• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.9
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• pp.1269-1279
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• 2014

Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) strains are plant pathogenic bacteria that can cause serious blight of rice, and their virulence towards plant host is complex, making it difficult to be elucidated. Caenorhabditis elegans has been used as a powerful model organism to simplify the host and pathogen system. However, whether the C. elegans is feasible for studying plant pathogens such as Xoo has not been explored. In the present work, we report that Xoo strains PXO99 and JXOIII reduce the lifespan of worms not through acute toxicity, but in an infectious manner; pathogens proliferate and persist in the intestinal lumen to cause marked anterior intestine distension. In addition, Xoo triggers (i) the p38 MAPK signal pathway to upregulate its downstream C17H12.8 expression, and (ii) the DAF-2/DAF-16 pathway to upregulate its downstream gene expressions of mtl-1 and sod-3 under the condition of daf-2 mutation. Our findings suggest that C. elegans can be used as a model to evaluate the virulence of Xoo phytopathogens to host.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.179-190
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• 2023

Grapevine downy mildew, caused by Plasmopara viticola, significantly damages vineyards and is one of the most devastating diseases affecting cultivated grapes worldwide. In this study, we characterized the phenotypic and molecular traits of 11 P. viticola isolates from four grape-growing regions in South Korea. Additionally, we investigated the diversity of pathogenicity among these isolates and conducted an assay to evaluate the response of grape cultivars to P. viticola infection. Lemon-shaped sporangia were identified in the collected isolates, which released zoospores into the suspension at room temperature. Within a few hours of inoculation, the zoospores developed germ tubes. We tested 11 P. viticola isolates for pathogenicity in 845 grape cultivars to screen for grape host resistance to downy mildew infection. Among the tested isolates, JN-9 showed the highest virulence. Grape cultivars displayed varying phenotypic reactions to P. viticola infection: approximately 7% were highly susceptible, 41% were susceptible, 20% were moderately susceptible, 8% were resistant, and 24% exhibited extreme resistance. Phylogenetic analysis based on four genomic regions (internal transcribed spacer 1 [ITS1], actin, beta-tubulin, and cytochrome c oxidase II) revealed a close evolutionary relationship among all the Korean isolates, forming a single monophyletic lineage. Notably, these isolates showed greater similarity to European isolates than to American isolates. This comprehensive study contributes to a deeper understanding of the identity and behavior of P. viticola, which is crucial for developing effective resistance strategies against this pathogen in grape cultivars cultivated in South Korea.

• Current Research on Agriculture and Life Sciences
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.111-117
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• 2014

Phytophthora blight caused by Phytophthora capsici Leonian is a dangerous disease threatening pepper growers worldwide. The efficacy of chemical control is generally low as the pathogen is soil-borne and rapidly spread by zoospores during the rainy season. Thus, based on the demand for resistant varieties, various good resistant sources, such as CM334, AC2258, and PI201234, have been reported and their inheritance of resistance studied by many different authorities. However, the mode of inheritance remains unclear, as 1 or 2 independent dominant genes, 3 genes, or multiple genes have all been reported as responsible for resistance. Recently, QTL mappings of the gene factors for resistance have been reported, and molecular markers for resistance used in breeding programs. With the release of many resistant commercial hybrid cultivars, differentiation of pathotypes of the pathogen is attracting interest among breeders and plant pathologists. Various authorities have already classified the pathogen strains into different races according to the inter-action between resistant host plants, including the source of resistance, such as CM334 and PI201234, and resistant commercial varieties and P. capsici isolates. However, no standard differential host sets have yet been established, so the results are good only for the pathogen strains used in the experiments. Thus, for breeding varieties with durable resist-ance, it is important to introduce resistance from different sources and use diverse local pathogen strains collected in the target area for distribution in a breeding program.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.97-107
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• 2015

Alteration of genetic make-up of the isolates and mono-sporidial strains of Tilletia indica causing Karnal bunt (KB) disease in wheat was analyzed using DNA markers and SDS-PAGE. The generation of new variation with different growth characteristics is not a generalized feature and is not only dependant on the original genetic make up of the base isolate/monosporidial strains but also on interaction with host. Host determinant(s) plays a significant role in the generation of variability and the effect is much pronounced in monosporidial strains with narrow genetic base as compared to broad genetic base. The most plausible explanation of genetic variation in presence of host determinant(s) are the recombination of genetic material from two different mycelial/sporidia through sexual mating as well as through parasexual means. The morphological and development dependent variability further suggests that the variation in T. indica strains predominantly derived through the genetic rearrangements.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.77-84
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• 2007

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is an important bacterial pathogen that causes chronic gastritisand is associated with gastroduodenal ulcer disease, adenocarcinoma of the distal stomach, and gastricH. pylori infection associated with host agehave not been well-defined in human. To evaluate the difference in host susceptibility to infection in relationto age of acquisition of H. pylori infection, we designed an experiment involving inoculation of H. pyloriATC 43504 at different ages of Mongolian gerbils. H. pylori was inoculated at 5 weeks and 18 monthsof age, as representatives of early and late infection, respectively. Animals were sacrificed 1 week and 4weeks after challenge, and the stomach was removed from each animal for bacterial culture, histologicalexamination, and polymerase chain reaction test. 5 week-old gerbils revealed infection andmaintained continuously its infection until 4 weeks. However, old gerbils did not maintained H. pyloriinfection. These data suggest the insusceptibility of H. pylori in old Mongolian gerbils and the importanceof animal ages for successful animal experimental infection. Also, the results demonstrated that earlyinfection of H. pylori increases its host susceptibility, as compared to the case with later infection, possiblybecause of differences in host gastric mucosal factors and imunologic responses.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2014

So far it has been generally considered that proteomic approaches are very useful for studying plant-microbes interaction. In this review, recent studies based on papers published from 2010 to 2013 have investigated proteomics analysis in various interaction during plant-fungal pathogen infection by means of gel-based proteomics coupled with mass spectrometry (MS)-based analysis. In rice, three papers focused on rice-Magnaporthe oryzae interaction were mainly reviewed in this study. Interestingly, another study showed proteomic changes in rice inoculated with Puccinia triticina, which is not only an fungal pathogen in wheat and but also results to the disease resistance with non-host defense manner in rice. Additionally, proteomics analysis has been widely subjected to understand defense mechanism during other crops (wheat, tomato, strawberry and mint) and their fungal pathogen interaction. Crops inoculated are analyzed to identify differentially regulated proteins at various tissues such as leaf and apoplast using 2-DE analysis coupled with various MS approaches such as MALDI-TOF MS, nESI-LC-MS/MS and MudPIT, respectively. Taken together, this review article shows that proteomics is applicable to various organisms to understand plant-fungal pathogen interaction and will contribute to provide important information for crop disease diagnosis and crop protection.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.600-606
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• 2023

Dengue virus (DENV) is a widespread arbovirus. To efficiently establish infection, DENV evolves multiple strategies to hijack the host innate immune response. Herein, we examined the inhibitory effects of DENV serotype 2 (DENV2) nonstructural proteins on RIG-I-directed antiviral immune response. We found that DENV2 NS2A, NS2B, NS4A, and NS4B significantly inhibited RIG-I-mediated IFN-β promoter activation. The roles of NS2B in RIG-I-directed antiviral immune response are unknown. Our study further showed that NS2B could dose-dependently suppress RIG-I/MAVS-induced activation of IFN-β promoter. Consistently, NS2B significantly decreased RIG-I- and MAVS-induced transcription of IFNB1, ISG15, and ISG56. Mechanistically, NS2B was found to interact with MAVS and IKKε to impair RIG-I-directed antiviral response. Our findings demonstrated a previously uncharacterized function of NS2B in RIG-I-mediated antiviral response, making it a promising drug target for anti-DENV treatments.

• BMB Reports
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.748-754
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• 2005

Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato (Pst) causes a bacterial speck disease in tomato and Arabidopsis. In Chinese cabbage, in which host-pathogen interactions are not well understood, Pst does not cause disease but rather elicits a hypersensitive response. Pst induces localized cell death and $H_2O_2$ accumulation, a typical hypersensitive response, in infiltrated cabbage leaves. Pre-inoculation with Pst was found to induce resistance to Erwinia carotovora subsp. carotovora, a pathogen that causes soft rot disease in Chinese cabbage. An examination of the expression profiles of 12 previously identified Pst-inducible genes revealed that the majority of these genes were activated by salicylic acid or BTH; however, expressions of the genes encoding PR4 and a class IV chitinase were induced by ethephon, an ethylene-releasing compound, but not by salicylic acid, BTH, or methyl jasmonate. This implies that Pst activates both salicylate-dependent and salicylate-independent defense responses in Chinese cabbage.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.1032-1037
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• 2017

The poly-${\gamma}$-$\small{D}$-glutamic acid (PGA) capsule, a major virulence factor of Bacillus anthracis, provides protection of the bacterium from phagocytosis and allows its unimpeded growth in the host. We investigated crosstalk between murine natural killer (NK) cells and macrophages stimulated with the PGA capsule of Bacillus licheniformis, a surrogate of the B. anthracis capsule. PGA induced interferon-gamma production from NK cells cultured with macrophages. This effect was dependent on macrophage-derived IL-12 and cell-cell contact interaction with macrophages through NK cell receptor NKG2D and its ligand RAE-1. The results showed that PGA could enhance NK cell activation by inducing IL-12 production in macrophages and a contact-dependent crosstalk with macrophages.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.179-184
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• 2020

A leaf spot pathogen Alternaria sp. was recovered from jimson weed, tomato, parsley, and coriander collected during surveys of blight diseases on Solanaceae and Apiaceae in Algeria. This species produced large conidial body generating long apical beaks that tapered gradually from a wide base to a narrow tip and short conidiophores originating directly from the agar surface. This species exhibited morphological traits similar to that reported for Alternaria crassa. The identification of seven strains from different hosts was confirmed by sequence analyses at the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, RNA polymerase second largest subunit, and translation elongation factor 1-alpha loci. Further the pathogen was evaluated on jimson weed, coriander, parsley, and tomato plants, and this fungus was able to cause necrotic lesions on all inoculated plants. A. crassa is reported for the first time as a new species of the Algerian mycoflora and as a new potential pathogen for cultivated hosts.