characterization of these unrecorded strains provides information on microorganisms living in Korea.

• Mycobiology
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.384-391
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• 2015

In the course of survey of endophytic fungi from Bangladesh pumpkin seeds in 2011~2012, two strains (CNU111042 and CNU111043) with similar colony characteristics were isolated and characterized by their morphology and by molecular phylogenetic analysis of the internal transcribed spacer, glyceraldehydes-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (gpd), and Alternaria allergen a1 (Alt a1) sequences. Phylogenetic analysis of all three sequences and their combined dataset revealed that the fungus formed a subclade within the A. alternata clade, matching A. burnsii and showing differences with its other closely related Alternaria species, such as A. longipes, A. tomato, and A. tomaticola. Long ellipsoid, obclavate or ovoid beakless conidia, shorter and thinner conidial size ($16{\sim}60[90]{\times}6.5{\sim}14[{\sim}16]{\mu}m$) distinguish this fungus from other related species. These isolates showed more transverse septation (2~11) and less longitudinal septation (0~3) than did other related species. Moreover, the isolate did not produce any diffusible pigment on media. Therefore, our results reveal that the newly recorded fungus from a new host, Cucurbita maxima, is Alternaria burnsii Uppal, Patel & Kamat.

• Mycobiology
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.100-102
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• 2007

Pet dogs have been considered to be involved in the contamination of indoor air by serving as a source of providing molds at houses. Currently, information on the molds originated from pet dogs is rarely available in Korea. The present study was carried out to obtain basic information on the fungi present on pet dogs. For this, fungal isolation was performed to the skin and hairs of 70 pet dogs at different houses and veterinary hospitals. A total of 44 fungal isolates were obtained from skin (27 isolates) and hairs (17 isolates) of the dogs investigated. Based on the observation of microstructures and colony morphology, and the ITS rDNA sequence analysis, the fungal isolates were identified at the level of genus. The identified isolates belong to the genera of Alternaria, Aspergillus, Beauveria, Chrysosporium, Cladosporium, Penicillium, Scopulariopsis, and Trichoderma. Among these genera, Aspergillus (25%), Cladosporium (23%) and Penicillium (20.5%) were 3 major genera. 63% of the 44 isolates showed color changes on dermatophyte test medium (DTM). When we tested the growth ability of 44 isolates at $37^{\circ}C$, 45% of the isolates were able to grow. These results show that pet dogs could carry fungi having a potentiality of affecting on human health.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.35-45
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• 2020

In 2016 and 2017, as part of a comprehensive investigation to identify the prokaryotic species in Korea, a total of 12 bacterial strains were isolated from the gastrointestinal tract and/or fecal samples of four endangered species, including reptile, bird, and marine and terrestrial mammals. Phylogenetic analysis with the 16S rRNA gene sequence was used to assign these strains to the phyla, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria or Proteobacteria. Furthermore, most of the strains Firmicutes belonged to the order Lactobacillales. Interestingly, 12 of the isolated strains have not been previously reported from the Korean Peninsula. Also, based on their high 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities(>98.7%) and formation of strong monophyletic clades with the closest type species, each isolated strain of isolates was assigned to an independent, predefined bacterial species. Gram-stain reaction, colony and cell morphology, biochemical characteristics, isolation source, and NIBR IDs are described in the species description section.