• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.281-286
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• 2010

A Pseudomonas fluorescens strain was isolated and found to show antagonistic activity against phytopathogenic fungi and to possess a gene responsible for production of antibiotic 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol. For the extension of biocontrol range, a gene for an Androetonus australis Hector insect toxin 1 (AaHIT1), one of the most known toxic insect-selective peptides, was designed and synthesized according to the preferred codon usage of Pseudomonas fluorescens, cloned, and transformed into the strain by pSUP106 vector, a broad-host-range plasmid. Bioassays indicated that the engineered strain was able to produce AaHIT1 with insecticidal activity, and at the same time retain the activity against plant pathogen. The experiments for nonplanted soil and rhizosphere colonization showed that, similar to the population of the wild-type strain, that of the engineered strain remained relatively constant in the first 10 days, and the subsequent 50 days, suggesting that AaHIT1 expression in the bacterial cell does not substantially impair its long-term colonization. It is first reported that a Pseudomonas fluorescens strain expressing an active scorpion neurotoxin has dual activity against phytopathogenic fungi and insects, making at attractive for agronomic applications.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.119-126
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• 2012

Carboxylic acids play an important role in both aerobic and anaerobic metabolic pathways of both the snail and the parasite. Monitoring the effects of infection by schistosome on Biomphalaria alexandrina carboxylic acids metabolic profiles represents a promising additional source of information about the state of metabolic system. We separated and quantified pyruvic, fumaric, malic, oxalic, and acetic acids using ion-suppression reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to detect correlations between these acids in both hemolymph and digestive gland gonad complex (DGG's) samples in a total of 300 B. alexandrina snails (150 infected and 150 controls) at different stages of infection. The results showed that the majority of metabolite pairs did not show significant correlations. However, some high correlations were found between the studied acids within the control group but not in other groups. More striking was the existence of reversed correlations between the same acids at different stages of infection. Some possible explanations of the underlying mechanisms were discussed. Ultimately, however, further data are required for resolving the responsible regulatory events. These findings highlight the potential of metabolomics as a novel approach for fundamental investigations of host-pathogen interactions as well as disease surveillance and control.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.216-219
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• 2007

Gray mold caused by Botrytis cinerea occurred on Prunus mume Sieb. & Zucc. in an experimetal orchard of Gyeongsangnam-do Agricultural Research and Extension Services in Korea from 2005 to 2007. The symptoms usually started with water-soaking lesions and hollow depression on the fruit surface. The conidia of the pathogen appeared on the surface fruits. The conidia were one celled and mostly ellipsoid or ovoid in shape and were colorless or pale brown in color. The conidia were $6{\sim}17{\times}4{\sim}10{\mu}m$ in size and conidiophores were $15{\sim}30{\mu}m$ in length. The sclerotial formed abundantly on potato-dextrose agar, They were flat or irregular in shape and black in color The optimum temperature for sclerotial formation was $20^{\circ}C$. On the basis of mycological characteristics and pathogenicity test on host plants, the fungus was identified as Botrytis cinerea Persoon: Fries. This is the first report on gray mold of P. mume caused by B. cinerea by in Korea.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.598-608
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• 2019

Endophytic fungi have received much attention as plant growth promoters as well as biological control agents against many plant pathogens. In this study, 30 endophytic fungal species, isolated from various plants in China, were evaluated using in vitro dual culture assay against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cucumerinum, causing wilt in cucumber. The results of the present study clearly showed that all the 30 endophytic fungal isolates were highly capable of inhibiting the mycelial colony growth of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cucumerinum with inhibition % over 66% as compared to control treatments. Among all of them, 5 isolates were highly effective such as, Penicillium sp., Guignardia mangiferae, Hypocrea sp., Neurospora sp., Eupenicillium javanicum, and Lasiodiplodia theobromae, respectively. The Penicillium sp. and Hypocrea sp. were highly effective as compared to other isolates. From in vitro results 10 best isolates were selected for greenhouse studies. The results of the greenhouse studies showed that among all of them 3 endophytic fungal isolates successfully suppressed wilt severity when co-inoculation with pathogen Fusarium. oxysporum f. sp. cucumerinum. The endophytic fungi also enhanced plant growth parameters of the host plants, the antagonistic fungal isolates increased over all plant height, aerial fresh, and dry weight as compared to control.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.346-354
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• 2020

Pectobacterium, which causes soft rot disease, is divided into 18 species based on the current classification. A total of 225 Pectobacterium strains were isolated from 10 main cultivation regions of potato (Solanum tuberosum), napa cabbage (Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensis), and radish (Raphanus sativus) in South Korea; 202 isolates (90%) were from potato, 18 from napa cabbage, and five from radish. Strains were identified using the Biolog test and phylogenetic analysis. The pathogenicity and swimming motility were tested at four different temperatures. Pectolytic activity and plant cell-wall degrading enzyme (PCWDE) activity were evaluated for six species (P. carotovorum subsp. carotovorum, Pcc; P. odoriferum, Pod; P. brasiliense, Pbr; P. versatile, Pve; P. polaris, Ppo; P. parmentieri, Ppa). Pod, Pcc, Pbr, and Pve were the most prevalent species. Although P. atrosepticum is a widespread pathogen in other countries, it was not found here. This is the first report of Ppo, Ppa, and Pve in South Korea. Pectobacterium species showed stronger activity at 28℃ and 32℃ than at 24℃, and showed weak activity at 37℃. Pectolytic activity decreased with increasing temperature. Activity of pectate lyase was not significantly affected by temperature. Activity of protease, cellulase, and polygalacturonase decreased with increasing temperature. The inability of isolated Pectobacterium to soften host tissues at 37℃ may be a consequence of decreased motility and PCWDE activity. These data suggest that future increases in temperature as a result of climate change may affect the population dynamics of Pectobacterium.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.253-256
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• 2003

Citrus canker disease is caused by bacteria Xanthomonas axonopodis .pv. Citri. Shiranuhi cultivar, a hybrid of Kiyomi tangor and Nakano No.3 ponkan was evaluated for resistance to citrus canker based on initiation of disease, percent area of lesion infected and growth rate of bacteria in the leaf under growth chamber condition. Significant differences between susceptible plant and resistant plants were observed in these assays. Resistant plants showed delayed disease symptoms compared to the susceptible plants after spray inoculation of the pathogen. The resistant verities, satsuma, yuzu, and Shiranuhi showed symptoms after six days where as susceptible, mexican lime showed the symptoms just after three days of inoculation. 18 days after inoculation, percent area of lesions developed on leaf and disease severity differed significantly in susceptible and resistant plants, and were ranked as follows: mexican lime > early satsuma =Shiranuhi =yuzu (P <, 0.01). However, 30 days after inoculation, percent area of lesion was further differentiated into resistant and highly resistant plants. That was ranked as follows: sweet orange> early satsuma =Shiranuhi =Kiyomi > yuzu (P < 0.01). These results indicate that host reaction to the bacterial was more distinct when the disease developed for a longer period. Growth rates of a citrus canker bacterium during 16 40 h also were distinct after infiltration into leaves of susceptible and resistant plants, and were ranked as follows: sweet orange> early satsuma =Shiranuhi =Kiyomi =yuzu (P < 0.01). Based on these results, we concluded that Shiranuhi is resistant to citrus canker as compared to Kiyomi, early satsuma, and yuzu.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.250-253
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• 2002

This research was conducted to develop a simple and effective method for pathogenicity assay of the causal agent of bacterial canker on kiwifruit. The developed method is a modified version of syringe-infiltration method that is used in the assay fer the hypersensitive response assay. Bacterial cell suspensions in 50 mM potassium phosphate buffer(pH 7.5) were infiltrated using a plastic syringe with 25G needle into primary leaves of five-year-old kiwifruit. Typical symptoms of bacterial canker were observed five days after infiltration. Symptoms developed on the leaves were detected in these inocula that treated above 10$^4$cfu/ml or above. Using this technique, host range of Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae and three other plant pathogenic pseudomonads were investigated for 25 different plant species. The various symptoms were showed depend-ing on different plant species and inoculated pathogen combinations. This method has the advantage that symptoms can be showed faster compared to other methods and high humid conditions are not required.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.97-100
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• 2010

Angular leaf spot of strawberry caused by Xanthomonas fragariae occurred sporadically in the farmers open field at Sugok-myon, Jinju city, and greenhouse at Okjong-myon, Hadong-gun, Gyeongnam province, Korea. Typical symptoms of angular leaf spot initially appeared as a minute, water-soaked, rotted lesion on the lower leaf surface and the minute spots expanded to form angular leaf spots, usually delimited by small veins. The lesion was translucent under the transmitted light and dark green under reflected light. The slow growing pathogen was a gram-negative, motile bacterium with single polar flagellum, and producing yellowish orange pigment on YDC medium. It showed very strong pathogenicity on the leaves of strawberry. On the basis of biological characteristics and pathogenicity test on host plants, the bacteria was identified as a Xanthomonas fragariae. This is the first report on angular leaf spot of strawberry caused by X. fragariae in Korea.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.60 no.6
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• pp.167-174
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• 2017

Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (MPP) is one of the most common forms of community-acquired pneumonia in children and adolescents. Outbreaks of MPP occur in 3- to 7-year cycles worldwide; recent epidemics in Korea occurred in 2006-2007, 2011, and 2015-2016. Although MPP is known to be a mild, self-limiting disease with a good response to macrolides, it can also progress into a severe and fulminant disease. Notably, since 2000, the prevalence of macrolide-resistant MPP has rapidly increased, especially in Asian countries, recently reaching up to 80%-90%. Macrolide-resistant Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MRMP) harbors a point mutation in domain V of 23S rRNA with substitutions mainly detected at positions 2063 and 2064 of the sequence. The excessive use of macrolides may contribute to these mutations. MRMP can lead to clinically refractory pneumonia, showing no clinical or radiological response to macrolides, and can progress to severe and complicated pneumonia. Refractory MPP is characterized by an excessive immune response against the pathogen as well as direct injury caused by an increasing bacterial load. A change of antibiotics is recommended to reduce the bacterial load. Tetracyclines or quinolones can be alternatives for treating MRMP. Otherwise, corticosteroid or intravenous immunoglobulin can be added to the treatment regimen as immunomodulators to downregulate an excessive host immune reaction and alleviate immune-mediated pulmonary injury. However, the exact starting time point, dose, or duration of immunomodulators has not been established. This review focuses on the mechanism of resistance acquisition and treatment options for MRMP pneumonia.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.433-445
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• 2012

During the course of evolution, animals encountered the harmful effects of fungi, which are strong pathogens. Therefore, they have developed powerful mechanisms to protect themselves against these fungal invaders. ${\beta}$-Glucans are glucose polymers of a linear ${\beta}$(1,3)-glucan backbone with ${\beta}$(1,6)-linked side chains. The immunostimulatory and antitumor activities of ${\beta}$-glucans have been reported; however, their mechanisms have only begun to be elucidated. Fungal and particulate ${\beta}$-glucans, despite their large size, can be taken up by the M cells of Peyer's patches, and interact with macrophages or dendritic cells (DCs) and activate systemic immune responses to overcome the fungal infection. The sampled ${\beta}$-glucans function as pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) and are recognized by pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) on innate immune cells. Dectin-1 receptor systems have been incorporated as the PRRs of ${\beta}$-glucans in the innate immune cells of higher animal systems, which function on the front line against fungal infection, and have been exploited in cancer treatments to enhance systemic immune function. Dectin-1 on macrophages and DCs performs dual functions: internalization of ${\beta}$-glucan-containing particles and transmittance of its signals into the nucleus. This review will depict in detail how the physicochemical nature of ${\beta}$-glucan contributes to its immunostimulating effect in hosts and the potential uses of ${\beta}$-glucan by elucidating the dectin-1 signal transduction pathway. The elucidation of ${\beta}$-glucan and its signaling pathway will undoubtedly open a new research area on its potential therapeutic applications, including as immunostimulants for antifungal and anti-cancer regimens.