• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.11
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• pp.1680-1687
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• 2020

Fungal endophytes are symbiotic microorganisms that are often found in asymptomatic plants. This study describes the genetic diversity of the fungal endophytes isolated from the roots of plants sampled from the west coast of Korea. Five halophytic plant species, Limonium tetragonum, Suaeda australis, Suaeda maritima, Suaeda glauca Bunge, and Phragmites australis, were collected from a salt marsh in Gochang and used to isolate and identify culturable, root-associated endophytic fungi. The fungal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 was used as the DNA barcode for the classification of these specimens. In total, 156 isolates of the fungal strains were identified and categorized into 23 genera and two phyla (Ascomycota and Basidiomycota), with Dothideomycetes and Sordariomycetes as the predominant classes. The genus Alternaria accounted for the largest number of strains, followed by Cladosporium and Fusarium. The highest diversity index was obtained from the endophytic fungal group associated with the plant P. australis. Waito-C rice seedlings were treated with the fungal culture filtrates to analyze their plant growth-promoting capacity. A bioassay of the Sm-3-7-5 fungal strain isolated from S. maritima confirmed that it had the highest plant growth-promoting capacity. Molecular identification of the Sm-3-7-5 strain revealed that it belongs to Alternaria alternata and is a producer of gibberellins. These findings provided a fundamental basis for understanding the symbiotic interactions between plants and fungi.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.61 no.2
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• pp.307-311
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• 2022

The genus Areotetes van Achterberg & Li, 2013 (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Opiinae), which is endoparasitoid of mining or infesting of fruit dipterous larvae, have been reported for the first time in China. Currently, four species of the genus Areotetes have been known from the province Hunan and Fujian, China. In this study the genus Areotetes with Areotetes carinuliferus van Achterberg & Li, 2013 is reported for the first time from Korea. Material studied in the present study were collected by sweeping in Mt Gongchi, Eochungdo, Province Jeonbuk, Korea. Herein, diagnosis of genus, description, distribution, and diagnostic illustration of A. carinuliferus are provided. In addition, DNA barcode data of the partial gene of mitochondrial cytochorome c oxidase subunit I (COI) are included.

• Proceedings of the National Institute of Ecology of the Republic of Korea
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.104-114
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• 2023

In this study, the distribution, bait preference, hosts, symbionts, habitat status, and cytochrome c oxidase subunit-I sequences of the ant Linepithema humile were analyzed. This species habitat comprised approximately 1.5 km along stone crevices, flower gardens, roadsides, and container yards in the vicinity of Busan station, Korea. Feeding activity of this species was confirmed in 9 species of 7 families of plants. Which was approximately 14% of total flora (63 species of 37 families) in the studied area. Particularly, it was observed that Dendranthema indicum and Camellia japonica were the most frequently visited. Further, we verified that they interacted with four species of aphids. We identified 22 species of ants (17 genera, 4 subfamilies) inhabiting the Busan station area, including L. humile, Tetramorium tsushimae, Nylanderia flavipes and the alien species Paratrechina longicornis. In areas where L. humile was the dominant species, the habitat of local native ants was reduced by approximately 30%. Bait preference was ranked in the following order: jelly, water with glucose (25%), and yogurt, with the highest preference for baits containing sugar and protein. The 630-bp cytochrome c oxidase subunit-I sequences of the local L. humile populations were 99% identical to those of L. humile in the National Center for Biotechnology Information database, and the Argentine ants that invaded Korea had a sequence identical to that of other invasive populations from China, Japan, and New Zealand. As L. humile rapidly increases due to domestic adaptation, continuous monitoring and control strategy for eradication are needed to protect domestic biodiversity.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.341-354
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• 2023

This is the third series of catalogs reporting on Korean species discovered through the 'Discovery of Korean Indigenous Species'. This catalog includes 22 species of invertebrates, excluding insects. The catalog includes the scientific name, an abridged list of synonyms, collection sites, distribution, diagnosis, and figures for each species. Additionally, we provide the newly assigned Korean name, specimen voucher, and, if available, mitochondrial CO1 or 16S gene sequences of the species listed. All species identified and documented here will be officially listed on the 'National Species List of Korea', a database maintained by the National Institute of Biological Resources(NIBR).

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.39.1-39.15
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• 2023

DNA barcoding without assessing reliability and validity causes taxonomic errors of species identification, which is responsible for disruptions of their conservation and aquaculture industry. Although DNA barcoding facilitates molecular identification and phylogenetic analysis of species, its availability in clariid catfish lineage remains uncertain. In this study, DNA barcoding was developed and validated for clariid catfish. 2,970 barcode sequences from mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) and cytochrome b (Cytb) genes and D-loop sequences were analyzed for 37 clariid catfish species. The highest intraspecific nearest neighbor distances were 85.47%, 98.03%, and 89.10% for COI, Cytb, and D-loop sequences, respectively. This suggests that the Cytb gene is the most appropriate for identifying clariid catfish and can serve as a standard region for DNA barcoding. A positive barcoding gap between interspecific and intraspecific sequence divergence was observed in the Cytb dataset but not in the COI and D-loop datasets. Intraspecific variation was typically less than 4.4%, whereas interspecific variation was generally more than 66.9%. However, a species complex was detected in walking catfish and significant intraspecific sequence divergence was observed in North African catfish. These findings suggest the need to focus on developing a DNA barcoding system for classifying clariid catfish properly and to validate its efficacy for a wider range of clariid catfish. With an enriched database of multiple sequences from a target species and its genus, species identification can be more accurate and biodiversity assessment of the species can be facilitated.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.59 no.1
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• pp.41-54
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• 2020

Two mosquito species were collected in still-water near farming area in Andong, Korea. Based on morphological characters, these two mosquitoes were identified as Aedes koreicus and Culex vagans, respectively. DNA barcode analyses supported the identification. An entomopathogenic bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis (BtI), exhibited insecticidal activities against the two mosquito species and its virulence was more potent than that of B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki. It has been known that the bacterial metabolites of Xenorhabdus spp. suppress insect immunity and enhance pathogenicity of B. thuringiensis. This study tested the effect of the bacterial culture broth of Xenorhabdus spp. on enhancing BtI pathogenicity. Among three Xenorhabdus spp., culture broth of X. ehlersii (Xe) was relatively effective to enhance BtI pathogenicity against both mosquito species. Indeed, organic extracts of Xe culture broth suppressed the hemocyte-spreading behavior, suggesting the presence of immunosuppressant in the culture broth. These results suggest a formulation of BtPlus by mixing BtI spore and Xe culture broth to be applied to control the two mosquito species.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.464-476
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• 2022

In recent years, macroalgal bloom occurs frequently in coastal oceans worldwide. It might be attributed to accelerating climate change. "Green tide" events caused by proliferation of green macroalgae (Ulva spp.) not only damage the local economy, but also harm coastal environments. These nuisance events have become common across several coastal regions of continents. In Korea, green tide incidences are readily seen throughout the year along the coastlines of Jeju Island, particularly the northeastern coast, since the 2000s. Ulva species are notorious to be difficult for morphology-based species identification due to their high degrees of phenotypic plasticity. In this study, to investigate temporal variation in Ulva community structure on Jeju Island between 2015 and 2020, chloroplast barcode tufA gene was sequenced and phylogenetically analyzed for 152 specimens from 24 sites. We found that Ulva ohnoi and Ulva pertusa known to be originated from subtropical regions were the most predominant all year round, suggesting that these two species contributed the most to local green tides in this region. While U. pertusa was relatively stable in frequency during 2015 to 2020, U. ohnoi increased 16% in frequency in 2020 (36.84%), which might be associated with rising sea surface temperature from which U. ohnoi could benefit. Two species (Ulva flexuosa, Ulva procera) of origins of Europe should be continuously monitored. The findings of this study provide valuable information and molecular genetic data of genus Ulva occurring in southern coasts of Korea, which will help mitigate negative influences of green tide events on Korea coast.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.1100-1107
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• 2012

Bacterial endophytes may be important factors in plant growth and ecologically relevant functions in rice. Using pyrosequencing technology, we analyzed the composition of endophytic bacterial communities that colonized the roots of rice cultivated in long-term fertilized (APK) and non-fertilized (NF) paddy soils. A total of 1,900 reads were obtained from 2 samples. All sequences were classified into 177 OTUs (APK sample) or 72 OTUs (NF sample) at a 97% similarity cut-off. Twenty-two OTUs were shared between the 2 samples, and these were also the most dominant OTUs in both samples. Proteobacteria was the most dominant phylum with 90.2%, followed by Actinobacteria (7.1%) and Bacteroidetes (1.1%). Furthermore, Pseudomonas was the most abundant genus in both samples. We observed clear differences in the structure of the endophytic bacterial community structure between the 2 samples. Notably, the distributions of Alphaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria were markedly different. The diversity index of the APK sample was higher than that of the NF sample. These findings showed that the endophytic bacterial community of rice roots was affected by the presence of fertilizers in the rice field soil.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.395-402
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• 2013

Since 2000, a large number of molecular studies have been conducted in Hexapoda with generating large amount of mitochondrial sequences. In this study, to review mitochondrial COI sequences and their molecular studies reported in Hexapoda from 2000 to 2009, 488 molecular studies conducted based on 58,323 COI sequences were categorized according to 26 orders and the positions of COI sequences (5', 3', and entire regions). The numbers of molecular studies in which the three regions utilized varied largely among the 26 orders; however, seven orders showed preferred positions of COI sequences in the researches: Diptera and Orthoptera revealed the largest number of studies in the 5' region; while, Coleoptera, Phthiraptera, Odonata, Phasmatodea, and Psocoptera, showed the largest number of studies in the 3' region. From comparing 84 molecular studies published before 2000, we observed the possibilities that molecular studies in Coleoptera, Diptera, Phthiraptera, and Phasmatodea from 2000 to 2009 had been followed classical studies using the positions of COI sequences well-known until 1999. This study provides useful information to understand the overall trends in COI sequence usages as well as molecular studies conducted from 2000 to 2009 in Hexapoda.