• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2009

Total 222 lichen specimens of North Korea including 23 family, 54 genera and 119 species were newly obtained from the Hungarian Natural History Museum for the last 3 years. Among them, 12 species were added to Korean lichen checklist as new. All the species were deposited at the herbarium of Korea National Arboretum. In addition, unpublished list of lichen species distributed in Mt. Myohang was kindly donated from the Hungarian Natural History Museum. The list was originally prepared by North Korean lichenologists and kept in the museum from 1988. In the list, 26 family, 57 genera and 179 species of lichens were described and 17 species were included as new reports. This list provided 29 lichen species as new to the Korean Peninsula. This information will make significant contribution to lichenological study in the Korean Peninsula.

• Mycobiology
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.14-20
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• 2016

A new species and 2 new records of lichen genus Buellia were discovered from Chuja-do Island in Jeju Province during a recent floristic survey: B. chujana X. Y. Wang, S. Y. Kondr., L. $L\ddot{o}k\ddot{o}s$ & J.-S. Hur sp. nov., B. halonia (Ach.) Tuck., and B. mamillana (Tuck.) W. A. Weber. The new species is characterized by a brown, areolate thallus, the presence of perlatolic acid, and a saxicolous habitat. Together with previously recorded species, 10 Buellia species were confirmed from Jeju-do Island. Among these species, 3 growing in the exposed rocky area contained xanthone (yellowish lichen thallus, UV + orange), indicating that production of xanthone in this genus might be a defense strategy against the harm of UV light. Although the genus Buellia has been thoroughly studied in Korea before, novel species have been discovered continuously, and large species diversity has been found in this crustose genus, even from a small rocky island. This study indicates that the coastal area harbors a vast number of crustose lichen species, and there is great potential to discover unknown lichens in the coastal rocky area in Korea.

• 보존과학연구
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• s.24
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• pp.81-98
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• 2003

The biodeterioration on Iksan Mireuksaji pagoda has been studied with fucus on application of K201 as a chemical treatment. Total of 39species, including 10 algae, 16 lichens, 6 mosses and 7 unidentified bacteria and fungi, were collected and identified on the surface of the pagoda. Most of them caused serious discoloration on the surface. The effectiveness and stability of K201 was examined by applying it on some part of the pagoda. A mild spraying of solution diluted to half of original reagent was good enough to eliminate all the deteriorating species on the surface. Most of discoloration disappeared after the treatment except the red color caused by iron substance. The effectiveness of the regent was compared with water wash. The stone was first washed with water and the dirt on the surface was scrubbed off from the surface. The initial surface of the stone was clearer in water wash. However, many of the deteriorating species reappear in 4 weeks after water wash. Although spraying of the reagent K201 could noteliminate all the remnant of dead organisms as good as scrubbing the surface, no deteriorating algae or lichen was observed until two month after treatment. Therefore, spraying method with chemicals seems more stable and reliable way to remove the biodeterioration than physical scrubbing of the surface.

• Mycobiology
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.255-262
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• 2017

A total of 121 species of lichens belonging to the genus Arthothelium have been described to date, most of which have been found in tropical regions. Here, we describe the discovery of a novel Arthothelium species for the first time in South Korea. Until now, Arthothelium ruanum was the only Arthothelium species reported in South Korea. Among the 113 specimens collected in this study, we identified A. ruanum and a putative new species, Arthothelium punctatum (J. S. Park & J.-S. Hur, sp. nov.). The diagnostic characters of A. punctatum are as follows: apothecia punctate, shortly elongate to branched, small, 0.1-0.2 mm wide, hypothecium hyaline to pale brown and obovate to broadly ellipsoid, muriform ascospores, $29.5-44.6{\times}12.2-18.2{\mu}m$. The new species was found in Mt. Seokbyeong at an altitude of 790 m on smooth bark. Upon phylogenic analysis, the putative new species, A. punctatum, was separated from other Arthothelium species although the specimens analyzed were clustered with Arthoniaceae in phylogenetic trees based on both the mitochondrial small subunit (mtSSU) sequence and combined mtSSU and nuclear ribosomal large subunit sequences. Our data clearly indicate that this species is a new species belonging to the family Arthoniaceae. To elucidate the taxonomic characteristics of the new species, we provide morphological descriptions and a distribution map.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.7
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• pp.1144-1154
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• 2019

There have been several studies regarding lichen-associated bacteria obtained from diverse environments. Our screening process identified 49 bacterial species in two lichens from the Himalayas: 17 species of Actinobacteria, 19 species of Firmicutes, and 13 species of Proteobacteria. We discovered five types of strong antimicrobial agent-producing bacteria. Although some strains exhibited weak antimicrobial activity, NP088, NP131, NP132, NP134, and NP160 exhibited strong antimicrobial activity against all multidrug-resistant strains. Polyketide synthase (PKS) fingerprinting revealed results for 69 of 148 strains; these had similar genes, such as fatty acid-related PKS, adenylation domain genes, PfaA, and PksD. Although the association between antimicrobial activity and the PKS fingerprinting results is poorly resolved, NP160 had six types of PKS fingerprinting genes, as well as strong antimicrobial activity. Therefore, we sequenced the draft genome of strain NP160, and predicted its secondary metabolism using antiSMASH version 4.2. NP160 had 46 clusters and was predicted to produce similar secondary metabolites with similarities of 5-100%. Although NP160 had 100% similarity with the alkylresorcinol biosynthetic gene cluster, our results showed low similarity with existing members of this biosynthetic gene cluster, and most have not yet been revealed. In conclusion, we expect that lichen-associated bacteria from the Himalayas can produce new secondary metabolites, and we found several secondary metabolite-related biosynthetic gene clusters to support this hypothesis.

• Mycobiology
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.191-199
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• 2019

Most of lichens are formed by Ascomycota, less than 1% are lichenized Basidiomycota. The flora investigation of lichenized Ascomycota of South Korea has been well studied in the past three decades; however, prior to this study, none of basidiolichens was discovered. During the recent excursion, an unexpected clavarioid basidiolichen, Sulzbacheromyces sinensis was collected. Morphology and ecology has been recorded in detail. DNA was extracted, and ITS, 18S, 28S nuclear rDNA were generated. In order to further confirm the systematic position of the Korean specimens, maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference analysis including all the species of the order Lepidostromatales were conducted based on the ITS. As a result, the phylogenetic tree of the order Lepidostromatales was reconstructed, which differed from the previous studies. The inferred phylogenetic tree showed that species of Sulzbacheromyces in three different continents (Asia, South Africa and South America) were separated into three clades with support. In this study, the species worldwide distribution map of Lepidostromatales was illustrated, and S. sinensis had a widest distribution range (paleotropical extend to the Sino-Japanese) than other species (paleotropical or neotropical). Prior to this study, the range of distribution, southernmost and northernmost points and the fruiting time of S. sinensis were recorded, and the genus Sulzbacheromyces was firstly reported from Korean peninsula and Philippines.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.79-90
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• 2019

Lichens are generally known as self-sufficient, symbiotic life-forms between fungi and algae/cyanobacteria, and they also provide shelter for a wide range of beneficial bacteria. Currently, bacterial-derived biodegradable polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) is grabbing the attention of many researchers as a promising alternative to non-degradable plastics. This study was conducted to develop a new method of PHA production using unexplored lichen-associated bacteria, which can simultaneously degrade two ubiquitous industrial toxins, anthracene and naphthalene. Here, 49 lichen-associated bacteria were isolated and tested for PHA synthesis. During the GC-MS analysis, a potential strain of EL19 was found to be a 3-hydroxyhexanoate (3-HHx) accumulator and identified as Pseudomonas sp. based on the 16S rRNA sequencing. GC analysis revealed that EL19 was capable of accumulating 30.62% and 19.63% of 3-HHx from naphthalene and anthracene, respectively, resulting in significant degradation of 98% and 96% of naphthalene and anthracene, respectively, within seven days. Moreover, the highly expressed phaC gene verified the genetic basis of $PHA_{mcl}$ production under nitrogen starvation conditions. Thus, this study strongly supports the hypothesis that lichen-associated bacteria can detoxify naphthalene and anthracene, store energy for extreme conditions, and probably help the associated lichen to live in extreme conditions. So far, this is the first investigation of lichen-associated bacteria that might utilize harmful toxins as feasible supplements and convert anthracene and naphthalene into eco-friendly 3-HHx. Implementation of the developed method would reduce the production cost of $PHA_{mcl}$ while removing harmful waste products from the environment.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.39 no.6 s.181
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• pp.629-641
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• 2006

The Standing Buddha Statue in the Gwanchoksa temple consists of medium to coarse grained biotite granodiorite with dark grey color, and it has a week gneissosity along the pegmatite veins. The results of magnetic susceptibility and geochemical patterns of the host rock of Standing Buddha Statue and the basement rock suggest that both values are formed from the co-genetic magma with the same differentiation process. The CIAs of the basement rock and the Standing Buddha Statue are calculated to 51.43 and 50.86, and the WPIs are estimated 4.52 and 8.95, respectively. So the weathering potential from the host rock of Standing Buddha Statue and basement rock prove to be high. The Standing Buddha Statue is terribly damaged with physical weathering from deterioration and exfoliation, and are scattered with secondary pollutant and precipitate. Basement rock is also in danger of ground collapse because of irregularly developed discontinuity system. Most surface of Standing Buddha Statue is seriously discolored into yellowish brown and dark gray, or black precipitates are also formed. Moreover, it is heavily covered with crustose lichen, fungi and algae, or moss are also found. In order to control the influential factors with the complex deterioration of Standing Buddha Statue, it is needed to rearrange a site environments, and conservation scientific management is required to protect it from covering lichens, exfoliations and fractures.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.18 s.18
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• pp.19-32
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• 2006

The stone pagoda of the Bunhwangsa temple made by piling small brick-shaped stones. The major rock forming stone bricks are andesites with variable genesis. Rock properties of the pagoda roof stone suffer partly including multiple peel-offs, exfoliation, decomposition like onion peels, cracks forming round lines and falling off stone pieces. The stylobates and tabernacles in all the four directions the pagoda are mostly composed of granitic rocks. Those rock properties are heavily contaminated by lichens and mosses with the often marks of inorganic contamination by secondary hydrates that are dark black or yellowish brown. Within the four tabernacles and northern pagoda body situated to relatively high humidity. There are even light gray precipitate looking like stalactites between the northern and western rocks of the body Their major minerals are calcite, gypsum and clays. The stone lion standing in the southeast and northeast side are alkali granite, while that in the southwest and northwest lithic tuff. Total rock properties of the pagoda are 9,708 pieces, among the all properties, fractured blocks are 11.0%, fall out blocks are 6.7% and covered blocks by precipitates are 7.0%, respectively. The pagoda has highly deteriorated the functions of the rock properties due to physical, chemical and biological weathering, therefore, we suggest that this pagoda has need to do long term monitoring and synthetic conservation researches.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.122-127
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• 2016

Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus(MRSA) is a multidrug-resistant(MDR) strain. (+)-Usnic acid(UA) is uniquely found in lichens, and is especially abundant in genera such as Usnea and Cladonia. UA has antimicrobial activity against human and plant pathogens. Therefore, UA may be a good antibacterial drug candidate for clinical development. In search of a natural products capable of inhibiting this multidrug-resistant bacteria, we have investigated the antimicrobial activity of UA against 17 different strains of the bacterium. In this study, the effects of a combination of UA and permeable agents against MRSA were investigated. For the measurement of cell wall permeability, UA with concentration of Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid(EDTA) was used. In the other hand, Sodium azide($NaN_3$) was used as inhibitors of ATPase. Against the 17 strains, the minimum inhibitory concentrations(MICs) of UA were in the range of $7.81-31.25{\mu}g/ml$. EDTA or $NaN_3$ cooperation against MRSA showed synergistic activity on cell wall. UA and in combination with EDTA and $NaN_3$ could lead to the development of new combination antibiotics against MRSA infection.