• The Korean Journal of Mycology
• /
• v.44 no.4
• /
• pp.342-345
• /
• 2016

Chaenomeles sinensis, called as Chinese quince, belongs to the family Rosaceae and is widely distributed in Korea, China, and Japan. A microorganism was isolated from part of a twig of C. sinensis that showed an abnormal appearance. The microorganism was identified as the slime mold Stemonaria longa of the division Myxomycota, which was previously unrecorded in Korea. The present study reports the morphological characteristics of the isolated fungus and a phylogenetic relationship based on the ${\beta}$-tubulin gene sequences.

• Proceedings of the National Institute of Ecology of the Republic of Korea
• /
• v.1 no.1
• /
• pp.52-57
• /
• 2020

Bacterial symbionts are common across insects, including ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Reproduction-manipulating endosymbionts, such as Wolbachia, Spiroplasma, Rickettsia, and Cardinium, are closely associated with many aspects of host-insect life. In addition, phage WO plays an essential role in the phenotypic effects of Wolbachia. Although endosymbionts are possible biological control agents, there is a lack of knowledge of their rate of infection of ants in Korea. We tested a range of Korean ant species for the presence of Wolbachia, Spiroplasma, Rickettsia, Cardinium, and phage WO by extracting DNA from the ants and using specific primer sets to test the status of infections. In addition, the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene of the host ants was amplified to confirm the molecular identification and phylogenetic relationship between the hosts. We found that infection with Wolbachia (29.6% of species) is relatively common when compared with that of other endosymbionts. Only one species was infected with Spiroplasma. Infection with Rickettsia and Cardinium was not detected in the examined ants. Most Wolbachia in ants were infected with phage WO. Although the phenotypic effects of endosymbionts in ants are still unknown, this first survey of endosymbionts in Korea is the first step toward the use of reproduction-manipulating endosymbionts.

• Molecules and Cells
• /
• v.20 no.3
• /
• pp.325-330
• /
• 2005

Ancient cattle bones were excavated from archaeological sites in Jeju, Korea. We used molecular genetic techniques to identify the species and establish its relationship to extant cattle breeds. Ancient DNA was extracted from four sources: a humerus (Gonae site, A.D. 700-800), two fragments of radius, and a tooth (Kwakji site, A.D. 0-900). The mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-loop regions were cloned, sequenced, and compared with previously reported sequences of various cattle breeds (9 Asian, 8 European, and 3 African). The results revealed that these bones were of the breed, Bos taurus, and a phylogenetic tree indicated that the four cattle bones formed a monophyletic group with Jeju native black cattle. However, the patterns of sequence variation and reports from archaeological sites suggest that a few wild cattle, with a different maternal lineage, may have existed on Jeju Island. Our results will contribute to further studies of the origin of Jeju native cattle and the possible existence of local wild cattle.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.22 no.5
• /
• pp.684-689
• /
• 2012

In the present study, an efficient mercury-tolerant bacterial strain (RS-5) was isolated from heavy-metalcontaminated industrial effluent. Under shake flask conditions, 97% of the supplemented mercuric chloride was sequestered by the biomass of RS-5 grown in a tryptone soy broth. The sequestered mercuric ions were transformed inside the bacterial cells, as an XRD analysis of the biomass confirmed the formation of mercurous chloride, which is only feasible following the reaction of the elemental mercury and the residual mercuric chloride present within the cells. Besides the sequestration and intracellular transformation, a significant fraction of the mercury (63%) was also volatilized. The 16S rRNA gene sequence of RS-5 revealed its phylogenetic relationship with the family Bacillaceae, and a 98% homology with Lysinibacillus fusiformis, a Gram-positive bacterium with swollen sporangia. This is the first observation of the sequestration and volatilization of mercuric ions by Lysinibacillus sp.

• Journal of Fisheries and Marine Sciences Education
• /
• v.28 no.4
• /
• pp.903-912
• /
• 2016

Hagfish which belongs to the chordate contact cyclostomata, is important phylogenetic relationship between vertebrate and invertebrate. Cathepsins of the cysteine protease family have traditionally been thought to play a major role in intracellular protein degradation and turnover in lysosomes. In this study, Catepsin L was cloned from Inshore hagfish (Eptatretus burgeri), the cDNA encoding ORF of the Eptatretus burgeri Cathepsin L (EbCtL) is 978 bp. The cDNA encoding proEbCtL was expressed in Escherichia coli strain BL21(DE3) using the pGEX-4T-1 expression vector system. The recombinant proEbCtL protein was overexpressed as a approximately 55 kDa fusion protein. The overproduced soluble GST-fusion protein was then applied to glutathione-Sepharose 4B column chromatography; the sample harboring the fusion protein evidenced a high degree of purity when analyzed via SDS-PAGE and Western blot analysis. Its activity was quantied by cleaving the synthetic peptide Z-FR-AMC, Z-LLE-AMC, and Suc-AAF-AMC, and the optimal pH for the protease activity was 8, 9.5, and 9, respectively.

• Genomics & Informatics
• /
• v.11 no.4
• /
• pp.272-276
• /
• 2013

Sequence analysis of the 16S rRNA gene has been widely used for the classification of microorganisms. However, we have been unable to clearly identify five Flavobacterium species isolated from a freshwater by using the gene as a single marker, because the evolutionary history is incomplete and the pace of DNA substitutions is relatively rapid in the bacteria. In this study, we tried to classify Flavobacterium species through multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA), which is a practical and reliable technique for the identification or classification of bacteria. The five Flavobacterium species isolated from freshwater and 37 other strains were classified based on six housekeeping genes: gyrB, dnaK, tuf, murG, atpA, and glyA. The genes were amplified by PCR and subjected to DNA sequencing. Based on the combined DNA sequence (4,412 bp) of the six housekeeping genes, we analyzed the phylogenetic relationship among the Flavobacterium species. The results indicated that MLSA, based on the six housekeeping genes, is a trustworthy method for the identification of closely related Flavobacterium species.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
• /
• v.45 no.1
• /
• pp.54-62
• /
• 2017

In 2014, abnormal brown spots were observed on Hongro apples in fields in Gyeongsangbuk-do Province and during low-temperature storage. The spots were round, blight brown, and different from the symptoms of previously reported apple diseases. A fungal pathogen was isolated and cultured on potato dextrose agar, and it was morphologically similar to Fusarium decemcellulare. A pathogenicity test showed the same brown spots on both wounded and unwounded Hongro and Fuji apple cultivars. RPB1 and RPB2 sequences of F. decemcellulare KNU-GC01 matched with those of F. decemcellulare NRRL 13412 (98.3% and 97.6% similarities, respectively); both strains clustered together in the phylogenetic tree, indicating their close relationship at the species level. Therefore, F. decemcellulare is a newly reported pathogen that causes brown spots on apples in Korea.

• Mycobiology
• /
• v.48 no.5
• /
• pp.423-426
• /
• 2020

Cypripedium japonicum is known to be the indigenous plant to Korea, Japan, and China. However, C. japonicum represents the most critically endangered plant species in South Korea. The plant is esthetically pleasing due to its flower, which is larger than any other orchidaceous species. Disease symptoms relating to gray mold were observed on C. japonicum in May 2019. The suspected pathogen was successfully isolated from the symptomatic leaf tissue and conducted a pure culture of the fungi. The conidia formed consisted of a colorless or light brown single cell, which was either egg or oval-shaped with a size of 7.1 to 13.4 × 5.2 to 8.6 ㎛. Molecular phylogenetic relationship analysis was also confirmed that the pathogen concerned belonging to the family of Botrytis cinerea. Therefore, the findings confirmed that the pathogen isolated from C. japonicum was consistent with the unique properties of B. cinerea.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
• /
• v.23 no.4 s.75
• /
• pp.310-317
• /
• 1995

The evolutionary relationships for 43 species in the taxa of the basidiomycetous yeast and related yeast-like fungi have been studied from the 43 18S rRNA partial sequences. Fibulobasidium inconspicuum showed a relatively close relationship to Filobasidiella neoformans. It is obvious that Tremella foliacea and Ustilogo rabenhorstiana form a independently different cluster from basidiomycetous yeast and seem to be phylogenetically distant from basidiomycetous yeast and each other. The basidiomycetous yeasts are believed more closely associated with Tremella foliacea than with Ustilago rabenhorstiana. The phenotypic criteria such as carotenoid pigments, teliospores, ballistospores seems not to be phylogenetically useful indicators.

• ALGAE
• /
• v.28 no.2
• /
• pp.185-192
• /
• 2013

A new cold-adapted Arctic strain of Haematococcus pluvialis from Blomstrandhalv${\o}$ya Island (Svalbard) is described. This strain is predominantly always in non-motile palmelloid stage. Transmission electron microscopy showed the presence of very thick cell wall and abundant lipid vesicles in the palmelloids, including red and green cells. The external morphology of the non-motile palmelloid and motile bi-flagellated cells of our strain is similar to H. pluvialis; however it differs from H. pluvialis in physiology. Our strain is adapted to live and produce astaxanthin in the low temperature ($4-10^{\circ}C$), whilst the usual growth temperature for H. pluvialis is between $20-27^{\circ}C$. Phylogenetic analysis based on 18S rRNA gene data showed that our strain nested within the Haematococcus group, forming a sister relationship to H. lacustris and H. pluvialis, which are considered synonymous. Therefore, we identified our Arctic strain as H. pluvialis.