• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.419-422
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• 2018

A Hosta cultivar 'Neulpureum 1' was bred at the Korea National Arboretum, which produces new cultivars using vegetative propagation techniques. The new cultivar 'Neulpureum 1' was derived by crossing Hosta minor with Hosta 'Krossa Regal'. Among the induced leaf-color- and shape-modified hosta plants, the plants that exhibited deep-green color and small-bended leaves were selected. 'Neulpureum 1' maintained the deep-green leaves for longer than Hosta 'Krossa Regal'. Additionally, the plant height of 'Neulpureum 1' was shorter than that of Hosta 'Krossa Regal' and several leaves were observed on the new cultivar; therefore, it is likely to be used as a pot plant. The botanical characteristics were investigated for three years beginning 2012. A Hosta 'Neulpureum 1' can prove to be useful as a material for a pot plant or as ground cover plant at half-shadow place.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• 2022.09a
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• pp.87-87
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• 2022

Under the COVID-19 pandemic, interest in immune enhancement and anti-obesity is increasing. Thus, in this study, we investigated whether Kadsura japonica fruits (KJF) exhibits immunostimulatory activity and anti-obesity activity. KJF increased the production of immunostimulatory factors and phagocytosis in RAW264.7 cells. Inhibition of TLR2 and TLR4 blocked KJF-mediated production of immunostimulatory factors in RAW264.7 cells. In addition, the inhibition of MAPK and PI3K/AKT signaling pathway reduced KJF-mediated production of immunostimulatory factors, and the activation of MAPK and PI3K/AKT signaling pathway by KJF suppressed the inhibition of TLR2/4. KJF attenuated the lipid accumulation and the protein expression such as CEBPα, PPARγ, perilipin-1, adiponectin, and FABP4 related to the lipid accumulation in 3T3-L1 cells. In addition, KJF inhibited excessive proliferation of 3T3-L1 cells and protein expressions such as β-catenin and cyclin D1 related to cell growth. These findings indicate that KJF may have immunostimulatory activity and anti-obesity activity.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.505-510
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• 2023

In June 2023, at the oat field on Kongju National University's Yesan Campus, flies infected with an entomopathogenic fungus were discovered. The flies were hanging with their wings folded backward. Fungal mycelia had sprouted on the abdomens of the flies. An analysis of the 28S ribosomal RNA sequence confirmed that the fungus was Entomophthora muscae. Moreover, cytochrome oxidase sequence analysis of the host insect identified it as Delia platura.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.136-159
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• 2019

This study was carried out to investigate the flora of six islands belonging to the Gogunsan Archipelago (i.e., Sinsi-do, Seonyu-do, Munyeo-do, Yami-do, Bian-do, and Duri-do) in the Korean Peninsula. As results of five field surveys from March to October of 2016, we have identified 575 total taxa, representing 527 species, five subspecies, 42 varieties, and one hybrid, placed in 358 genera and 118 families. Of these 575 taxa, four are endemic to Korea, six taxa are listed on the Korean Red List of threatened species, 67 are floristic regional indicator plants, and 74 are invasive alien species. In this study, we compared species richness among the islands, and find that the larger the islands, the higher the species richness. In the case of habitat affinity types, forest species were most common, followed by farmland, seacoast, bare ground and wetland species. From similarity analyses based on the composition of vascular plants, each island did not exhibit either local specificity or unique diversity. On the contrary, the proportion of invasive alien and ruderal species may increase by human activities. Investigations and analyses of island flora such as this are important to assess the current status of the flora, predict future vegetation patterns and the spread of the alien species, and establish managment plans of plant diversity.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.476-481
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• 2020

In this study, we report a unrecorded plant on the Korean peninsula, Potamogeton × anguillanus Koidz. from Yeondangcheon (stream) in Yeondang-ri, Nam-myeon, Yeongwol-gun, Gangwon-do province. Potamogeton × anguillanus is a natural hybrid between P. wrightii Morong. and P. perfoliatus L. It is distinguished by its characteristic that the petiole is shorter than P. wrightii and that the leaf blade is narrower and longer than P. perfoliatus also, it didn't fully wrap the stem. Considering that P. × anguillanus is a natural hybrid, the name is given to it as 'Eol-chi-gi-dae-ga-rae'. We provide descriptions of the morphological characteristics, photographs, and key to allied taxa in Korea of P. × anguillanus.

• Mycobiology
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.294-296
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• 2021

An endolichenic fungus, Xylaria grammica strain EL000614, showed strong nematicidal effects against plant pathogenic nematode, Meloidogyne incognita by producing grammicin. We report genome assembly of X. grammica EL000614 comprised of 25 scaffolds with a total length of 54.73 Mb, N50 of 4.60 Mb, and 99.8% of BUSCO completeness. GC contents of this genome were 44.02%. Gene families associated with biosynthesis of secondary metabolites or regulatory proteins were identified out of 13,730 gene models predicted.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.51-58
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• 2017

Wangsania, a new genus of Apiaceae from limestone areas and typified by W. insolens (Kitagawa) B.Y. Lee & J.O. Hyun, is described from Gangwon-do, Korea. Wangsania insolens was initially treated as Peucedanum insolens Kitagawa due to similarity with Peucedaunm cervaria, but it differs markedly in its unique morphological characters, such as rarely branched roots and a single basal leaf with 3 or -4 ternately dissected leaflets. These characters apparently represent apomorphies for Wangsania. The parsimony analysis of nuclaer ribosomal DNA ITS sequences revealed Wangsania to be not closely related to either Peucedanum or to any of 14 different tribes or clades within subfamily Apioideae.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• 2019.04a
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• pp.111-111
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• 2019

Glycyrrhizae radix is one of the most frequently prescribed ingredients in Oriental medicine, and G. radix extract has been shown to exert anti-cancer effects. However, the cellular and molecular mechanisms of apoptosis by G. radix are poorly defined. In the present study, it was examined the biochemical mechanisms of apoptosis by water extract of G. radix (WEGR) in human bladder T24 cancer cells. It was found that WEGR could inhibit the cell growth of T24 cells in a dose-dependent manner, which was associated with the induction of apoptotic cell death, as evidenced by the formation of apoptotic bodies, DNA fragmentation and increased populations of annexin-V positive cells. The induction of apoptotic cell death by WEGR was connected with an up-regulation of pro-apoptotic Bax protein expression and down-regulation of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL proteins, and inhibition of apoptosis family proteins (XIAP, cIAP-1 and cIAP-2). In addition, apoptosis-inducing concentrations of WEGR induced the activation of caspase-9, an initiator caspase of the mitochondrial-mediated intrinsic pathway, and caspase-3, accompanied by proteolytic degradation of poly (ADP-ribose)-polymerase. WEGR also induced apoptosis via a death receptor-mediated extrinsic pathway by caspase-8 activation, resulting in the down-regulation of total Bid and suggesting the existence of cross-talk between the extrinsic and intrinsic pathways. Taken together, the present results suggest that WEGR may be a potential chemotherapeutic agent for the control of human bladder cancer cells.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• 2019.04a
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• pp.112-112
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• 2019

Baicalein is one of the main flavonoids derived from roots of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, a traditional Oriental medicine. Although baicalein has high antitumor effect on several human carcinomas, the mechanism responsible for this property is not unclear. In this study, the data revealed that baicale-ininduced growth inhibition was associated with the induction of apoptosis connecting with cytochrome c release, down-regulation of anti-apoptotic Bcl-xl and increased the percentage of cells with a loss of mitochondria membrane permeabilization. Baicalein also induced the proteolytic activation of caspases and cleavage of PARP; however, blockage of caspases activation by z-VAD-fmk inhibited baicalein-induced apoptosis. In addition, baicalein enhanced the formation of autophagosomes and up-regulated LC3-II/LC3-I ratio. Interestingly, the pretreatment of bafilomycin A1 recovered baicalein-induced cell death suggesting that autophagy by baicalein roles as protective autophagy. Taken together, our results indicated that this flavonoid induces apoptosis and cell protective autophagy. These data means combination treatment with baicalein and autophagy inhibitor might be a promising anticancer drug.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• 2019.04a
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• pp.113-113
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• 2019

Diallyl trisulfide (DATS) is an organic polysulfide compound found in garlic. Although certain studies have demonstrated that DATS possesses strong anti-inflammatory activity, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain largely unresolved. In this study, we examined whether DATS exerts anti-inflammatory activity and investigated the possible mechanisms. Our results indicated that DATS significantly suppressed the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced release of nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E2 by inhibiting inducible NO synthase and cyclooxygenase-2 expression at the transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels in RAW 264.7 macrophages. DATS also down-regulated Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and myeloid differentiation factor 88 expression, and inhibited nuclear translocation of nuclear transcription factor-kappa B (NF-${\kappa}B$) in LPS-stimulated 264.7 macrophages. Furthermore, we found that these inhibitory effects of DATS were associated with the inhibition of chemokine receptor (CXCR4) and ligand (CXCL12) expression, and reactive oxygen species generation. Overall, the present data indicated that DATS had anti-inflammatory effects on LPS-activated macrophages, possibly via inhibiting the TLR4/NF-kB and/or chemokine signaling pathways, and DATS could be a potential drug therapy for inflammation and its associated diseases.