• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• 제53권3호
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• pp.247-260
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• 2014

To identify the species of Trichogramma occurring in the corn fields of Korea as egg parasitoids of Ostrinia furnacalis, we sequenced the full-length of ITS2 nuclear rDNA from 112 parasitoids collected during this study. As a reference to distinguish species, we also retrieved full-length ITS2 sequences of 60 Trichogramma species from the NCBI GenBank database. On the basis of the size and 3'terminal sequence pattern of the ITS2 sequences, the Trichogramma samples collected in this study were divided into three groups (K-1, -2, and -3). Evolutionary distances (d) within and between groups based on ITS2 sequences were estimated to be ${\leq}0.005$ and ${\geq}0.080$, respectively. In the net average distance between groups or species, the d value between K-1 and T. ostriniae, K-2 and T. dendrolimi, and K-3 and T. confusum was the lowest, with values of 0.016, 0.001, and 0.002, respectively. In the phylogenetic tree, K-1 and K-2 were clustered with T. ostriniae and T. dendrolimi, respectively. However, K-3 was clustered with three different species, namely, T. confusum, T. chilonis, and T. bilingensis. NCBI BLAST results revealed that parasitoids belonging to K-1 and K-2 showed 99% identity with T. ostriniae and T. dendrolimi, respectively. Parasitoids in K-3 collected from Hongcheon showed 99-100% identity with T. confusum and T. chilonis, and one parasitoid in K-3 collected from Gochang had 98% identity with T. bilingensis, T. confusum, and T. chilonis. On the basis of these results, we infer that the species of Trichogramma collected in this study are closely related to T. ostriniae (K-1) and T. dendrolimi (K-2). However, it was not possible to distinguish species of K-3 using the ITS2 sequence alone.

• Development and Reproduction
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• 제13권4호
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• pp.249-256
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• 2009

The estrogen receptor-related receptors (ERRs) are a group of nuclear receptor superfamily of transcription factors. ERRs and estrogen receptors (ERs) have overlapping affinities for coactivators and DNA binding sites, but differ markedly in ligand binding and activation. The three mammalian ERR genes have been implicated in diverse physiological processes ranging from placental development to maintenance of bone density, whereas the molecular diversity, function, and regulation of ERRs in non-mammalian species are not well understood. In the present study, to investigate the involvement of ERR in transcription and embryogenesis in marine invertebrates, a cDNA encoding ERR (SnERR) was cloned from the gonad in Strongylocentrotus nudus, by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The amino acid sequence of SnERR showed high homology with that of S. purpuratus (91%). A phylogenetic tree clearly showed that SnERR is a member of the ERR family and clustered in echinodermata group as supported by a high bootstrap value. We examined gene expression of SnERR during embryonic development of S. nudus using real-time PCR. During the embryonic development, the mRNA of ERR was significantly high levels in early development stages (4~64 cell) and larval stages. The SnERR slightly activated transcription through the classical estrogen response elements (EREs) in the presence of genistein. In addition, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor $\gamma$ coactivator (PGC)-$1\alpha$ knwon as a coactivator of ERR enhanced the snERR-mediated transactivation, suggesting that the PGC-$1\alpha$ is a coactivator of SnERR.

• The Korean Journal of Malacology
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• 제32권4호
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• pp.263-268
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• 2016

Metallothionein (MT) family of metal-binding proteins are involved in maintaining homeostasis and heavy metal poisoning. Recently, MT has been considered as a biomarker that can identify a particular species, very similar to the use of cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene. Satsuma myomphala species of land snails have been reported from North-East Asia, including South Korea and Japan. In particular, the land snail species have been known from only a limited area of Geoje Island, Gyeongsangnam-do province of South Korea. Genetic studies of S. myomphala has been limited with only 6 nucleotide, 2 protein registered on the NCBI server. For elucidating the genetic information of S. myomphala, we conducted RNA sequencing analysis using Illumina HiSeq 2500 next-generation platform. We screened the MT gene from the RNA-Seq database to confirm the molecular phylogenetic relationship. After sequencing, the de novo analysis and clustering generated 103,774 unigenes. After annotation against PANM database using BLAST program, we obtained MT sequence of 74 amino acid residues containing the coding region of 222 bp. Based on this sequence, we found about 53 sequences using the BLAST program in NCBI nr database. Using ClustalX alignment, Maximum-Likehood Tree of MEGA program, we confirmed the molecular phylogenetic relationships that showed similarity with mollusks such as Helix pomatia and H. aspersa, Megathura crenulata.

• BMB Reports
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• 제40권5호
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• pp.715-722
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• 2007

A new full-length cDNA encoding hyoscyamine $6\beta$-hydroxylase (designated as aah6h, GenBank Accession No. EF187826), which catalyzes the last committed step in the scopolamine biosynthetic pathway, was isolated from young roots of Anisodus acutangulus by rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) for the first time. The full-length cDNA of aah6h was 1380 bp and contained a 1035 bp open reading frame (ORF) encoding a deduced protein of 344 amino acid residues. The deduced protein had an isoelectric point (pI) of 5.09 and a calculated molecular mass of about 38.7 kDa. Sequence analyses showed that AaH6H had high homology with other H6Hs isolated from some scopolamine-producing plants such as Hyoscyamus niger, Datura metel and Atropa belladonna etc. Bioinformatics analyses results indicated AaH6H belongs to 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase superfamily. Phylogenetic tree analysis showed that AaH6H had closest relationship with H6H from A. tanguticus. Southern hybridization analysis of the genomic DNA revealed that aah6h belonged to a multi-copy gene family. Tissue expression pattern analysis firstly founded that aah6h expressed in all the tested tissues including roots, stems and leaves and indicated that aah6h was a constitutive-expression gene, which was the first reported tissue-independent h6h gene compared to other known h6h genes.

• ALGAE
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• 제32권4호
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• pp.359-377
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• 2017

Pyropia haitanensis (T. J. Chang et B. F. Zheng) N. Kikuchi et M. Miyata is one of the most commercially useful macroalgae cultivated in southeastern China. In red algae, the biosynthesis of terpenoids through 2-C-methyl-D-erythritol 4-phosphate (MEP) pathway can produce a direct influence on the synthesis of many biologically important metabolites. In this study, two genes of cDNAs, 1-deoxy-D-xylulose-5-phosphate synthase (DXS) and 1-deoxy-D-xylulose-5-phosphate reductase (DXR), which encoding the first two rate-limiting enzymes among MEP pathway were cloned from P. haitanensis. The cDNAs of P. haitanensis DXS (PhDXS) and DXR (PhDXR) both contained complete open reading frames encoding polypeptides of 764 and 426 amino acids residues, separately. The expression analysis showed that PhDXS was significant differently expressed between leafy thallus and conchocelis as PhDXR been non-significant. Additionally, expression of PhDXR and its downstream gene geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthase were both inhibited by fosmidomycin significantly. Meanwhile, we constructed types of phylogenetic trees through different algae and higher plants DXS and DXR encoding amino acid sequences, as a result we found tree clustering consequences basically in line with the "Cavalier-Smith endosymbiotic theory." Whereupon, we speculated that in red algae, there existed only complete MEP pathway to meet needs of terpenoids synthesis for themselves; Terpenoids synthesis of red algae derivatives through mevalonate pathway came from two or more times endosymbiosis of heterotrophic eukaryotic parasitifer. This study demonstrated that PhDXS and PhDXR could play significant roles in terpenoids biosynthesis at molecular levels. Meanwhile, as nuclear genes among MEP pathway, PhDXS and PhDXR could provide a new way of thinking to research the problem of chromalveolata biological evolution.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제56권4호
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• pp.379-383
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• 2018

The present study was performed with morphological and molecular analysis (cox1 and nad1 mitochondrial genes) to identify the proglottids of spirometrid tapeworm found in the stool of an African lion, Panthera leo, in the Serengeti plain of Tanzania. A strand of tapeworm strobila, about 75 cm in length, was obtained in the stool of a male African lion in the Serengeti National Park ($34^{\circ}$ 50' E, $02^{\circ}$ 30' S), Tanzania, in February 2012. The morphological features of the adult worm examined exhibited 3 uterine coils with a bow tie appearance and adopted a diagonal direction in the second turn. The posterior uterine coils are larger than terminal uterine ball and the feature of uteri are swirling rather than spirally coiling. The sequence difference between the Spirometra species (Tanzania origin) and S. erinaceieuropaei (GenBank no. KJ599680) was 9.4% while those of S. decipiens (GenBank no. KJ599679) differed by 2.1% in the cox1 and nad1 genes. Phylogenetic tree topologies generated using the 2 analytic methods were identical and presented high level of confidence values for the 3 major branches of the 3 Spirometra species in the cox1 gene. The morphological and molecular findings obtained in this study were nearly coincided with those of S. ranarum. Therefore, we can know for the first time that the African lion, Panthera leo, is to the definitive host of this tapeworm.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• 제36권4호
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• pp.463-470
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• 2018

Restoration ecology is the practical study of renewing and restoring a spoilt, degraded, or devastated ecosystems in the environment. Because the Korean industry has been drastically developed for the past few decades, the Korean ecosystem requires restoration using regional seed. In this study, we identified the variation of phylogenic relationship of Miscanthus sinensis or Phragmites australis by locations in Korea. Chloroplast DNA atpF-H and psbA-trnH interspace region were used as a molecular marker to resolve the phylogenic relationship in 10 different locations. We performed the molecular phylogenetic analysis with 10 chloroplast DNAs from each location using Kimura 2-parameter. The analysis of Miscanthus showed that all atpF-H genes were exact matches except for Ose san. In contrast to Mischanthus, the atpF-H genes from Phragmites were observed to have more variation. A total of 7 locations revealed the variation in chloroplast gene. According to the phylogenic tree in Phragmites, 2 of 10 samples in 6 locations and 3 of 10 in 1 location showed variation with 0.160-0.181 genetic distance. According to the genetic distance of the Miscanthus sinensis, there were no mutations in all regions except the Hongsung. These results support regional differences and show the necessity for seed collection by region. In the case of Phragmites australis, genetic variation occurred in all regions.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• 제43권1호
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• pp.71-76
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• 2015

Aquatic plant Hydrocharis dubia (Blume) Backer was collected from the Dalsung wetland in Daegu. Sixteen endophytic fungi with different colony morphologies were isolated from the roots of aquatic plants. Waito-c rice (WR) seedlings were treated with fungal culture filtrates (FCF) for screening plant growth-promoting activity. In the results, HD1008 strain isolated from aquatic plant showed highest plant growth-promoting activity. The FCF of HD1008 strain was analyzed using gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC/MS) with selected ion monitoring (SIM). Analysis of the FCF of HD1008 strain found that it contained gibberellins (GA) ($GA_1$, 1.2 ng/100 mL; $GA_4$, 5 ng/100 mL). Phylogenetic tree of HD1008 strain was constructed by partial internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and partial beta-tubulin gene sequences. Therefore, we describe HD1008 strain as a new gibberellin-producing Penicillium trzebinskii based on morphological and molecular characteristics.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• 제13권1호
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• pp.23-30
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• 2006

BmCu/Zn SOD was isolated from early embryo of Bombyx mori using microarray analysis. The BmCu/Zn SOD gene was observed during the early embryonic stage with the strongest signal found at the unfertilizaion, fertilization and blastoderm stages. The BmCu/Zn SOD gene encodes a protein of 154 amino acids with a calculated Mr of 15 kDa. The deduced amino acid sequence of BmCu/Zn SOD indicated that the residues that form on the Cu/Zn binding site are conserved and that the sequence is a 60% identity to that of M. domestica. In a phylogenetic tree, Bm SOD was also close to Drosophila SODs rather than other insect SODs. The BmCu/Zn SOD gene exists as a single copy in the genome. Transcripts of BmCu/Zn SOD cDNA were identified by northern blot analysis. The expression of the BmCu/Zn SOD gene was observed weakly in most of larvae, pre-pupae, pupae and adult tissues. Also, the BmCu/Zn SOD gene was observed in early embryonic stage. Although the roles of SODs remains to be further elucidated, the high expression of BmCu/Zn SOD gene at before 24 h post fertilization suggests that this gene is of general importance during early embryogenesis in the Bombyx mod.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• 제39권1호
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• pp.11-15
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• 2011

To provide basic information for Verticillium spp., molecular methods were applied to analyze genetic characteristics within Verticillium spp. including Verticillium dahliae, isolated from diseased plants in two regions of Korea. Five Korean isolates of V. dahliae causing Verticillium wilt on chrysanthemum were analyzed, together with six other Verticillium spp., using mitochondrial small subunit rRNA gene (rns) sequence and random-amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD). In a phylogenetic tree based on rns region sequences, Korean V. dahliae isolates formed a single clade with foreign isolates, whereas the other Verticillium spp. formed separate groups. In addition to rns sequence analysis, a dendrogram based on RAPD fragment patterns also showed clustering of all V. dahliae isolates into one group, separate from the six different Verticillium spp., and the V. dahliae isolates formed three subgroups which corresponded to the regions of origin, Kumi, Busan city and Canada. This indicates that high genetic variation exists between regions, although the fungus was isolated from the same host plant, chrysanthemum. These results provide the foundation for the study of genetic diversity and relationships among V. dahliae isolates in Korea.