• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.127-131
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• 2012

Black light traps were used to measure the seasonal and geographical distribution of Culicoides spp. (biting midges or no-see-ums) at 9 cowsheds in the southern half of the Republic of Korea (ROK) from June through October 2010. A total of 25,242 Culicoides females (24,852; 98.5%) and males (390; 1.5%) comprising of 9 species were collected. The most commonly collected species was Culicoides punctatus (73.0%) followed by C. arakawae (25.7%), while the remaining 7 species accounted for <1.0% of all Culicoides spp. collected. The mean number of Culicoides spp. collected per trap night (Trap Index [TI]) was highest for C. punctatus (409.3), followed by C. arakawae (144.2), C. tainanus (4.1), C. oxystoma (1.2), C. circumscriptus (0.7), C. homotomus (0.6), C. erairai (0.4), C. kibunensis (0.3), and C. nipponensis (0.04). Peak TIs were observed for C. punctatus (1,188.7) and C. arakawae (539.0) during July and August, respectively. C. punctatus and C. arakawae have been implicated in the transmission of arboviruses and other pathogens of veterinar importance that adversely impact on animal and bird husbandry.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.205-208
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• 2003

Fungicides of tebuconazole wp, iprodione wp and flusilazole wp were applied for the control of postharvest fruit rots of kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa) in the field in 2000 and 2001. More than 3 consecutive applications of these fungicides from the late June with 10-day-interval successfully controlled the diseases. It was found in the field trial in 2002 that 4 consecutive spays from mid of June with 10-day-interval was found to be the most effective application program for tebuconazole wp, iprodione wp and flusilazole wp, The results suggested that currently registered fungicides of benomyl wp and thiophanate-methyl wp can be substituted by tebuconazole wp, iprodione wp and flusilazole wp for the control of the diseases in Korea. Use of these fungicides can restrain emergence of fungicide resistant strains of postharvest fruit rot pathogens with benefit of reduced application of chemicals for food safety and environmental conservation.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.335-339
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• 1999

Citrus tristeza virus(CTV), an aphid-borne closterovirus, is one of the most destructive pathogens of citrus. It has caused rapid decline in growth, stem pitting and death in citrus trees. A reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay was developed for detection of CTV and investigation of the CTV infection status of citrus and its related cultivars in Cheju island. For RT-PCR based CTV detection, primers were designed to amplify 670bp of coat protein gene. A screening test for CTV in citrus cultivars was conducted from March to July in 1999. Seventy individual citrus trees representing 9 species of 3 genera were tested. The infection rates of CTV for leaves from the years or older trees of late maturing citrus varieties such as Yuzu (C. junos Sieb. ex Tanaka), Navel orange (C.sinensis Osbeck), Kiyomitanger (C. unshiu x C. sinensis), and Shiranuhi ((C. unshiu x C. sinensis) x C. reticulata) were 100%, 80%, 60%, and 60% respectively. The CTV infection rates in Early satsuma mandarins such as 'Miyagawa Early' Satsuma mandarins (C. unshiu Marc. var. Miyagawa) and 'Okitsu Early' Satsuma mandarins (C. unshiu Marc. var. Okitsu) were 100%, and 60%, respectively. CTV was not detected in Cheju native Dangyooja (C. unshiu Marc. var. Osbeck), Trifoliate orange (Poncirus trifoliata) and Kumquat (Fortunella margarita Swingle). In conclusion, RT-PCR assay can be successfully applied to the detection of CTV in citrus trees.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.196-200
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• 2003

Sixteen hundred fruits were randomly collected from 16 kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa) orchards in Jeonnam, Gyeongnam and Jejn provinces in Korea in 2000 and incidences of postharvest fruit rots were examined. The overall disease incidence was 32% and varied much with locations of orchards ranging from 5 to 68%. The percentages of kiwifruits showing internal, external, and both internal and external symptoms were 21.9%, 4.9%, and 5.2%, respectively. Several fungi were isolated from rotten fruits; Botryosphaeria dothidea, Diaporthe actinidiae and Botrytis cinerea were the major pathogens with the average isolation rates of 83.3%, 11.9% and 1.4%, respectively. Based on the symptoms on kiwifruits and the characteristics, the postharvest fruit rots caused by B. dothidea and D. actinidiae are suggested to be named as ripe rots and stem-end rots, respectively.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2000

Worldwide, rice blast, caused by Magnaporthe grisea (Hebert) Barr. (anamorph, Pyricularia grisea Sacc.), is one of the most economically devastating crop diseases. Management of rice blast through the breeding of blast-resistant varieties has had only limited xuccess due to the frequent breakdown of resistance under field conditions (Bonman etal., 1992; Correa-Victoria and Zeigler, 1991; Kiyosawa, 1982). The frequent variation of race in pathogen populations has been proposed as the principal mechanism involved in the loss of resistance (Ou, 1980). Although it is generally accepted that race change in M. grisea occurs in nature, the degree of its variability has been a controversial subject. A number of studies have reported the appearance of new races at extremely high rates (Giatgong and Frederiksen, 1968; Ou and Ayad, 1968; Ou et al., 1970; Ou et al., 1971). Various potential mechanisms, including heterokaryosis (Suzuki, 1965), parasexual recombination (Genovesi and Magill, 1976), and aneuploidy (Kameswar Row et al., 1985; Ou, 1980), have been proposed to explain frequent race changes. In contrast, other studies have shown that although race change could occur, its frequency was much lower than that predicted by earlier studies (Bonman et al., 1987; Latterell and Rossi, 1986; Marchetti et al., 1976). Although questions about the frequency of race changes in M. grisea remain unanswered, the application of molecular genetic tools to study the fungus, ranging from its genes controlling host specificity to its population sturctures and dynamics, have begun to provide new insights into the potential mechanisms underlying race variation. In this review we aim to provide an overview on (a) the molecular basis of host specificity of M. grisea, (b) the population structure and dynamics of rice pathogens, and (c) the nature and mechanisms of genetic changes underpinning virulence variation in M. grisea.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.564-574
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• 2019

Like many fungal pathogens, the conidium and appressorium play key roles during polycyclic dissemination and infection of Magnaporthe oryzae. Ran-binding protein microtubule-organizing center (RanBPM) is a highly conserved nucleocytoplasmic protein. In animalia, RanBPM has been implicated in apoptosis, cell morphology, and transcription. However, the functional roles of RanBPM, encoded by MGG_00753 (named MoRBP9) in M. oryzae, have not been elucidated. Here, the deletion mutant ΔMorbp9 for MoRBP9 was generated via homologous recombination to investigate the functions of this gene. The ΔMorbp9 exhibited normal conidial germination and vegetative growth but dramatically reduced conidiation compared with the wild type, suggesting that MoRBP9 is involved in conidial production. ΔMorbp9 conidia failed to produce appressoria on hydrophobic surfaces, whereas ΔMorbp9 still developed aberrantly shaped appressorium-like structures at hyphal tips on the same surface, suggesting that MoRBP9 is involved in the morphology of appressorium-like structures from hyphal tips and is critical for development of appressorium from germ tubes. Taken together, our results indicated that MoRBP9 played a pleiotropic role in polycyclic dissemination and infection-related morphogenesis of M. oryzae.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2017.06a
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• pp.113-113
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• 2017

Downy mildew (DM), caused by several species in the Peronosclerospora and Scleropthora genera, is a major maize (Zea mays L.) disease in tropical or subtropical regions. DM is an obligate parasite species in the higher plants and spreads by oospores, wind, and mycelium in seed surface, soil, and living hosts. Owing to its geographical distribution and destructive yield reduction, DM is one of the most severe maize diseases among the maize pathogens. Positional cloning in combination with phenotyping is a general approach to identify disease resistant gene candidates in plants; however, it requires several time-consuming steps including population or fine mapping. Therefore, in the present study, we suggest a new combination strategy to improve the identification of disease resistant gene candidates. Downy mildew (DM) resistant maize was selected from five cultivars using the spreader row technique. Positional cloning and bioinformatics tools identified the DM resistant QTL marker (bnlg1702) and 47 protein coding genes annotations. Eventually, 5 DM resistant gene candidates, including bZIP34, Bak1, and Ppr, were identified by quantitative RT-PCR without fine mapping of the bnlg1702 locus. Specifically, we provided DM resistant gene candidates with our new strategy, including field selection by the spreader row technique without population preparation, the DM resistance region identification by positional cloning using bioinformatics tools, and expression level profiling by quantitative RT-PCR without fine mapping. As whole genome information is available for other crops, we propose applying our novel protocol to other crops or for other diseases with suitable adjustment.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.63-68
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• 2004

Twenty-three strains of Serratia sp., isolated from surface-sterilized rice roots collected in Chonbuk and Chungnam province, were identified and characterized. They were Gram-negative, rod shaped and red pigmented typically and their endophytism was confirmed by inoculation and reisolation of the strains in planta. Their antifungal activity against 4 rice pathogenic fungi was compared and ranged from 62.4 to 85.2％ against Rhizoctonia solani and 68.0 to 88.5％ against Pyricularia grisea. Among the 23 strains tested, strain Rsm220 showed the strongest inhibition activity against 4 pathogenic fungi. The strain was, therefore, selected as a biocontrol candidate for both the pathogens and its bacteriological characteristics and 165 rDNA sequences were analyzed. Phenotypic and biochemical characteristics of the selected Rsm220 were highly related to the type strain of S. marcescens and 165 rDNA sequencing of Rsm220 showed a homology of 98.2％ to the type strain of S. marcescens. The strain Rsm220 was identified as S. marcescens and the inhibition result of this endophytic strain indicates that it is a potential biocontrol agent for R. solani and R grisea.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.249-263
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• 2017

This study aims to examine the potential reasons for the current prevalence of the fusarium wilt in the oriental melon. Twenty-seven Fusarium isolates obtained from oriental melon greenhouses in 2010-2011 were identified morphologically and by analysis of elongation factor-1 alpha gene (EF-$1{\alpha}$) and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) rDNA sequences as 6 Fusarium species (8 isolates of F. oxysporum, 8 F. commune, 5 F. proliferatum, 3 F. equiseti, 2 F. delphinoides, and 1 F. andiyazi), which were classified as same into 6 EF-$1{\alpha}$ sequence-based phylogenetic clades. Pathogenicity of the Fusarium isolates on the oriental melon was highest in F. proliferatum, next in F. oxysporum and F. andiyazi, and lowest in the other Fusarium species tested, suggesting F. proliferatum and F. oxysporum were major pathogens of the oriental melon, inducing stem rots and vascular wilts, respectively. Oriental melon and watermelon were more susceptible to F. oxysporum than shintosa and cucumber; and cucumber was most, oriental melon and watermelon, medially, and shintosa was least susceptible to F. proliferatum, whose virulence varied among and within their phylogenetic subclades. Severe root-knot galls were formed on all the crops infected with Meloidogyne incognita; however, little indication of vascular wilts or stem and/or root rots was shown by the nematode infection. These results suggest the current fungal disease in the oriental melon may be rarely due to virulence changes of the fusarium wilt pathogen and the direct cause of the severe root-knot nematode infection, but may be potentially from other Fusarium pathogen infection that produces seemingly wilting caused by severe stem rotting.

• BMB Reports
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.376-381
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• 2008

The discovery of RNA silencing inhibition by virus encoded suppressors or low temperature leads to concerns about the stability of transgenic resistance. RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) has been previously characterized to be essential for transgene-mediated RNA silencing. Here we showed that low temperature led to the inhibition of RNA silencing, the loss of viral resistance and the reduced expression of host RdRp homolog (NtRdRP1) in transgenic T4 progeny with untranslatable potato virus Y coat protein (PVY-CP) gene. Moreover, RNA silencing and the associated resistance were differently inhibited by potato virus X (PVX) and tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) infections. The increased expression of NtRdRP1 in both PVX and TMV infected plants indicated its general role in response to viral pathogens. Collectively, we propose that biotic and abiotic stress factors affect RNA silencing-mediated resistance in transgenic tobacco plants and that their effects target different steps of RNA silencing.