• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.5.1-5.9
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• 2019

The chinstrap (Pygoscelis antarcticus) and gentoo (P. papua) penguins are distributed throughout Antarctica and the sub-Antarctic islands. In this study, high-quality de novo assemblies of blood transcriptomes from these penguins were generated using the Illumina MiSeq platform. A total of 22.2 and 21.8 raw reads were obtained from chinstrap and gentoo penguins, respectively. These reads were assembled using the Oases assembly platform and resulted in 26,036 and 21,854 contigs with N50 values of 929 and 933 base pairs, respectively. Functional gene annotations through pathway analyses of the Gene Ontology, EuKaryotic Orthologous Groups, and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) databases were performed for each blood transcriptome, resulting in a similar compositional order between the two transcriptomes. Ortholog comparisons with previously published transcriptomes from the $Ad{\acute{e}}lie$ (P. adeliae) and emperor (Aptenodytes forsteri) penguins revealed that a high proportion of the four penguins' transcriptomes had significant sequence homology. Because blood and tissues of penguins have been used to monitor pollution in Antarctica, immune parameters in blood could be important indicators for understanding the health status of penguins and other Antarctic animals. In the blood transcriptomes, KEGG analyses detected many essential genes involved in the major innate immunity pathways, which are key metabolic pathways for maintaining homeostasis against exogenous infections or toxins. Blood transcriptome studies such as this may be useful for checking the immune and health status of penguins without sacrifice.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.137-147
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• 1999

Penguins are one of the key constituent organisms in the Antarctic ecosystem. A total of 18 species of penguins occur only in the southern hemisphere from the Galapagos Archipelago to southern area off Australia and New Zealand, South Africa, South America, and the islands scattered in the Southern Ocean to the coast along the Antarctic Continent. In the Antarctic Treaty area, there are only 5 species of penguins such as Emperor (Aptenodytes forsteri), Gentoo (Pygoscelis papua ellsworthi), Adelie (P. adeliae), Chinstrap (p. antarctica), and Macaroni (Eudyptes chrysolophus) penguins. Two additional species, the King (Aptenodytes patagonicus patagonicus) and Rockhopper (Eudyptes chrysocome) penguins, however, are distributed within the Antarctic Convergence. In the vicinity of king Sejong Station located in King George Island, the South Shetland Islands off the Antarctic Peninsula, 5 species are observed, among which 2 Pygoscelis species such as the Gentoo and Chinstrap penguins hatch their eggs and raise their chicks at the rookery 2km south offing Sejong Station in summer. Adelie penguins hatch their chicks in other place in King George Island. One Emperor penguin roamed on the frozen Maxwell Bay which has been frozen every two or three years with the approximate thickness of 60cm. And one Macaroni penguin also visited the rookery in summer. We should carry out researches on the penguins occurring in the vicinity of King Sejong Station to monitor the environmental changes around King Sejong Station and the South Shetland Islands.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.87-101
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• 2004

This paper delineated the ecology including movement (departure from the rookery and returning to the rookery), egg-laying, and hatch of the penguins occurred in the cold years and a less cold year in the vicinity of King Sejong Station, King George Island off the Antarctic Peninsula. The years of 1988, 1991, 1992, and 1995 were selected as cold years and the year of 2001 was selected as a less cold year based on the mean annual temperature of the years. Gentoo Penguin (Pygoscelis papua) left their rookery in May, meanwhile some remained around the station. They returned in middle-September in the less cold .year, and returned in late-September to early-October in the cold years. Chinstrap Penguin (Pygoscelis antarctica) left their rookery in early-April in the cold years as well as in the less cold year without exception. They returned to the rookery in late-October to early-November in cold years, meanwhile in early-October in the less cold year. This difference in the returning of this bird seems to be related with the exposed sea water, i.e., sea ice condition to feed in the sea. The global warming will lead to the appearance of birds which breed in the Sub-Antarctic. For example, one pair of King Penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) was observed in the Maxwell Bay in austral summer. And a pair of snide-like bird was recently observed for the first time in November 2001 at the penguin rookery located in the Barton Peninsula, King George Island. And it will also lead to the disappearance of an Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) which appeared in the full winter when Maxwell Bay and Marian Cove were frozen. It seems that the behaviour of the penguins observed around the station shows the complex effects of the ecology of the birds in combination with the natural environments, which include feeding strategy and areas, animal Instincts, exposed terrain related to weather conditions, and globa1 warming. It is necessary to take further observation and carry out systematic researches on the birds including penguins around the station which show the ecology of the birds as well as the environmental changes.