• ALGAE
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.75-82
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• 2006

Cyanobacteria regulate their buoyancy in response to changing environmental conditions. This process is essential for cyanobacterial development and can account for their dominance in eutrophic waters in summer. The present investigation was conducted to understand the 24-hour vertical distribution of cyanobacteria and water quality characteristics in Lake Daecheong. Water samples were collected and analyzed at depth intervals of 2 or 3 m and at an interval of three hours for a day on August 28, 2001 and September 24, 2002. In 2001 the accumulated standing crop of Microcystis spp. from surface to a depth of 6 m was 94.9%. Microcystis spp. showed no vertical migration below the thermocline. Microcystis spp. had maximum density near the surface, but shifted to 2 m depth at 2 p.m. A dense population of Anabaena spp. accumulated near the surface from 2 to 5 p.m. in 2002.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.162-168
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• 2010

The sequence diversity of mcyA gene involved in synthesis of microcystins was analyzed in Microcystis spp. isolated from the Korean reservoirs and in the environmental samples taken from the Daechung, Chungju, Yongdam, Soyang, and Euam Reservoirs at the cyanobacterial blooming season. It was estimated that the sequences of mcyA gene in the isolated Microcystis spp. were much conserved when compared with those in GenBank database. A few kinds of clones were dominant in the investigated environmental samples, occupying 87 to 100% of total clones. No mcyA sequences originated from Anabaena spp. or Planktothrix spp. was found. These results indicated that microcystins are produced mainly by Microcystis spp. and the sequences of mcyA genes are much conserved in the investigated Korean reservoirs.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.248-255
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• 2012

In order to develop a protocol to quantify cyanobacteria and Microcystis simultaneously, the primers and probe were designed from the conserved regions of 16S rRNA gene sequences of cyanobacteria and Microcystis, respectively. Probe match analysis of the Ribosomal Database Project showed that the primers matched with over 97% of cyanobacterial 16S rRNA genes, indicating these can be used to amplify cyanobacteria specifically. The TaqMan probe, which is located between two primers, matched with 98.2% of sequences in genus GpXI, in which most Microcystis strains are included. The numbers of cyanobacterial genes were estimated with the emission of SYBR Green from the amplicons with two primers, whereas those of Microcystis spp. were measured from the fluorescence of CAL Fluor Gold 540 emitted by exonuclease activity of Taq DNA polymerase in amplification. It is expected that this method enhances the accuracy and reduces the time to count cyanobacteria and potential toxigenic Microcystis spp. in aquatic environmental samples.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.57-63
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• 2005

The phytoplankton community, environmental factors, and rainfall were investigated from July to October in 2001 and 2003 on Dam site in Daechung Reservoir. The monthly average rainfall in the investigated period were 91.3 and 265.3 mm in 2001 and 2003, respectively. The maximum chlorophyll a concentration was observed higher at 131.5 ㎍ L/sup -1/ in 2003 than at 45.4 ㎍ L/sup -1/ in 2001. The cyanobacterial number in 2001 was counted up to over 200,000 cells mL/sup -1/, which was much higher than the maximum number of 49,000 cells mL/sup -1/ in 2003. The relative abundance of cyanobacteria in the phytoplankton community was about 97% in 2001 and 74% in 2003. Microcystis spp. were absolutely dominant species in 2001, while a couple of cyanobacteria such as Oscillatoria spp., Phormidium spp. Chroococcus spp. and Microcystis spp. were dominant species in 2003. Consequently, it seemed that rainfall affected the diversity of phytoplankton species and decreased the density of bloom-forming cyanobacteria.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.38 no.1 s.110
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• pp.18-29
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• 2005

This study was conducted to understand seasonal dynamics of phyto- and zooplankton communities in a shallow eutrophic reservoir (Shingu reservoir) from November 2002 to February 2004. Cyanophyceae dominated throughout the year, except for spring (March ${\sim}$ May) when Bacillariophyceae (Melosira varians) and Chlorophyceae (Dictyosphaerium puchellum) were dominant. The change of dominant species in Cyanophytes occurred in June and December 2003, and the increase of phytoplankton cell density in July and November was observed when the P loading through two inflows was high. In May, Oscillatoria spp. and Aphanizomenon sp. were dominant, but replaced by Microcystis spp. in the end of May. Dominant Microcystis spp. sustained until December and shifted to Oscillatoria spp. and Aphanizomenon sp. TN/TP ratio ranged from 13 to 46 (Avg. $27{\pm}6$) from June to December when cyanobacteria (Microcystis spp.) dominated. Rotifers such as Keratella cochlearis, Keratella valga, Polyarthra spp., Conochilus unicornis, Pompholyx complanata dominated in average 67.8% of the zooplankton community. Abundance of zooplankton was the highest in June 2003, when Pompholyx complanata (12,388 ind $L^{-1}$) was dominant. In May, the significant increase of Conochilus unicornis biomass ($1,048{\pm}28\;{\mu}g\;C\;L^{-1}$) was observed with distinct improvement of transparency ($Z_{eu}/\;Z_m=\;1.1$). These results suggest that the seasonal variation of phytoplankton communities in this reservoir are to be understood as results of multi-interactive factors such as temperature, light condition and nutrients, and small-sized rotifers as important predator.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.261-268
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• 2014

Four clays (both natural and commercial types) mainly used in Korea were tested for removal efficiency of Microcystis spp. and ecotoxicity on Daphnia magna and Vibrio fischeri. Four clays (clay A~D) were composed of 91.9~100% of sand (0.02~0.2 mm in particle size). Clay D consisted of lager particles than other clays. Major elements of the four clays were $SiO_2$ (45.3~62.8%), $Al_2O_3$ (18.5~29.7%) and $Fe_2O_3$ (5.4~7.9%). They contained kaolinite (clay mineral), quartz, muscovite, and so on. Clay C and D contained montmorillonite, one of the clay minerals improving clay-cell aggregation. For clay A, B and C, removal efficiency of Microcystis spp. was over 60% at 2 g/L. It reached about 100% at over 5 g/L. For clay D, it was over 60% and 95~100% at 5 g/L and 20 g/L respectively. After adding clays, pH decreased. The greatest drop of pH appeared at clay C. Except for addition of 100 g/L clay C, ecotoxicity on D. magna and V. fischeri didn't appeared at all dose of clays.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.335-339
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• 2002

Partial sequences of 16S rRNA gene of five chroococcalian blue-green algal strains, Aphanothece nidulans KCTC AG10041, Aphanothece naegelii KCTC AG10042, Microcystis aeruginosa KCTC AG10159, Microcystis ichthyoblabe KCTC AG10160, and Microcystis viridis KCTC AG10198, which were isolated from water from the Geumgang River, were determined and were inferred their phylogenetic and taxonomic positions among taxa of order Chroococcales. Most taxa of Chroococcales whose partial 16S rRNA gene sequences were aligned in this study, are clustered with other related taxa. Aphanothece nidulans KCTC AG10041 and Aphanothece naegelii KCTC AG10042 made a cluster with other European species of these genera, which supported 100% of the bootstrap trees with a very high sequence similarity (97.4-99.4%) in this study. Three strains, Microcystis aeruginosa KCTC AG10159, M. ichthyoblabe KCTC AG10160, and M. viridis KCTC AG10198, formed a cluster with other Microcystis spp. supported 100 % of the bootstrap trees with a similarity of 97.0-99.9% except for two strains. However, this phylogentic tree made no resolution among the species of Microcystis spp. The topology of the tree reconfirmed the taxonomic status of three species of Microcystis, identified in this study based on the morphology, as three colonial types of Microcystis aeruginosa com. nov. Otsuka et al. (1999c). The genera of chroococcalian cyanophytes are heterogeneously clustered in these sequence analyses. We suggest that more molecular studies on the genera of Chroococcales with reference strains, widely collected from restricted geographic or environmental ranges, get accurate taxonomic or phylogenetic determinations.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.11 no.7
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• pp.705-711
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• 2002

In order to determine the factors causing Microcystis spp. bloom in the lower Nakdong River (Mulgum), we prepared wide ranges of pH, nutrient(N, P) concentration and the light through an enclosure experiment far 10days (pH gradient. 6.5, 7.5, 8.5, 9.5; gradient of N, P: ${\frac{1}{2}}DW+{\frac{1}{2}}River$ Water (RW), RW only; four different levels of nutrient addition/day; light: 100, 85, 60, 30, 15% of full sun light). From three days, the difference of Microcystis density in each enclosures was observed. The high density of Microcystis was maintained in the treatments over pH 9.5 and 85% of full sun light. However, in all nutrient treatments, relatively lower cell density than that of pH and light treatments was observed. These results suggested that pH and light input may play more important roles than nutrients in the early development of Microcystis bloom in the eutrophic lower Nakdong River.

• Proceedings of the Korean Environmental Sciences Society Conference
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• 2002.05b
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• pp.443-444
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• 2002

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.114-126
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• 2020

Bloom-forming toxic cyanobacteria Microcystis spp. are common in the summer season in temperate freshwater ecosystems. Often, it leads to the degradation of water quality and affects the quality of drinking water. In a previous study, NQ (naphthoquinone) compounds were shown to be effective, selective, and ecologically safe algicides for Microcystis spp. blooms. To analyze the superiority of developed NQ derivatives, we conducted a microcosm experiment using clay, which is frequently used in South Korea. Similar to previous studies, the NQ 40 and NQ 2-0 compounds showed high algicidal activities of 99.9% and 99.6%, respectively, on Microcystis spp. at low concentrations (≥1 μM) and enhanced phytoplankton species diversity. However, when treated with clay, a temporary algicidal effect was seen at the beginning of the experiment that gradually increased at the end. In addition, treatment with the NQ compounds did not affect either the abiotic or biological factors, and similar trends were observed with the control. These results showed that the NQ 2-0 compound was more effective, with no ecosystem disturbance, and more economical than the currently used clay. These results suggest that NQ 2-0 compound could be a selective, economically and ecologically safe algicide to mitigate harmful cyanobacterial blooms in the field.