• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.206-211
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• 2012

DNA barcoding has been widely used in species identification and biodiversity research. A short fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) sequence serves as a DNA bio-barcode. We collected DNA barcodes, based on COI sequences from 156 species (529 sequences) of fish, insects, and shellfish. We present results on phylogenetic relationships to assess biodiversity the in the Korean peninsula. Average GC% contents of the 68 fish species (46.9%), the 59 shellfish species (38.0%), and the 29 insect species (33.2%) are reported. Using the Kimura 2 parameter in all possible pairwise comparisons, the average interspecific distances were compared with the average intraspecific distances in fish (3.22 vs. 0.41), insects (2.06 vs. 0.25), and shellfish (3.58 vs. 0.14). Our results confirm that distance-based DNA barcoding provides sufficient information to identify and delineate fish, insect, and shellfish species by means of all possible pairwise comparisons. These results also confirm that the development of an effective molecular barcode identification system is possible. All DNA barcode sequences collected from our study will be useful for the interpretation of species-level identification and community-level patterns in fish, insects, and shellfish in Korea, although at the species level, the rate of correct identification in a diversified environment might be low.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.139-143
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• 2009

Several entomopathogenic fungi have been exploited to be developed into biological control agents in insect pest management. The beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua, is a serious insect pest infesting various crops, but not effectively controlled by commercial chemical pesticides due to its high insecticide resistance. A fungal isolate was isolated from S. exigua larvae collected from cabbage field in Andong, Korea. The fungus could be cultured in potato dextrose agar. Larvae of S. exigua injected with the cultured conidia showed a potent entomopathogenicity. To identify the fungus isolate, its internal transcribed space (ITS) and surrounding partial 18S/28S regions were sequenced. The ITS sequence was highly matched (99%) to that of Nomuraea rileyi. Morphological characters of its hyphae and conidia were well fit to those of known N. rileyi. This study reports the first record of an entomopathogenic fungus, N. rileyi, in Korea.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.77-80
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• 2004

For the development of the alternative control system against the major forest pests, Beauveria spp. F-101, isolated from a dead larva of Thecodiplosis japonensis, was selected because this isolate showed high pathogenicities against T. japonensis and Acantholyda parki. Beauveria spp. F-101 had irregular clustered conidio-phores and conidia borne on a distinctive apical zigzag extension, and it showed typical characteristic of the genus, Beauveria in morphology. For molecular based-identification, the ribosomal ITS region of Beauveria spp. F-101 was amplified with ITS1 and ITS4 primers, and cloned into pGEM- T Easy vector. The amplified PCR product was 569 bp in size and completely sequenced. The similarities of the cloned ITS sequence were 99 ％ and 97％ to those of B. bassiana and B. brongniartii, respectively. In comparison to other species among the genus Beauveria, the ITS region of Beauveria spp. F-101 showed a similarity of 95％ to B. amorpha, 95％ to B. tenella, 89％ to B. vermiconia and 69％ to B. alba, respectively. In addition, in comparison to different genus, it had 95％ similarities to Cordyceps militaris and 91％ to Paecilomyces tenuipes. Accordingly, the current result suggests that Beauveria spp. F-101 was a variant of B. bassiana and it seems to be a new isolate considering sequence variation in ITS region.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.131-136
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• 2005

Beauveria bassiana F-101, which has high toxicity toward Acantholyda parki as well as Thecodiplosis japonensis, was an isolate to develop an alternative control system against the major forest pests. Up to now, in B. bassiana, only one pr1 gene has been isolated and characterized. Therefore, we here reported the identification of a pr1-like gene, which would be a factor of toxicity from B. bassiana F-101. The oligonucleotides for the amplification of the pr1-like gene, were chosen based on the conserved regions of the subtilisin family enzymes, pr1 genes of B. bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae, and proteinase K of Tritirachium album. The cloned PCR fragment had 1111 bp including 52 bp intron. The deduced Pr1-like peptide showed a low identity with Pr1s of entomopathogenic fungi such as B. bassiana Pr1 (BbPr1) and M. anisopliae Pr1 (MaPr1) as well as the proteinase K of T. album (TaPrK). Instead, the deduced peptide had a substantially high amino acid sequence identity $(>65\%)$ with the serine proteases of Magnaporthe grisea (MgSPM1) and Podospora anserina (PaPspA). These results, therefore, appear to suggest that the putative Pr1-like peptide of B. bassiana F-101 belongs to the subtilisin-like serine protease family and may be a novel gene.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.69-74
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• 2020

In September 2017, a heavy damage by premature defoliation with the zonate leaf spots was observed in several shrubs of Lespedeza cyrtobotrya growing at Mt. Obongsan in Chuncheon, Korea. Numerous cone-shaped, white sporophores of a fungus were observed on lesions of the abaxial leaf surface. A similar fungus was isolated in September 2019 from the leaves of L. cyrtobotrya growing at Mt. Taegisan in Hoengseong, Korea. The morphological characteristics of the sporophores were consistent with those of Grovesinia moricola. The species identification was confirmed by sequencing the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the ribosomal DNA from the two isolates (KACC48417 and KACC48934). The fungal pathogenicity was determined by an artificial inoculation in conditions of relative humidity and temperature of 100% and 15±2℃, respectively. This is the first report of association of G. moricola with L. cyrtobotrya in Korea.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.69-74
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• 2018

The Rhododendron powdery mildew fungus Erysiphe izuensis has been recorded throughout Asia, including China, Japan, Korea, and Russia. In Korea, E. izuensis has been identified based on morphological characteristics of the anamorph found on introduced Rhododendron spp. We here describe the first identification of E. izuensis collected from Rhododendron yedoense f. poukhanense in Korea. Morphological characteristics of the teleomorph as well as internal transcribed spacer sequences of the species are provided. Moreover, we describe the characteristics of the primary conidia and conidial surface pattern of E. izuensis for the first time.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.59 no.2
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• pp.117-127
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• 2020

We monitored on the hitchhiker insect pests from a total of 112 foreign vessels entering into Korea during 109 days from 1. Jun. to 17. Sep. in 2018. As the results, a total of 336 samples of the hitchhiker insects were collected using simply collecting method by hands, one of interception method and identified as 159 species of 47 families under nine orders on the basis of integrative species identification. Among them, 14 species of nine families under three orders were detected as undistributed species in South Korea. We reported on the 14 undistributed species in South Korea with the data sheets for the risk assessments on invasive or invasive likelihood species. Also, we suggested and used the term 'not-distributed species' for avoiding confusion with 'unrecorded species', 'unreported species', or 'new reported species'.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.60 no.3
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• pp.269-276
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• 2021

During 15 months from 13. Jul. 2018 to 29. Oct. 2019, we monitored on the hitchhiker insect pests from a total of 306 foreign vessels entering into Korea. As the results, a total of 805 samples of the hitchhiker insects were collected using simply collecting method by hands and identified as 379 species of 78 families under 12 orders on the basis of integrative species identification. Among them, 42 species (67 individuals) of 21 families under seven orders were detected as not-distributed species in South Korea. Of the 42 not-distributed species, seven species were multiply detected in 2018 and 2019, and two species, Erthesina fullo (Pentatomidae, Hemiptera) and Tessaratoma papilosa (Tessaratomidae, Hemiptera) were discovered as regulated insect pest. Therefore, we reported on the 42 not-distributed species in South Korea with the data sheets for the establishment of a monitoring plan on the not-distributed species and the risk assessments on invasive or invasive likelihood species.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.250-260
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• 2023

Background: Crabgrass (Digitaria ciliaris, Poaceae) is a globally distributed weed, including in Afro-Eurasia, America, and Australia. As a highly gregarious plant, crabgrass is an important habitat for a diverse array of insects, and a potential habitat for agricultural pests. To compare the insect communities associated with the crabgrass community, insects were sampled using sweep sampling (100 sweeps per sample) at five sites, including Daejeon (Daejeon and Gap rivers), Anseong, Namhae, and Inje, with a focus on the Daejeon River. Results: A total of 5,888 individual insects belonging to eight orders, 42 families, and 115 species were collected from the five sites. Both the number of species and individuals of Hemiptera were the highest at all of the sites. In the present study, 73% of the insect population fed on D. ciliaris as a host plant. The dominant species in the D. ciliaris community was Laodelphax striatellus (Delphacidae), being ubiquitous at all the sites which showed a high abundance of rice pests in the communities and the suitability of D. ciliaris as an alternative host plant for them. The Shannon-Wiener diversity index was highest in Inje on 17 September (2.88), and the Chao1-bc diversity index was highest in the Gap River on 5 September (80). The sampling efficiency of 100 sweep samples (sample coverage) was calculated to be as high as 90%. The results of the samples taken from September to November in the Daejeon River showed that the number of species and individuals decreased gradually over time, and the number of dominant species decreased sharply between September and October. Similarity analysis indicated that sampling dates that were closer together yielded sampled assemblages with higher faunal similarity. In addition, in each sampling, the difference in the minimum temperature during the two-week period prior to sampling and faunal similarities were negatively correlated. Conclusions: This study provides foundational data that could enhance our understanding of insect diversity in D. ciliaris. The data can facilitate ecological conservation and management of Korean grasslands generally, as well as identification of potential pests that may disperse from D. ciliaris communities to nearby farmland.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.887-896
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• 2019

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS)-based pathogen identification relies on the ribosomal protein spectra provided in the proprietary database. Although these mass spectra can discern various pathogens at species level, the spectra-based method still has limitations in identifying closely-related microbial species. In this study, to overcome the limits of the current MALDI-TOF MS identification method using ribosomal protein spectra, we applied MALDI-TOF MS of low-mass profiling to the identification of two genetically related Bacillus species, the food-borne pathogen Bacillus cereus, and the insect pathogen Bacillus thuringiensis. The mass spectra of small molecules from 17 type strains of two bacilli were compared to the morphological, biochemical, and genetic identification methods of pathogens. The specific mass peaks in the low-mass range (m/z 500-3,000) successfully identified various closely-related strains belonging to these two reference species. The intensity profiles of the MALDI-TOF mass spectra clearly revealed the differences between the two genetically-related species at strain level. We suggest that small molecules with low molecular weight, 714.2 and 906.5 m/z can be potential mass biomarkers used for reliable identification of B. cereus and B. thuringiensis.