• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.408-421
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• 2019

This study estimated and analyzed the incremental profits to compare the imported buff-tailed bumblebees, Bombus terrestris, and their pollination alternatives. A result of the analysis showed that the incremental profit, which is defined as the sales revenue minus the common production cost, was higher when using pollinator insects than when using the artificial pollination and that the incremental costs were lower when using domestic bumblebees or artificial pollination than when using imported bumblebees or honeybees. The incremental profits of each alternative were 46,801 million won for imported bumblebees, 47,170 million won for domestic bumblebees, 46,975 million won for honeybees, and 29,839 million won for artificial pollination. The incremental profit means the accounting profit that can be realized from each alternative. However, not all of the accounting profits can be attributed to pollen-mediated alternatives since they include potential costs such as imputed rent or normal profits. Considering the opportunity costs, which are the potential costs, it appears that the alternative of using imported bumblebees can lead to an economic loss. It means that fruit and vegetable farmers can expect additional economic profits if they choose other alternatives instead of using imported bumblebees.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.52-58
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• 2021

Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae, which causes bacterial canker in kiwifruit, is divided into five biovars (1, 2, 3, 5, 6) on the basis of genetic characteristics and toxin productivity. Among them, biovar 3 is responsible for the current global outbreak, and has been isolated in Korea since 2011. Biovar 3 strains isolated from Korea are subdivided into six genetically different lineages (subgroup I, IV, V, VI, VII, and VIII) based on random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis. In this work, the subgroup-specific sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR) primers were developed from sequenced differential RAPD bands. Distribution of the subgroups of the biovar 3 strains collected in Korea from 2011-2017 were examined using these subgroup-specific primer sets. Among the 54 strains tested, 35 strains (64.8%) belonged to subgroup V, 9 strains (16.7%) belonged to subgroup IV, 4 strains (7.4%) belonged to subgroup VI, 3 strains (5.6%) belonged to subgroup VII, 2 strains (3.7%) belonged to subgroup VIII, and 1 (1.9%) strain belonged to subgroup I. Strains belonging to subgroups IV, V, and VI were shown to be related to strains isolated from China, New Zealand, and Chile, respectively. The study revealed that the biovar 3 strains in Korea are genetically diverse and are estimated to have been introduced through pollen sourced from foreign countries.

• Journal of Apiculture
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.197-206
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• 2019

Pollination is an important ecosystem service involved in plant breeding and reproduction. This study analyzed the pollination network, which is the interaction between flowering plants and flower-visiting insects in the agricultural landscape. Flower-visiting insects from blossoms of flowering crops and surrounding plants were quantitatively surveyed during summer time. The pollinator species and abundance on each flowering plant were analyzed. A total of 2,381 interactions were indentified with 154 pollinators on 30 species of plants. Species richness of the pollinators was highest in Coleoptera (34%) followed by Hymenoptera (28%), Diptera (28%) and Lepidoptera (10%). Apis mellifera dominated (50%) followed by Calliphora vomitoria (5.3%) and Xylocopa appendiculata among pollinators, and remaining wild pollinators provided complex interaction. Among plants, Platycodon grandiflorum, Perilla frutescen and Fagopyrum esculentum harbored most pollinators and showed highest interaction frequencies. In the modular analysis, Apis mellifera was located as a hub-species which connect the interaction of others, implying most important role in the network. This results provide the basic information on the pollinator species associated with each crop and pollinator habitat in which plant provide the nectar, pollen and habitat resources for wild pollinators.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.154-160
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• 2022

Background: The mango is one of the essential fruit trees for the economy of Thailand. Mango pollination relies primarily on insects. Other external forces, such as wind, are less efficient since pollen is sticky and aggregating. There is only one report from Thailand on the use of bees as mango pollinators. The study of the behavior and pollination efficiency of honey bees (Apis mellifera) and stingless bees (Tetragonula laeviceps species complex) was conducted in Nam Dokmai mango plantings in Phrao and Mae Taeng districts, Chiang Mai province, between February and March 2019. Results: Our results reveal that the honey bees commenced foraging earlier than the stingless bee. The number of flowers visited within 1 minute by honey bees was higher than that visited by stingless bees. The average numbers of honey bees and stingless bees that flew out of the hive per minute from 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. in the Phrao district were 4.21 ± 1.62 and 9.88 ± 7.63 bees/min, respectively, i.e., higher than those observed in Mae Taeng, which were 3.46 ± 1.13 and 1.23 ± 1.20 bees/min, respectively. The numbers of fruits per tree were significantly higher in the honey bee and stingless bee treatments (T1 and T2) than in the open pollination treatment (T3). The number of fruits between T1 and T2 treatments was not different. In the pollinator exclusion treatment (T4), no fruit was produced. Fruit size factors were not significantly different among T1, T2, and T3 treatments. Conclusions: Our results showed that insect pollination is crucial for mango production, especially with the Nam Dokmai variety in Northern Thailand. As pollinator exclusion treatment showed no fruit set, and pollinator treatment significantly increased the fruit sets compared to open access plots, a managed pollinator program would benefit the mango growers for better productivity. Both the honey bee and the stingless bee were shown to be effective as pollinators.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.481-487
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• 1983

The need to synchronize flowering in two lines of different maturities is frequently encountered in hybrid com (Zea mays L.) seed production. To establish the methods for synchrony of flowering in parent lines of different maturities be effects of clipping at 4 and 6-leaf stages of growth and two levels, clear polyethylene mulching and five different planting dates on flowering date growth and seed yield of two dent com inbred lines of different maturities were evaluated Clipping just above the shoot-apex delayed pollen sheeding 6 to 9days and silking 5 to 13 days but reduced stand and seed yield 30 to 70% and 67 to 81%. respectively. Clipping 5cm above the shoot apex delayed flowering 1 to 4 days without stand reduction but reduced yield 3 to 29%. Laterclipping was slightly more effective for delaying flowering than earlier clipping but reduced stand more severely when clipped just above the shoot apex. Under clear polyethylene film mulching, flowering of two lines was 13 to 15 days earlier and seed yield of B68 (late line) was significantly increased. As planting was delayed from April 18 to June 13, the number of days from planting to flowering of two lines decreased due to increase in air temperature. However, growing degree days (GDD) from planting to flowering of each lines was similar regardless planting dates indicating that GDD can be satisfactoryly used for choosing the planting dates of parent lines of different maturities. Seed yields of two lines were decreased with delaying planting dates.

• Korean Journal of Breeding Science
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.105-109
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• 2019

'Hwangdaok', a new maize F1 hybrid (Zea mays L.), was developed by the maize breeding team at the National Institute of Crop Science (NICS), RDA in 2016. The high-yielding yellow dent hybrid named 'Hwangdaok' was obtained by crossing between two inbred lines, 'KS203' and 'KS190'. After advanced yield trial in Suwon in 2012, regional yield trial was subsequently carried out to evaluate the growth and yield of 'Hwangdaok' at three different locations from 2014 to 2016. The number of days to silking of 'Hwangdaok' is 76. The plant height is 262 cm and ear height ratio is 51%, which are similar to those of 'Jangdaok'. It has resistance to lodging. The number of ears per 100 plants is 95. The ear length is 21.3 cm and weight of 100 seeds is 34.7 g, similar to those of 'Jangdaok'. It has moderate resistance to southern leaf blight (Bipolaris maydis) and European corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis). The grain yield (10 ton/ha) of 'Hwangdaok' is 6% higher than that of 'Jangdaok'. The seed production rate of 'Hwangdaok' is acceptable due to good synchronization of flowering period during crossing between the seed parent, KS203, and the pollen parent, KS190, in Yeongwol. F1 seed yield was 1.68 ton/ha. 'Hwangdaok' can be a suitable cultivar to plain areas in Korea. (Variety registration No. 7502).

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.311-325
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• 2023

This study was conducted to analyze the habitat suitability of the major honey trees including Kalopanax septemlobus Koidz., Prunus spp., Tilia spp., and Styrax obassia Siebold & Zucc. indigenous to mountain Gariwang and Yumeong using the machine learning approach (i.e., MaxEnt model). The AUC values of the model predictions were mostly above 0.7, and the results of the response curves showed that the environmental drivers that had effects on the habitat suitability of the major honey trees were elevation, mean annual precipitation, and mean annual temperature. These results indicate that climatic drivers along the elevation gradient are the main environmental drivers in explaining the distribution patterns of the major honey trees. In addition, the results of the response curves of Prunus spp. and Styrax obassia Siebold & Zucc. differed slightly in terms of slope and mean annual solar radiation as the main environmental drivers. The results of this study will be valuable for the establishment of honey tree forests and management plans for the natural and artificial forests in South Korea, as well as for the mapping the distribution of honey trees. Further studies at different regional levels, reflecting biotic drivers, will be needed to expand the production of honey and pollen at different strata and to produce honey annually.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.34 no.7
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• pp.493-499
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• 2024

Antimicrobial peptides are antimicrobial substances inherent in animals and plants, with strong antibacterial activity even in small amounts and with various other functions such as antiviral and antioxidant actions. Plants can be grown with just water and sunlight, allowing for their mass production at low costs. However, transforming a chloroplast into one that produces antimicrobial peptides, rather than growing plants, increases the amount of protein expression and minimizes contamination of the ecosystem because gene transfer by pollen does not occur. In that context, using transgenic plant chloroplasts to produce recombinant proteins increases protein degradation and reduces the solubility of proteins. To solve this problem, we fused SUMO, a fusion protein, with a recombinant protein. We also used a 6xHis tag to purify the fusion protein. The antimicrobial peptide stomoxyn is an antibacterial substance found in stable flies. Stomoxyn has an α-helix structure and is amphiphilic, which allows it to dissolve bacterial cell membranes. In this study, we constructed a transformation vector to express stomoxyn in both plant chloroplasts and Escherichia coli and used this vector to confirm the expression of stomoxyn in E. coli. The expression of the protein was then confirmed in E. coli using a transformation vector. The expressed stomoxyn was purified by nickel column and SUMOase treatment, and its antibacterial activity was confirmed using an agar diffusion assay. The EGFP gene was used to ensure that the transformed vector was inserted into the chloroplast.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.24-31
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• 2024

Background: Honey from different geographical origins can have distinct characteristics due to variations in the floral sources available to stingless bees in different regions. The most abundant stingless bee for meliponiculture in Thailand is Tetragonula pagdeni. However, only a few studies about the properties of honey from a different origin were carried out. The objective of this study was focused on a comparative study to evaluate the melissopalynological, physicochemical, antioxidant activities, and total phenolic contents (TPCs) of stingless bee honey produced by T. pagdeni from different parts of Thailand. Results: Fifty honey samples were collected from five locations, and the physicochemical properties of T. pagdeni honey samples are acidic (pH 3.02-4.15) and have a high water content (18.42-25.06 %w/w), which is related to the regions of meliponary. Melisopalynological analysis reveals the predominant pollen from Melaleuca quinquenervia, Cocus nuciferca, Nephelium lappaceum, Salacca wallichiana, and multiflora honey. All honey samples were analyzed for their TPC and 2,2-diphenyl1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity. The results show that all samples had high TPC and antioxidant activities with a strong correlation (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The data from this study indicates the importance of geographical origin, which links physicochemical properties, phenolic compounds, and functional characteristics to their floral. Besides, the floral sources and harvesting location affected the properties of stingless bee honey. Our results identify Melaleuca honey as a promising source of phenolic content and antioxidant activity that can be used as a functional food, as well as multiflora and Cocus honey. However, further studies are required to characterize the phenolic compound and its biological potential, which could be a stingless bee honey biomarker and quality control, simultaneously with the physicochemical analysis.

• The Korean Journal of Quaternary Research
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.13-22
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• 2017

The age of the Sorori old fluvial deposits is assumed as old as Last Interglacial(MIS 5) when appying the thalassostatic terrace formation in mid- to downstream Keum river basin, while the young fluvial deposits are interpreted to be formed since the post-LGM(last glacial maximum), including both the Bølling-Allerød (B/A) Interstadial(12,700~14,700 cal-yrBP), and the Younger Dryas Stadial(11,700~12,900 cal-yrBP). The wild rice seed like Oryza rufipogon found in the middle organic muds of the young fluvial deposits dated after about 15,000 cal-yrsBP, when the transition from the subalpine conifer forest to the deciduous broad-leaved forest was conspicuously evidenced in the upper part of OC-2 palynofloral zone of the in Cheonju Sorori site, In particular the OC-2 palynofloral zone ranging towards the upper part of middle organic muds(peaty muds) is interpreted to be formed in the B/A Interstadial. It is regarded that Cheongju Sorori rice seeds are associated with warm palynological evidences and backswamp insects during the Lastest Glacial, showing appearance of relatively warm climate similar to the present.