• IMMUNE NETWORK
• /
• v.20 no.6
• /
• pp.49.1-49.15
• /
• 2020

C-C chemokine receptor type 5 (CCR5) regulates the trafficking of various immune cells to sites of infection. In this study, we showed that expression of CCR5 and its ligands was rapidly increased in the kidney after systemic Candida albicans infection, and infected CCR5^-/- mice exhibited increased mortality and morbidity, indicating that CCR5 contributes to an effective defense mechanism against systemic C. albicans infection. The susceptibility of CCR5^-/- mice to C. albicans infection was due to impaired fungal clearance, which in turn resulted in exacerbated renal inflammation and damage. CCR5-mediated recruitment of NK cells to the kidney in response to C. albicans infection was necessary for the anti-microbial activity of neutrophils, the main fungicidal effector cells. Mechanistically, C. albicans induced expression of IL-23 by CD11c⁺ dendritic cells (DCs). IL-23 in turn augmented the fungicidal activity of neutrophils through GM-CSF production by NK cells. As GM-CSF potentiated production of IL-23 in response to C. albicans, a positive feedback loop formed between NK cells and DCs seemed to function as an amplification point for host defense. Taken together, our results suggest that CCR5-mediated recruitment of NK cells to the site of fungal infection is an important step that underlies innate resistance to systemic C. albicans infection.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
• /
• v.36 no.4
• /
• pp.305-313
• /
• 2020

Host shifting and host expansion of fungal plant pathogens increases the rate of emergence of new pathogens and the incidence of disease in various crops, which threaten global food security. Magnaporthe species cause serious disease in rice, namely rice blast disease, as well as in many alternative hosts, including wheat, barley, and millet. A severe outbreak of wheat blast due to Magnaporthe oryzae occurred recently in Bangladesh, after the fungus was introduced from South America, causing great loss of yield. This outbreak of wheat blast is of growing concern, because it might spread to adjacent wheat-producing areas. Therefore, it is important to understand the host range and population structure of M. oryzae and related species for determining the evolutionary relationships among Magnaporthe species and for managing blast disease in the field. Here, we collected isolates of M. oryzae and related species from various Poaceae species, including crops and weeds surrounding rice fields, in Korea and determined their phylogenetic relationships and host species specificity. Internal transcribed spacer-mediated phylogenetic analysis revealed that M. oryzae and related species are classified into four groups primarily including isolates from rice, crabgrass, millet and tall fescue. Based on pathogenicity assays, M. oryzae and related species can infect different Poaceae hosts and move among hosts, suggesting the potential for host shifting and host expansion in nature. These results provide important information on the diversification of M. oryzae and related species with a broad range of Poaceae as hosts in crop fields.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
• /
• v.42 no.1
• /
• pp.34-39
• /
• 2014

In this study, the community structures of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in rhizospheres of Camellia japonica and neighboring woody plants in Wando, Korea were investigated. Rhizospheres of C. japonica and other woody plants were dominated by the same species, Acaulospora mellea, but Shannon's index, species richness and total spore numbers of the AMF communities were higher in non-C. japonica than in neighboring plants. Regardless of host plant species, the frequency of A. mellea was significantly high comparing with other AMF species. The community similarity of AMF within C. japonica was significantly higher than between C. japonica and neighboring plants or neighboring plants (p<0.005). Results showed that AM fungal communities in rhizospheres of C. japonica have unique community structure and are different from that of neighboring host plants, suggesting that community structure of AMF could be influenced by host plant species.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
• /
• v.48 no.2
• /
• pp.159-164
• /
• 2009

A taxonomic review of a new record, Bolitophagiella pannosa (Lewis) in Korea is presented. Description of adult is presented and also we conducted laboratory and field observations of the life history and fungal hosts of the darkling beetle, Bolitophagiella pannosa (Lewis). A fungivorous tenebrionid beetle, Bolitophagiella pannosa (Lewis), was a rare inhabitant of fungi on deciduous trees (Quercus, Robinia pseudoacacia etc.) in Korea. Development from egg to adulthood took 3${\sim}$10 months in nature and about 54 days in the laboratory at 25.5${\sim}$$26.1^{\circ}C$ and 63.5${\sim}$64.5% relative humidity. Both larvae and adults overwintered in their host fungi or beneath the bark of the host tree near the host fungi. Sporophores of Perenniporia medulla-panis (Fr.) Donk and Perenniporia frazinea (Fr.) Ryv. were obligate feeding and breeding sites in Korea. Description, habitus photographs of adult and instar, and illustrations of diagnostic characters are provided.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
• /
• v.43 no.1
• /
• pp.20-25
• /
• 2015

This study was conducted to investigate diversity of orchid endophytic fungi from roots of two terrestrial orchids, Cypripedium japonicum and Cypripedium macranthum in Korea. The endophytic fungi were identified using morphological and DNA sequences isolated from the roots. Totally, 11 taxa of the endophytic fungi were identified from the roots of C. japonicum and 15 taxa from C. macranthum. Three species of the fungi were common in both host species; Leptodontidium orchidicola, Humicola fuscoatra var. fuscoatra, Umbelopsis dimorpha. Six species of the fungal isolates were the first report in Korea; Oidiodendron echinulatum, Pseudogymnoascus roseus, Geomyces vinaceus, Cryptosporiopsis ericae, U. dimorpha, Chaetomium cupreum.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.57 no.1
• /
• pp.50-53
• /
• 2015

Usually fungal infections caused by opportunistic and pathogenic fungi had been an important cause of morbidity and mortality among immunocompromised patients. However clinical data and investigations for immunocompetent pathogenic fungal infections had been rare and neglected into clinical studies. Especially Cryptococcal brainstem abscess cases mimicking brain tumors were also much more rare. So we report this unusual case. This 47-year-old man presented with a history of progressively worsening headache and nausea for 1 month and several days of vomituritions before admission. Neurological and laboratory examinations performed demonstrated no abnormal findings. Previously he was healthy and did not have any significant medical illnesses. A CT and MRI scan revealed enhancing $1.8{\times}1.7{\times}2.0$ cm mass lesion in the left pons having central necrosis and peripheral edema compressing the fourth ventricle. And also positron emission tomogram scan demonstrated a hot uptake of fluoro-deoxy-glucose on the brainstem lesion without any evidences of systemic metastasis. Gross total mass resection was achieved with lateral suboccipital approach with neuronavigation system. Postoperatively he recovered without any neurological deficits. Pathologic report confirmed Cryptococcus neoformans and he was successively treated with antifungal medications. This is a previously unreported rare case of brainstem Cryptococcal abscess mimicking brain tumors in immunocompetent host without having any apparent typical meningeal symptoms and signs with resultant good neurosurgical recovery.

• Research in Plant Disease
• /
• v.26 no.1
• /
• pp.38-43
• /
• 2020

The genome of the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae contains several types of transposable elements (TEs), and some TEs cause genetic variation that allows M. oryzae to evade host detection. We studied how five abundant TEs in rice pathogens, Pot3, Pot2, MAGGY, Line-like element (MGL) and Mg-SINE, are expressed under diverse conditions related to growth, development, and stress. Expression of Pot3 and Pot2 was activated in germinated conidia and mycelia treated with tricyclazole. Retrotransposon MAGGY was highly expressed in appressoria and tricyclazole-treated mycelia. MAGGY and Pot2 were also activated during the early and late stages of perithecia development. MGL was up-regulated in conidia and during conidial germination but not during appressorium formation. No noticeable expression of Mg-SINE was observed under most conditions. Our results should help investigate if and how condition-specific expressions of some TEs contribute to the biology and evolution of M. oryzae.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.27-31
• /
• 2013

This study was conducted to isolate and identify the fungal pathogen causing seedling rot of Lithospermum erythrorhizon Siebold & Zuccarini, and to know the optimum growing temperature for decreasing seedling rot of Lithospermum erythrorhizon. On the basis of morphological characteristics, EF-1a sequence analysis, and pathogenecity to host plant, the fungi isolated from seedling rot and seeds of Lithospermum erythrorhizon were identified as Fusarium fujikuroi, indicating that disease causing fungus is seed-borne pathogen. Optimum temperature for germination of seeds of Lithospermum erythrorhizon was $15{\sim}20^{\circ}C$, but pathogenicity of Fusarium fujikuroi was shown more readily at $25{\sim}30^{\circ}C$. These results suggested that seedling culture of Lithospermum erythrorhizon between $15^{\circ}C$ and $20^{\circ}C$ might reduce seedling rot of Lithospermum erythrorhizon caused by seed-borne pathogen Fusarium fujikuroi.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.9 no.3
• /
• pp.276-281
• /
• 1999

In order to determine the functional region of the antifungal protein (AFP) isolated from Aspergillus giganteus responsible for growth inhibitory activity and the promotion of phospholipid vesicle aggregation, overlapping peptides covering the complete sequence of AFP were synthesized. The antibiotic activity against bacterial, fungal, and tumor cells, and the vesicle-aggregation activity of the synthetic peptides were investigated. The AFP functional sequence responsible for antibiotic and vesicle-aggregation activity was determined to be located within the region between AFP residues 19 to 32. AFP (19-32) exhibited an a-helical conformation in a cell membrane-like environment. AFP (19-32) displayed potent antibiotic activity against bacterial, fungal, and tumor cells without peptide toxicity as indicated by hemolysis. Accordingly, AFP (19-32) could be used as a good model for the design of effective antibiotic agents with powerful antibiotic activity yet without any cytotoxic effects against the host organism.

• Research in Plant Disease
• /
• v.24 no.2
• /
• pp.87-98
• /
• 2018

The fungal species contain diverse transposable elements and repetitive sequences up to ~10% of their genome. It has been reported that distribution of transposable elements tends to correlate with the host range of the pathogen. Moreover, transposable elements cause the loss of an avirulence gene in the pathogen, which resulted in disease on a resistance cultivar. Thus, the transposable elements in the fungal pathogens may be one of the key factors driving the plant-fungus interactive evolution. In this article, we reviewed classification and biological functions of transposable elements in Magnaporthe species.