• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.294-304
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• 2021

Given that the Korean genus Elymus L. (Poaceae) is often confused with Agropyron Gaertn., the categories and characteristics of Elymus s.l. have been reviewed morphologically. Two unrecorded taxa of Elymus, E. humidus (Ohwi & Sakam.) T. Osada and E. shandongensis B. Salomon, not previously recorded in Korean flora to date, we report here as an unrecorded species based on samples collected from Chungcheongbuk-do, Gyeongsangnam-do, Jeollanam-do, and Jeollabuk-do. E. humidus is distinguished from other taxa in terms of its habitat around riversides, erect inflorescences, spikelets appressed to rachides of inflorescence, and new individuals asexually propagated at the lower nodes of aerial stems. E. shandongensis is similar to E. tsukushiensis var. transiens (Hack.) H. Osada but is distinguished by the flowering time, slightly curved inflorescences, number of veins of the glumes, and spikelets appressed to the rachides. Descriptions of the two unrecorded Korean taxa, photographs, and keys to neighboring taxa are presented.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• 2019.04a
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• pp.71-71
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• 2019

The genus Cenchrus (Poaceae), containing ca. 23 species, is distributed throughout Australia, Africa, Indian sub-continent, and America. In Korea, Cenchrus longispinus (Hack.) Fernald, especially introduced to Daecheong Island in 1999, is one of the most hazardous invasive plant which causes serious environmental threats, biodiversity damages and physically negative impact on humans and animals. Based on the next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology, we characterized the chloroplast (cp) genome sequences of C. longispinus which contains a large single copy (LSC; 80,223 bp), a small single copy (SSC; 12,449 bp), separated by a pair of inverted repeats (IRs; 22,236 bp). Additionally, we analyzed the cp genome sequences of Cenchrus echinatus L. which contains a large single copy (LSC; 80,220 bp), a small single copy (SSC; 12,439 bp), separated by a pair of inverted repeats (IRs; 22,236 bp). These cp genomes consist of 75 unique genes, 4 rRNA coding genes, 33 tRNA coding genes and 21 duplicated in the IR regions, of which the gene content and organization are similar to the other Poaceae cp genomes. We selected 40 potential regions in cp genomes of two Cenchrus species and one Korean Pennisetum species to develop new single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers for identifying C. longispinus based on amplification-refractory mutation system (ARMS) technique. The markers, inferred from SNP in matK and ndhF genes, show effectiveness to recognize C. longispinus from C. echinatus and Korean native species Pennisetum alopecuroides (L.) Spreng.

• Korean Journal of Ornithology
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.133-135
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• 2018

Plaintive Cuckoo (Cacomantis merulinus) is a small cuckoo species in Family Cuculidae that is mainly distributed in the Oriental Region. On May 1. 2016, one juvenile Plaintive Cuckoo was found at Somaemuldo Island, Korea ($34^{\circ}37^{\prime}38.73^{{\prime}{\prime}}N$ $128^{\circ}33^{\prime}0.44^{{\prime}{\prime}}E$). The bird was identified as C. merulinus by its morphological traits, especially primary projection, the shape of bars on tertials, and pale supercilium. These characteristics were distinctive from other similar small cuckoos in genus Cacomantis and Cuculus, during the field observation and examination of photographs. This record is the first of this species in Korea, and the northernmost record of this species.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.178-182
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• 2019

This is the first report of Brachirus annularis (Pleuronectiformes: Soleidae) from Korea. A specimen of B. annularis (229.0 mm standard length) was firstly collected by drift gill net at a fishing ground locating between Jejudo and Geomundo Islands, the southern coast of Korea on 31 March, 2019. This species was characterized by having five large, deep colored patches on the ocular side of body, each patch outlined by dark brown ring, united dorsal and anal fins jointed with caudal fin, and short pectoral fin. We add this species to the Korean fish fauna and propose its new Korean names, "Eol-luk-seo-dae-sok" and "Eol-luk-seo-dae" for the genus and species, respectively.

• Mycobiology
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.151-160
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• 2021

Despite recent studies, relatively few are known about the diversity of fungal communities in the deep Atlantic Ocean. In this study, we investigated the diversity of fungal communities in 15 different deep-sea sediments from the South Atlantic Ocean with a culture-dependent approach followed by phylogenetic analysis of ITS sequences. A total of 29 fungal strains were isolated from the 15 deep-sea sediments. These strains belong to four fungal genera, including Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Penicillium, and Alternaria. Penicillium, accounting for 44.8% of the total fungal isolates, was a dominant genus. The antiaflatoxigenic activity of these deep-sea fungal isolates was studied. Surprisingly, most of the strains showed moderate to strong antiaflatoxigenic activity. Four isolates, belonging to species of Penicillium polonicum, Penicillium chrysogenum, Aspergillus versicolor, and Cladosporium cladosporioides, could completely inhibit not only the mycelial growth of Aspergillus parasiticus mutant strain NFRI-95, but also the aflatoxin production. To our knowledge, this is the first report to investigate the antiaflatoxigenic activity of culturable deep-sea fungi. Our results provide new insights into the community composition of fungi in the deep South Atlantic Ocean. The high proportion of strains that displayed antiaflatoxigenic activity demonstrates that deep-sea fungi from the Atlantic Ocean are valuable resources for mining bioactive compounds.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.559-564
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• 2019

Cyrtomium yamamotoi Tagawa is an unrecorded species of perennial Pteridophyta that belongs to the genus Cyrtomium of Dryopteriaceae. It is known as native to Taiwan, China and Japan, but we found it in Jeju-si, Jeju-do and Haenam-gun, Jeollanam-do, Republic of Korea in 2018. This species is very similar to C. fortunei J.Sm. having characters such as 1 pinnate compound leaves, globular indusium, but distinguished from the latter by its lanceolate or lanceolate-ovate shaped lateral pinnates of less than 12 pairs, bicolor indusium with dark brown or blackish in center, and margin incised teeth. Here, we provide its description, photographs and a key of related taxa in Korea.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.539-546
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• 2020

A cellulolytic bacterial strain, S2-3, was isolated from sea water collected in Jeju island, Republic of Korea. The strain was aerobic and gram negative, and formed yellow colored colonies on marine agar medium. S2-3 cells were long rod-shaped, 0.5 × 0.25 ㎛ (width x length) in size, and did not have flagella. The optimal growth conditions for S2-3 were 30-35℃ and pH 6.5-7.0. Analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence of S2-3 revealed that it had the highest identity with those of Seonamhaeicola algicola Gy8 (97.08%), Hyunsoonleella udonensis JG48 (95.01%), and Aestuariibaculum scopimerae I-15 (94.86%). In phylogenetic analysis, S2-3 formed the same clade as S. algicola Gy8, implying that S2-3 belongs to the genus Seonamhaeicola. The major fatty acids (>10%) comprised C15:1 iso G (22.29%), C15:0 iso (17.71%), C17:0 iso 3OH (16.06%), and C15:0 iso 3OH (10.7%), resulting in quite different ratio of the component from those of S. algicola Gy8. Moreover, its biochemical characteristics, including acid production and enzyme activities, were different from those of S. algicola Gy8. Therefore, putting all these results together, we concluded S2-3 is distinct species from S. algicola Gy8, and thus named it Seonamhaeicola sp. S2-3. In liquid culture, S2-3 produced extracellular cellulases that can hydrolyze cellulose or cellooligosaccharides into cellobiose, which is a good enzyme resource that deserves further research.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.163-170
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• 2020

Background: Gut microflora contributes to the nutritional metabolism of the host and to strengthen its immune system. However, if the intestinal barrier function of the living body is destroyed by radiation exposure, the intestinal bacteria harm the health of the host and cause sepsis. Therefore, this study aims to trace short-term radiation-induced changes in the mouse gut microflora-dominant bacterial genus, and analyze the degree of intestinal epithelial damage. Materials and Methods: Mice were irradiated with 0, 2, 4, 8 Gy X-rays, and the gut microflora and intestinal epithelial changes were analyzed 72 hours later. Five representative genera of Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, and Bacteroidetes were analyzed in fecal samples, and the intestine was pathologically analyzed by Hematoxylin-Eosin and Alcian blue staining. In addition, DNA fragmentation was evaluated by the TdT-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay. Results and Discussion: The small intestine showed shortened villi and reduced number of goblet cells upon 8 Gy irradiation. The large intestine epithelium showed no significant morphological changes, but the number of goblet cells were reduced in a radiation dose-dependent manner. Moreover, the small intestinal epithelium of 8 Gy-irradiated mice showed significant DNA damaged, whereas the large intestine epithelium was damaged in a dose-dependent manner. Overall, the large intestine epithelium showed less recovery potential upon radiation exposure than the small intestinal epithelium. Analysis of the intestinal flora revealed fluctuations in lactic acid bacteria excretion after irradiation regardless of the morphological changes of intestinal epithelium. Altogether, it became clear that radiation exposure could cause an immediate change of their excretion. Conclusion: This study revealed changes in the intestinal epithelium and intestinal microbiota that may pave the way for the identification of novel biomarkers of radiation-induced gastrointestinal disorders and develop new therapeutic strategies to treat patients with acute radiation syndrome.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.100-108
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• 2022

We found Urtica dioica L., an unrecorded alien plant, in the Han River basin of Korea. U. dioica is considered to be native to Europe, much of temperate Asia and western North Africa. This plant has been introduced to many other parts of the world. In Particularly, it reported as an invasive species from East Asia (Japan), Oceania and South America. This species is distinguished from related Korean taxa of the genus by its unisexual flower and dioecious plant species. In the Neighbor-Joining tree, U. dioica samples from the Han River Park (Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul) and Yangjaecheon Stream (Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul) clustered into a clade consisting of a U. dioica s.s. Here, we provide a precise description, illustrations, a key to the related taxa, and photographs of its habitat.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.226-237
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• 2022

Arcuospathidium is a haptorian ciliate genus composed of 18 species, and only one species has been reported in Korea. Here, we identify two unrecorded Arcuospathidium subspecies by morphological observation of both living and protargol-impregnated specimens with the small subunit ribosomal RNA (18S rRNA) gene sequence. These subspecies, Arcuospathidium cultriforme cultriforme (Penard, 1922) Foissner, 1984 and A. cultriforme scalpriforme (Kahl, 1930) Foissner, 2003, were isolated from various terrestrial habitats in July and August 2013, respectivley. Arcuospathidium cultriforme cultriforme is similar to A. cultriforme scalpriforme by a knife-shaped body, a twisted-shaped macronucleus, number of dorsal brushes, position of dorsal brushes, and shape of macronucleus but former mainly differs from the body length to oral bulge length ratio (27-38% vs. 41-53%), extrusome (one types vs. three types), cyst shape (roughly faceted wall vs. smooth surface and thin wall) and number of somatic kinety rows(18-30 vs. 30-44). Additionally, we analyzed the 18S rRNA gene sequences of two A. cultriforme subspecies and compared them with the sequences from GenBank to confirm their identification at the molecular level. As the results of genetic analysis, the 18S rRNA gene sequence of the Korean A. cultriforme cultriforme population is most similar to that of Austrian population. Also, the sequence of the Korean A. cultriforme scalpriforme population is most similar to that of another population with some nucleotide differences.