• Proceedings of the National Institute of Ecology of the Republic of Korea
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.120-128
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• 2021

The objective of this study was to analyze the genotype of black-spotted pond frog (Pelophylax nigromaculatus) using seven microsatellite loci to quantify its genetic diversity and population structure throughout the spatial scale of basins of Han, Geum, Yeongsan, and Nakdong Rivers in South Korea. Genetic diversities in these four areas were compared using diversity index and inbreeding coefficient obtained from the number and frequency of alleles as well as heterozygosity. Additionally, the population structure was confirmed with population differentiation, Nei's genetic distance, multivariate analysis, and Bayesian clustering analysis. Interestingly, a negative genetic diversity pattern was observed in the Han River basin, indicating possible recent habitat disturbances or population declines. In contrast, a positive genetic diversity pattern was found for the population in the Nakdong River basin that had remained the most stable. Results of population structure suggested that populations of black-spotted pond frogs distributed in these four river basins were genetically independent. In particular, the population of the Nakdong River basin had the greatest genetic distance, indicating that it might have originated from an independent population. These results support the use of genetics in addition to designations strictly based on geographic stream areas to define the spatial scale of populations for management and conservation practices.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.18-22
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• 2013

A recent study on the mitochondrial genetic variation of the Carassius auratus population in South Korea suggested that there are 3 distinct mitochondrial lineages in the country, and that they are geographically separated between westward rivers and southward rivers, respectively. In this study, the population genetic structure of amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) of Carassius auratus was investigated. The results of analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) supported the geographic distinction between westward and southward river populations, but only 3.66% of total genetic variance lies among these populations. The panmicticity of the AFLP genetic variation is backed up by the results of the neighbor-joining dendrogram drawn from a linearized pairwise $F_{ST}$ matrix and Bayesian clustering analysis. The discordance of genetic structure between mitochondrial and AFLP genetic variation may come from difference in effective population size between these markers and/or gene flow between westward and southward river populations through river capture events.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.354-362
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• 2018

Population genetic assessment is essential for the conservation and management of endangered and rare plants. Neofinetia falcata is endangered epiphyte orchid and protected by law in Korea. In Korea, this species is only found on islands in the South Sea of Korea (including Jeju-do) and the southern coast of the Korean Peninsula. We developed nine microsatellite makers to assess the genetic diversity and population genetic structure of three populations of N. falcata. The genetic diversity at the species level was low, which can be attributed to inbreeding or fragmentation into small, isolated populations. A recent bottleneck was detected in one population, likely due to overcollection. N. falcata exhibited moderated levels of differentiation among populations, with the three populations were divided into two clusters based on genetic structure. The genetic diversity and structure of N. falcata are affected by restricted gene flow by pollen or seeds due to isolation and geographic distance. Strategies for in situ and ex situ conservation of this species are been proposed based on the results of our study.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.9-13
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• 2002

Crepidiastrum lanceolatum ($H_{OUTT}$) $N_{AKAI}$ (Compositae) is distributed in East Asia including Korea. Genetic diversity and population structure of six C. lanceolatum populations in Korea and two populations in Japan were determined using genetic variation at 19 allozyme loci. The percent of polymorphic loci within the enzymes was 42.1%. Genetic diversity at the species level and at the population level was low (Hes : 0.077; Hep : 0.068, respectively), where-as the extent of the population divergence was relatively low ($G_{ST}$ : 0.093). One of the most striking features of this study was the more significant difference within populations than among populations. An indirect estimate of the number of migrants per generation (Nm : 2.44) indicated that gene flow was moderate among eight populations of the species. In addition, analysis of fixation indices revealed a slight heterozygosity deficiency in some populations and at some loci. Narrow geographic ranges, short-lived perennial herbaceous, and small population sizes are mainly associated with the low level of genetic variation.n.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.1519-1523
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• 2003

Glehnia littoralis Fr. Schmidt (Umbelliferae) is a short-lived herbaceous species that are mostly distributed throughout East Asia. Although G. littoralis has been regarded as ecologically important one, there is no report on population structure in Korea. Starch gel electrophoresis was used to investigate the allozyme variation and genetic structure of Korean populations of this species. A high level of genetic variation was found in G. littoral is populations. Nine enzymes revealed 18 loci, of which 12 were polymorphic (66.7%). Genetic diversity at the species and population levels were 0.159 and 0.129, respectively. The sexual and asexual reproduction, high fecundity, and colonization process are proposed as possible factors contributing to genetic diversity. An indirect estimate of the number of migrants per generation (Nm = 1.45) indicated that gene flow was not extensive among Korean populations of this species. It is suggested that the ability of vegetation and artificial selection may have played roles in shaping the population structure of this species. we recommend that a desirable conservation population should be included at least 30 plants per population and especially those with high variation.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.789-800
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• 2021

Objective: Conservation and genetic improvement of cattle breeds require information about genetic diversity and population structure of the cattle. In this study, we investigated the genetic diversity and population structure of the three cattle breeds in the Korean peninsula. Methods: Jeju Black, Hanwoo, Holstein cattle in Korea, together with six foreign breeds were examined. Genetic diversity within the cattle breeds was analyzed with minor allele frequency (MAF), observed and expected heterozygosity (HO and HE), inbreeding coefficient (FIS) and past effective population size. Molecular variance and population structure between the nine breeds were analyzed using a model-based clustering method. Genetic distances between breeds were evaluated with Nei's genetic distance and Weir and Cockerham's FST. Results: Our results revealed that Jeju Black cattle had lowest level of heterozygosity (HE = 0.21) among the studied taurine breeds, and an average MAF of 0.16. The level of inbreeding was -0.076 for Jeju Black, while -0.018 to -0.118 for the other breeds. Principle component analysis and neighbor-joining tree showed a clear separation of Jeju Black cattle from other local (Hanwoo and Japanese cattle) and taurine/indicine cattle breeds in evolutionary process, and a distinct pattern of admixture of Jeju Black cattle having no clustering with other studied populations. The FST value between Jeju Black cattle and Hanwoo was 0.106, which was lowest across the pair of breeds ranging from 0.161 to 0.274, indicating some degree of genetic closeness of Jeju Black cattle with Hanwoo. The past effective population size of Jeju Black cattle was very small, i.e. 38 in 13 generation ago, whereas 209 for Hanwoo. Conclusion: This study indicates genetic uniqueness of Jeju Black cattle. However, a small effective population size of Jeju Black cattle indicates the requirement for an implementation of a sustainable breeding policy to increase the population for genetic improvement and future conservation.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.97-104
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• 2021

Background: Asarum sieboldii Miq., a species of forest understory vegetation, is an herbaceous perennial belonging to the family Aristolochiaceae. The metapopulation of A. sieboldii is distributed sparsely and has a short seed dispersal distance by ants as their seed distributor. It is known that many flowers of A. sieboldii depend on self-fertilization. Because these characteristics can affect negatively in genetic structure, investigating habitat structure and assessment of genetic structure is needed. A total of 27 individuals in a valley were sampled for measuring genetic diversity, genetic distance, and genetic differentiation by RAPDPCR. Results: The habitat areas of A. sieboldii metapopulation were relatively small (3.78~33.60 m²) and population density was very low (five to seven individuals in 20×20 m quadrat). The habitat of A. sieboldii was a very shady (relative light intensity = 0.9%) and mature forest with a high evenness value (J = 0.81~0.99) and a low dominance value (D = 0.19~0.28). The total genetic diversity of A. sieboldii was quite high (h = 0.338, I = 0.506). A total of 33 band loci were observed in five selected primers, and 31 band loci (94%) were polymorphic. However, genetic differentiation along the valley was highly progressed (G_st = 0.548, N_m = 0.412). The average genetic distance between subpopulations was 0.387. The results of AMOVA showed 52.77% of variance occurs among populations, which is evidence of population structuring. Conclusions: It is expected that a small-scale founder effect had occurred, an individual spread far from the original subpopulation formed a new subpopulation. However, geographical distance between individuals would have been far and genetic flow occurred only within each subpopulation because of the low density of population. This made significant genetic distance between the original and new population by distance. Although genetic diversity of A. sieboldii metapopulation is not as low as concerned, the subpopulation of A. sieboldii can disappear by stochastic events due to small subpopulation size and low density of population. To prevent genetic isolation and to enhance the stable population size, conservative efforts such as increasing the size of each subpopulation or the connection between subpopulations are needed.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.454-461
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• 2019

Background: Ikonnikov's whiskered bat (Myotis ikonnikovi) is found throughout the Korean Peninsula, as well as in Kazakhstan, Russia, Mongolia, China, and Japan. It is small-sized and primarily inhabits old-growth forests. The decrease and fragmentation of habitats due to increased human activity may influence the genetic structure of bat populations. This study was designed to elucidate the population genetic structure of M. ikonnikovi using mitochondrial genes (cytochrome oxidase I and cytochrome b). Results: The results showed that M. ikonnikovi populations from Korea have high genetic diversity. Although genetic differentiation was not detected for the COI gene, strong genetic differentiation of the Cytb gene between Mt. Jeombong and Mt. Jiri populations was observed. Moreover, the results indicated that the gene flow of the maternal lineage may be limited. Conclusions: This study is the first to identify the genetic population structure of M. ikonnikovi. We suggest that conservation of local populations is important for sustaining the genetic diversity of the bat, and comprehensive studies on factors causing habitat fragmentation are required.

• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.182-193
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• 2011

As a part of the on-going effort to conserve endangered Scrophularia takesimensis Nakai in Korea, its genetic structure and diversity from 3 population, consisted of 14 subpopulations in Ulleung Island were analyzed using RAPD band patterns. Out of 60 primers tested, 33 generated amplified bands with its genome, including 149 polymorphic and 67 monomorphic bands. The highest number (146) was found in northern population, especially, 64 in HY subpopulation; the smallest (40) in eastern population. An examination of its genetic structure with AMOVA revealed that about 60% of all variations could be assigned to among subpopulations within populations. Population differentiation among populations and subpopulations is seriously going now because of habitat fragmentation due to human activities, such as road and small port construction. Although the habitats of S. takesimensis in Ulleung Island, Korea are disappeared at an alarming rate, significant levels of genetic variation still exist at species level, and population level, especially northern population. Therefore, three conservation strategies should be needed urgently; 1) preservation of populations as it stands, 2) establishment of recovery plan to connect population and subpopulations genetically, and 3) long-term monitoring.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.14-19
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• 2000

Variation at 25 allozyme loci in Korean wateralder (Alnus hirsuta Rupr.) from nine distinct populations was measured to estimate the amount and pattern of genetic diversity and population structure. The mean genetic diversity within population was 0.166. Korean alder populations have slightly high levels of genetic diversity compared to those present in associated temperature-zone species and two Canadian alder species. Among population s genetic differentiation accounted for an significant 9% of the total variation. High gene flow(Nm=2.63) was observed. Analysis of fixation indices, calculated for all polymorphic loci in each population, showed a substantial deficiency of heterozygotes relative to Hardy-Weinberg expectations. The mean GST value A. hirsuta in Korea (GST = 0.087) is similar to those of A. rogosa in Canada (GST = 0.052). These low values of GST in two countries. reflecting little spatial genetic differentiation, may indicate extensive gene flow (via pollen and/or seeds) and/or recent colonization. These factors reduce the effect of geographic isolation of breeding and the chance for genetic divergence. A pattern of increasing is observed with increasing rainfall per year. Regression analysis indicates that 54% (F = 4.67) of the variability observed can be explained by this relationship.