• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.207-213
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• 2024

Spiders play a vital role in agricultural ecosystems by capturing and preying on small insects, thereby controlling the pests around crops. However, without directly collecting the specimen, it is challenging to accurately determine the species of the spider that formed the web and its diet. Spiders dissolve their prey with digestive fluids while consuming; thus, leaving very little residue in their digestive system. This study aimed to identify the spider that formed the web and the prey caught in the web using environmental DNA (eDNA) present in the spider web. For this purpose, eDNA using the mitochondrial cytochrome C oxidase subunit I (COI) gene was extracted from five adjacent spider webs collected from residences near agricultural environments. Based on the genes extracted from spider webs, it was confirmed that the most commonly found gene in all five spider webs was COI of Parasteatoda tepidariorum, and no other spider genes were detected. Among the five spider webs, prey was found in only one web, and in that web, genes of arthropods other than spiders were detected. The genes of the prey found in the spider web were identified to be those of Orthocladius tamarutilus, Tanytarsus tamagotoi, and Yemma exilis. Thus, without directly collecting arthropod specimens from the spider web, it was possible to identify the spider and its prey. This provides crucial information that can help in clearly understanding the predatory activities of spiders in agricultural ecosystems in the future.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.244-251
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• 2017

A total of 15 larvae [3.53~19.49 mm standard length (SL)] belonging to the family Bothidae collected from the southern sea of Korea in 2016 were identified as Psettina tosana based on 434 base-pair sequences of mitochondrial DNA cytochrome c oxidase subunit I. Larvae of Psettina tosana have anterior-most two elongated dorsal fin rays. Uniserial melanophores present on the dorsal and anal fin base, whereas melanophores on the body absent. An inflection point in the relative growth of head length and head depth against SL was shown between 9.93 mm and 10.73 mm SL. The examined larvae of Psettina tosana are clearly distinguished from the most similar species, Psettina iijimae in having no melanophore patches in the proximity of dorsal and anal fin base.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.240-246
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• 2021

The Chironomidae is a benthic macroinvertebrate commonly found in freshwater ecosystems, along with Ephemeroptera and Trichoptera, which can be used for environmental health assessments. There are approximately 15,000 species of Chironomidae worldwide, but there are limited studies on species identification of domestic Chironomidae larvae. In the present study, we carried out species classification of the Chironomidae larvae that found in Jeju's tap water purification plants using morphological characteristics and genetic identification based on cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene of the mitochondrial DNA. Body shape, mentum, antenna, mandible in the head capsule, and claws were observed in the larvae for morphological classification. Analysis of 17 larvae collected from faucets and fire hydrants of domestic tap water purification plants revealed the presence of two species, including 14 Orthocladius tamarutilus and 3 Paratrichocladius tammaater. These results will aid the use of the criteria information about species classification of the Chironomidae for water quality management in water purification plants and diversity monitoring of freshwater environments.

• 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%.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.51-58
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• 2022

Four monogonont rotifers, Filinia hofmanni Koste, 1980, Lecane pusilla Harring, 1914, Mikrocodides chlaena (Gosse, 1886), and Proales fallaciosa Wulfert, 1937, were newly recorded in Korea. The genera Mikrocodides Bergendal, 1892 and Proales Gosse, 1886 were recorded for the first time in Korea. Mikrocodides chlaena and Proales fallaciosa were found from soil samples and are both soft-bodied species. Filinia hofmanni has previously been recorded mainly in Europe, and this is its first record in Asia. Lecane pusilla is the 24th lecanid rotifer recorded in Korea, and its morphological characteristics are consistent with previous research of L. pusilla. We have provided the morphological diagnoses of the four Korean specimens in this study, along with the partial sequences of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I(COI) gene of three species.

• 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.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.171-191
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• 2024

Identification of Helicotylenchus species is very challenging due to phenotypic plasticity and existence of cryptic species complexes. Recently, the use of rDNA barcodes has proven to be useful for identification of Helicotylenchus. Molecular markers are a quick diagnostic tool and are crucial for discriminating related species and resolving cryptic species complexes within this speciose genus. However, DNA barcoding is not an error-free approach. The public databases appear to be marred by incorrect sequences, arising from sequencing errors, mislabeling, and misidentifications. Herein, we provide a comprehensive analysis of the newly obtained, and published DNA sequences of Helicotylenchus, revealing the potential faults in the available DNA barcodes. A total of 97 sequences (25 nearly full-length 18S-rRNA, 12 partial 28S-rRNA, 16 partial internal transcribed spacer [ITS]-rRNA, and 44 partial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I [COI] gene sequences) were newly obtained in the present study. Phylogenetic relationships between species are given as inferred from the analyses of 103 sequences of 18S-rRNA, 469 sequences of 28S-rRNA, 183 sequences of ITS-rRNA, and 63 sequences of COI. Remarks on suggested corrections of published accessions in GenBank database are given. Additionally, COI gene sequences of H. dihystera, H. asiaticus and the contentious H. microlobus are provided herein for the first time. Similar to rDNA gene analyses, the COI sequences support the genetic distinctness and validity of H. microlobus. DNA barcodes from type material are needed for resolving the taxonomic status of the unresolved taxonomic groups within the genus.

• ALGAE
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.91-97
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• 2019

Chilean species of marine macroalgae with amphitropical distributions oftentimes result from introductions out of the Northern Hemisphere. This possibility was investigated using haplotype data in an amphitropical red macroalgae present in Chile, Callophyllis variegata. Published sequence records from Canada and the United States were supplemented with new collections from Chile (April 2014-November 2015). Specimens of C. variegata were amplified for the 5′ end of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene (COI-5P) and the full length nuclear internal transcribed spacer region. Haplotype networks and biogeographic distributions were used to infer whether C. variegata was introduced between hemispheres, and several population parameters were estimated using IMa2 analyses. C. variegata displayed a natural amphitropical distribution, with an isolation time of approximately 938 ka between hemispheres. It is hypothesized that contemporary populations of C. variegata were established from a refugial population during the late Pleistocene, and may have crossed the tropics via rafting on buoyant species of kelp or along deep-water refugia coincident with global cooling, representing a rare case of a non-human mediated amphitropical distribution.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.25 no.12
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• pp.601-618
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• 2022

The genus Semisulcospira is an economically and ecologically valuable freshwater resource. Among the species, Semisulcospira coreana, Semisulcospira forticosta and Semisulcospira tegulata are endemic to the Korean peninsula and Semisulcospira gottschei is widespread in Asia. Therefore, maintenance and conservation of wild populations of these snails are important. We investigated the genetic diversity and population structure of Semisulcospira based on the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI), NADH dehydrogenase subunit 4 (ND4), and combined mitochondrial DNA (COI + ND4) sequences. All four species and various genetic makers showed a high level of haplotype diversity and a low level of nucleotide diversity. In addition, Fu's Fs and Tajima's D neutrality tests were performed to assess the variation in size among populations. Neutrality tests of the four species yielded negative Fu's Fs and Tajima's D values, except for populations with one haplotype. The minimum spanning network indicated a common haplotype for populations of S. coreana, S. tegulata and S. gottschei, whereas S. forticosta had a rare haplotype. Also, genetic differences and gene flows between populations were assessed by analysis of molecular variance and using the pairwise fixation index. Our findings provided insight into the degree of preservation of the species' genetic diversity and could be utilized to enhance the management of endemic species.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.829-836
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• 2017

This study investigated the species composition and abundance of floating fish eggs to determine the timing and location of spawning of fish inhabiting the coastal waters of Sagye, Jejudo Island. Eggs were collected with a Bongo net bimonthly from May 2009 to February 2010. Identifications were based on nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene. Eggs were determined to belong to 43 distinct taxa, 35 of which were identified to the species level. The assemblage spanned eight orders, 23 families, and 32 genera. The number of taxa collected varied from month to month, with 14 taxa (12 species) found in June 2009, 11 taxa (10 species) in October 2009, 10 taxa (nine species) each in August 2009 and February 2010, eight taxa (six species) in April 2009, and five taxa (four species) in December 2009. Five abundant species (Branchiostegus japonicus, Engraulis japonicus, Pseudolabrus sieboldi, Goniistius zonatus, and Halichoeres tenuispinis) together represented 52.8% of the total number of eggs collected during the study.