• The Journal of Fisheries Business Administration
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.1-18
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• 2011

This paper analyze a description of Korean fleet using bottom gears on the high seas. The need for this study arises from international moves to address the effects of fishing with bottom gears on vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) and in view of a communication on the Korean policy in respect of this. There is growing concern over the impact of fishing using gears that come into contact with the seabed (bottom gears), in particular in deep-sea areas where vulnerable marine ecosystems including seamounts, hydrothermal vents and cold water corals are located. Korea is an important stakeholder in high seas bottom gear fisheries. For the past eight years, the issue of protecting biodiversity in the deep-sea in areas beyond national jurisdiction has been extensively debated by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and in other international fora. As a result of the report and a review by the UNGA of the effectiveness of the measures called for in resolution 59/25, the UN General Assembly called for a series of specific actions to be taken by States and RFMOs in UNGA resolutions 61/105 in 2006 and 64/72 in 2009 adopted by consensus. Korea attaches great importance to the protection of marine ecosystems and has made active efforts to implement the UNGA Resolution 61/105 in areas where there is a regional fisheries management organization, a process of establishing such organization or no such multilateral regime. For the effective implementation of the UNGA Resolution 61/105 and 64/72, Korea views that the development of support tools and, most importantly, the development of a global database on VMEs are urgently needed because many countries lack the ability to identify VMEs and to assess whether individual bottom fishing activities would have significant adverse impacts on their own.

• Animal cells and systems
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.147-153
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• 2007

DNA extracted from ancient bones of Cervidae animals was examined to identify the species and to determine the phylogenetic relationships to those from extant cervids. Abundant ancient bones were excavated from Kumsung archaeological site in Jeju Island, Korea, and were identified as Cervidae animals based on morphological features of their antlers and lower mandibles. Their mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region (CR) was partially sequenced and subsequently compared with those previously reported in database. The results confirmed that the ancient sequences are lineage of Cervidae. On the phylogenetic trees constructed using the sequence diversity of the CR sequences of family Cervidae, the ancient DNA sequences were found on distinct clusters. The ancient sequences were located in the subfamily Capreolinae cluster, and six ancient sequences were closely related to those of extant Korean roe deer in Jeju Island and Korean Peninsula. Consequently, the results of this study suggest that the roe deer inhabited Jeju Island in ancient times. However, there is no evidence for the existence of subfamily Cervinae, including Sika deer, while it has been described in several historical records. The results suggest that this finding could contribute to understanding of the origin and phylogenetic relationships of extant and ancient roe deer on Jeju Island.

• Spatial Information Research
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.251-259
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• 2009

As a result of the current trend towards promoting conservation of the ecosystem, there have been various studies conducted to determine ways to establish an ecological network. The development of analytical methods and an environmental database of GIS has made the creation of this network more efficient. This study focuses on the development of an urban spatial decision support system based on 'Landscape Ecology Theory'. The spatial decision support system suggested in this study consists of four stages. First, landscape patch for the core areas, which are major structures of the ecological network, was determined using the GIS overlay method. Second, a forest habitat was investigated to determine connectivity assessment. Using the gravity model, connectivity assessment at the habitat forest was conducted to select the needed connecting area. Third, the most suitable corridor routes for the eco-network were presented using the least-cost path analysis. Finally, a brief investigation was conducted to determine the conflict areas between the study result and landuse. The results of this study can be applied to urban green network planning. Moreover, the method developed in this study can be utilized to control urban sprawl, promote biodiversity.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.583-590
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• 2018

Genus Typha L. (Typhaceae; Cattail in common) is one of the hydrophytic plants found in semi-aquatic regions. About nine to 18 species of the genus exist all over the world. In Korea, the most commonly found cattail species are T. laxmanni and T. angustifolia. The aim of this study was to prepare a cDNA library and sequences and analyze expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from these species, T. laxmanni and T. angustifolia. In the case of T. laxmanni, we observed that 715 out of 742 ESTs had high quality sequences, whereas the remaining 27 ESTs were low quality sequences. In this study, we identified 77 contigs, 393 unassembled clones and 65.7% singletons. Furthermore, in the case of T. angustifolia, we recorded 992 high quality EST sequences, and by excluding 28 low quality sequences from among them, we retrieved 120 contigs, 348 unassembled clones and 48.9% singletons. The basic local alignment search tool (BLAST) and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) database results enabled us to identify the functional categories, i.e., molecular function (16.5%), biological process (22.2%) and cellular components (61.3%). In addition, between these two species, the no hits and anonymous genes were 4.2% and 11.7% and 6.2% and 11.2% in T. laxmanni and T. angustifolia, respectively, based on the BLAST results. The study concluded that they have certain species-specific genes. Hence, the results of this study on these two species could be a valuable resource for further studies.

• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.260-277
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• 2018

The evolution of chromosome numbers and the karyotype structure is a prominent feature of plant genomes contributing to or at least accompanying plant diversification and eventually leading to speciation. Polyploidy, the multiplication of whole chromosome sets, is widespread and ploidy-level variation is frequent at all taxonomic levels, including species and populations, in angiosperms. Analyses of chromosome numbers and ploidy levels of 252 taxa of Korean non-commelinid monocots indicated that diploids (ca. 44%) and tetraploids (ca. 14%) prevail, with fewer triploids (ca. 6%), pentaploids (ca. 2%), and hexaploids (ca. 4%) being found. The range of genome sizes of the analyzed taxa (0.3-44.5 pg/1C) falls well within that reported in the Plant DNA C-values database (0.061-152.33 pg/1C). Analyses of karyotype features in angiosperm often involve, in addition to chromosome numbers and genome sizes, mapping of selected repetitive DNAs in chromosomes. All of these data when interpreted in a phylogenetic context allow for the addressing of evolutionary questions concerning the large-scale evolution of the genomes as well as the evolution of individual repeat types, especially ribosomal DNAs (5S and 35S rDNAs), and other tandem and dispersed repeats that can be identified in any plant genome at a relatively low cost using next-generation sequencing technologies. The present work investigates chromosome numbers (n or 2n), base chromosome numbers (x), ploidy levels, rDNA loci numbers, and genome size data to gain insight into the incidence, evolution and significance of polyploidy in Korean monocots.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.64 no.1
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• pp.33-38
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• 2021

Marine sponges contain pharmacologically attractive substances that exhibit strong cytotoxicity and are used as materials to isolate potential drug candidates. However, with a growing interest in marine ecosystem conservation, it is becoming increasingly difficult to gather a sponge for natural product research. To build a database to cope with this issue, we measured the neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory activity of 181 sponge extracts. As a result, we found 17 samples with neuroprotective effects and 14 samples with anti-inflammatory effects. In addition, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis was performed to compare the components contained in each sample, and based on HPLC profiles, a dendrogram according to similarity was created. The results of this study suggested the possibility of discovering the active compounds in the sponge and laid the basis for efficient research on the sponge.

• Proceedings of the National Institute of Ecology of the Republic of Korea
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.104-114
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• 2023

In this study, the distribution, bait preference, hosts, symbionts, habitat status, and cytochrome c oxidase subunit-I sequences of the ant Linepithema humile were analyzed. This species habitat comprised approximately 1.5 km along stone crevices, flower gardens, roadsides, and container yards in the vicinity of Busan station, Korea. Feeding activity of this species was confirmed in 9 species of 7 families of plants. Which was approximately 14% of total flora (63 species of 37 families) in the studied area. Particularly, it was observed that Dendranthema indicum and Camellia japonica were the most frequently visited. Further, we verified that they interacted with four species of aphids. We identified 22 species of ants (17 genera, 4 subfamilies) inhabiting the Busan station area, including L. humile, Tetramorium tsushimae, Nylanderia flavipes and the alien species Paratrechina longicornis. In areas where L. humile was the dominant species, the habitat of local native ants was reduced by approximately 30%. Bait preference was ranked in the following order: jelly, water with glucose (25%), and yogurt, with the highest preference for baits containing sugar and protein. The 630-bp cytochrome c oxidase subunit-I sequences of the local L. humile populations were 99% identical to those of L. humile in the National Center for Biotechnology Information database, and the Argentine ants that invaded Korea had a sequence identical to that of other invasive populations from China, Japan, and New Zealand. As L. humile rapidly increases due to domestic adaptation, continuous monitoring and control strategy for eradication are needed to protect domestic biodiversity.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.341-354
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• 2023

This is the third series of catalogs reporting on Korean species discovered through the 'Discovery of Korean Indigenous Species'. This catalog includes 22 species of invertebrates, excluding insects. The catalog includes the scientific name, an abridged list of synonyms, collection sites, distribution, diagnosis, and figures for each species. Additionally, we provide the newly assigned Korean name, specimen voucher, and, if available, mitochondrial CO1 or 16S gene sequences of the species listed. All species identified and documented here will be officially listed on the 'National Species List of Korea', a database maintained by the National Institute of Biological Resources(NIBR).

• Mycobiology
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.160-171
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• 2017

Larvae of Bradysia agrestis, an insect vector that transports plant pathogens, were sampled from geographically isolated regions in Korea to identify their cutaneous fungal and bacterial flora. Sampled areas were chosen within the distribution range of B. agrestis; each site was more than 91 km apart to ensure geographical segregation. We isolated 76 microbial (fungi and bacteria) strains (site 1, 29; site 2, 29; site 3, 18 strains) that were identified on the basis of morphological differences. Species identification was molecularly confirmed by determination of universal fungal internal transcribed spacer and bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequences in comparison to sequences in the EzTaxon database and the NCBI GenBank database, and their phylogenetic relationships were determined. The fungal isolates belonged to 2 phyla, 5 classes, and 7 genera; bacterial species belonged to 23 genera and 32 species. Microbial diversity differed significantly among the geographical groups with respect to Margalef's richness (3.9, 3.6, and 4.5), Menhinick's index (2.65, 2.46, and 3.30), Simpson's index (0.06, 0.12, and 0.01), and Shannon's index (2.50, 2.17, and 2.58). Although the microbial genera distribution or diversity values clearly varied among geographical groups, common genera were identified in all groups, including the fungal genus Cladosporium, and the bacterial genera Bacillus and Rhodococcus. According to classic principles of co-evolutionary relationship, these genera might have a closer association with their host insect vector B. agrestis than other genera identified. Some cutaneous bacterial genera (e.g., Pseudomonas) displaying weak interdependency with insect vectors may be hazardous to agricultural environments via mechanical transmission via B. agrestis. This study provides comprehensive information regarding the cutaneous microflora of B. agrestis, which can help in the control of such pests for crop management.

• The Korean Journal of Malacology
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.263-268
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• 2016

Metallothionein (MT) family of metal-binding proteins are involved in maintaining homeostasis and heavy metal poisoning. Recently, MT has been considered as a biomarker that can identify a particular species, very similar to the use of cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene. Satsuma myomphala species of land snails have been reported from North-East Asia, including South Korea and Japan. In particular, the land snail species have been known from only a limited area of Geoje Island, Gyeongsangnam-do province of South Korea. Genetic studies of S. myomphala has been limited with only 6 nucleotide, 2 protein registered on the NCBI server. For elucidating the genetic information of S. myomphala, we conducted RNA sequencing analysis using Illumina HiSeq 2500 next-generation platform. We screened the MT gene from the RNA-Seq database to confirm the molecular phylogenetic relationship. After sequencing, the de novo analysis and clustering generated 103,774 unigenes. After annotation against PANM database using BLAST program, we obtained MT sequence of 74 amino acid residues containing the coding region of 222 bp. Based on this sequence, we found about 53 sequences using the BLAST program in NCBI nr database. Using ClustalX alignment, Maximum-Likehood Tree of MEGA program, we confirmed the molecular phylogenetic relationships that showed similarity with mollusks such as Helix pomatia and H. aspersa, Megathura crenulata.