• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.513-521
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• 2023

Seed-borne diseases reduce not only the seed germination and seedling growth but also seed quality, resulting in the significant yield loss in crop production. Plant seed harbors diverse microbes termed endophytes other than pathogens inside it. However, their roles and application to agricultures were rarely understood and explored to date. Recently, we had isolated from soybean seeds culturable endophytes exhibiting in-vitro antagonistic activities against common bacterial and fungal seed-borne pathogens. In this study, we evaluated effects of seed treatment with endophytes on plant growth and protection against the common seed-borne pathogens: four fungal pathogens (Cercospora sojina, C. kikuchii, Septoria glycines, Diaporthe eres) and two bacterial pathogens (Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. glycines, Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci). Our experiments showed that treatment of soybean seeds with seed endophytes clearly offer protection against seed-borne pathogens. We also found that some of the endophytes promote plant growth in addition to the disease suppression. Taken together, our results demonstrate agricultural potential of seed endophytes in crop protection.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.359-367
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• 2020

Objectives: Exposure to mold is strongly associated with adverse health effects (development or exacerbation of allergic diseases). We reviewed the health effects of mold exposure and explored to determine the annual distribution of indoor mold in facilities with susceptible populations. Methods: The health effects of mold exposure were mainly summarized by reviewing related papers and WHO research reports. We selected 10 facilities, including daycare centers, postpartum care centers, medical institutions, and elderly care facilities within the Seoul Metropolitan. Mold sampling was performed once every week or once every quarter from February 2016 to 2017. In addition, fungal species analyses was performed, and distribution status by month and facility was analyzed in the same manner as concentration. Results: Adverse health effects attributed to fungal exposure are largely divided into allergic symptoms, toxic effects, and infectious effects. Monthly mean concentrations of mold indoors and outdoors was 368.8 CFU/㎥ (geometric mean 213.4 CFU/㎥) and 496.0 CFU/㎥ (327.9 CFU/㎥), respectively. The indoor concentration has begun to increase in February, peaked in July, declined in August, increased again until October, and then decreased in November. About 36 genera of indoor fungal species were found in each facility. Cladosporium sp., Penicillium sp., Fusarium sp., Aspergillus sp., Alternaria sp., and Arthrinium sp. were observed as the dominant species. Conclusions: Our findings showed that the overall level of indoor mold was below the 500 CFU/㎥ level recommended by the Ministry of Environment. The development of DNA-based assessment and expanding facilities to be monitored for mold would be necessary for preventive aspects.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.44-58
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• 2018

Pseudomonas chlororaphis 30-84 is a biological control agent selected for its ability to suppress diseases caused by fungal pathogens. P. chlororaphis 30-84 produces three phenazines: phenazine-1-carboxylic acid (PCA), 2-hydroxy-phenazine-1-carboxylic acid (2OHPCA) and a small amount of 2-hydroxy-phenazine (2OHPHZ), and these are required for fungal pathogen inhibition and wheat rhizosphere competence. The two, 2-hydroxy derivatives are produced from PCA via the activity of a phenazine-modifying enzyme encoded by phzO. In addition to the seven biosynthetic genes responsible for the production of PCA, many other Pseudomonas strains possess one or more modifying genes, which encode enzymes that act independently or together to convert PCA into other phenazine derivatives. In order to understand the fitness effects of producing different phenazines, we constructed isogenic derivatives of P. chlororaphis 30-84 that differed only in the type of phenazines produced. Altering the type of phenazines produced by P. chlororaphis 30-84 enhanced the spectrum of fungal pathogens inhibited and altered the degree of take-all disease suppression. These strains also differed in their ability to promote extracellular DNA release, which may contribute to the observed differences in the amount of biofilm produced. All derivatives were equally important for survival over repeated plant/harvest cycles, indicating that the type of phenazines produced is less important for persistence in the wheat rhizosphere than whether or not cells produce phenazines. These findings provide a better understanding of the effects of different phenazines on functions important for biological control activity with implications for applications that rely on introduced or native phenazine producing populations.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.97-104
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• 1998

Fugi are eukaryotic, nonphotosynthetic, filamentous or unicellular organisms, most of which grow on nonliving materials as saphrophytes. The majority are therefore opportunistic pathogens and predisposing factors often contribute to the establishment of fungal infection. These include an alteration in the normal flora of the host by prolonged administration of antibiotics, immunosup-pression, concurrent infections, damage to the skin or mucous membranes, constantly moist areas of skin or the exposure to a large infective dose, and as with fungal spores. Fungi may cause a variety of diseases which may be due directly to fungal invasion of tissue or more often to the ingestion of toxins produces by fungi in growing, standing or stored grains and other animals feeds. In this experiment, contaminated fugi were isolated and identified from animal feedstuffs such as Korean cattle, milking cows, pigs and chickens. Twelve genues were isolated from animal feeds, they are 9 from Korean cattle and milking cows feeds, 6 from pigs feeds, and 10 from chickens feeds. Among them, most frequently encountered species was Yeast(56 strains), followed by Fusarium sp(41 strains), Aspergillus sp(20 strains), each of Micorsporum sp and Trichophyton sp(17 strains), Penicilium sp(12 strains), in order. And also minority was isolated as Candide sp(4 strains), Trichoderma sp(3 strains), each of Epidermophytom sp and Absida sp(2 strains), and each of Sporothrix sp and Maduromyces sp(1 strain). Among the Aspergillus sp 20 isolates, A flavus(5 strains), A nidulans(4 strains), A fumigatus(3 strains), A glucans(3 strains), A niger(3 strains) and A terreus(2 strains) were identified.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.622-627
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• 2012

The processes to determine the composition, dynamics, and activity of infection mechanisms by the rhizosphere microflora have attracted the interest of scientists from multiple disciplines although considerable progress of the infection pathways and plant-pathogen interactions by soil borne fungal pathogens have been made. Soilborne pathogens are confined within a three-dimensional matrix of mineral soil particles, pores, organic matter in various stages of decomposition and a biological component. Among the physical and chemical properties of soils soil texture and matric water potential may be the two most important factors that determine spread exudates by soil borne fungal pathogens, based on the size of the soil pores. Pathogenic invasion of plant roots involves complex molecular mechanisms which occur in the diffuse interface between the root and the soil created by root exudates. The initial infection by soilborne pathogens can be caused by enzymes which breakdown cell wall layers to penetrate the plant cell wall for the fungus. However, the fate and mobility of the exudates are less well understood. Therefore, it needs to develop methods to control disease caused by enzymes produced by the soilborne pathogens by verifying many other possible pathways and mechanisms of infection processes occurring in soils.

• Proceedings of the Korea Contents Association Conference
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• 2018.05a
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• pp.409-410
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• 2018

Background: Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases and can be affected by environmental factors. It has been reported that exposure to indoor environmental factors can cause infantile asthma during infancy and childhood, but the previous studies are not yet clear. Climate change has recently been shown to increase indoor mold. Exposure to fungi is known to be directly related to the development of aggravation. Methods: This study was conducted from July 20, 2016 to September 30, 2016. The study was conducted on 90 household with children under the age of 7 who attend atopy school. The questionnaire surveyed allergic symptoms, social and demographic characteristics, and environmental characteristics. Environmentally hazardous substances were measured such as temperature, humidity, fine dust, volatile organic compounds, formaldehyde, bacteria, fungus, house dust mite, endotoxin. Results: According to the survey results, 9 patients (10%) were treated with asthma, 6 (6.7%) were asthmatic patients during the past 12 months, and 4 patients (4.4%) were asthmatic patients during the past 12 months. There were statistically significant differences in the direct effect of smokers in the family (P=0.0328). High-filter vacuum cleaners collected $0.4222CFU/m^3$ in subjects without asthma, and $0.2222CFU/m^3$ in subjects with asthma. In addition, various results confirmed that asthma exacerbated by mold exposure. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that exposure to fungal by infants and toddlers may play an important role in the development of asthma. In this study, we investigated the relationship between asthma and fungal concentration.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.89-94
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• 2010

Plant pathogenic fungi are the most diverse and drastic causal agents of crop diseases threatening stable food production all over the world. Plant have evolved efficient innate immune system to scout and counterattack fungal invasion and pathogenic fungi also developed virulence system to nullify plant resistance machinery or signaling pathways and to propagate and dominate within their niche. A growing body of evidences suggests that post translational modifications (PTMs) and selective/nonselective degradations of proteins involved in virulence expression of plant pathogenic fungi and plant defense machinery should play pivotal roles during the compatible and incompatible interactions. This review elucidates recent investigations about the effects of PTMs and protein degradations on host defense and fungal pathogens' invasions.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.43-73
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• 2017

Objectives : Because fungal disease is common and easy to recur, there is need to develop treatment in Korean medical academy. For more intensified study about fungal disease, this article summarized and analyzed tendency of ones in Korean medical journal. Methods : We found 74 articles about fungus in journal of Korean medicine by using 15 Korean keywords and 19 English keywords at internet reference site as follows ; http://oasis.kiom.re.kr, http://www.riss.kr, http://www.dbpia.co.kr, http://www.ndsl.kr, http://kiss.kstudy.com, http://www.naver.com, http://www.google.com. Results : There were 12 articles(16.2%), ranked highest in 2005. Korean Journal of Oriental Physiology & Pathology ranked highest(41.9%). 3 persons ranked highest(23.0%) in number of author. There was 1 descriptive report in original article category. There were 52 In vitro articles and 8 In vivo & In vitro articles in experimental study item. Candida species ranked highest in strain category. There were 4 case reports. Conclusions : There were many experimental studies about fungal diseases, but more clinical research and case reports are necessary to give practical application to patients.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.465-475
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• 2021

The aim of this study was to characterize potential fungal species affecting mangrove species in Mexico. The phytopathogens were identified based on morphological and molecular characteristics using internal transcribed spacer (ITS1/ITS4) primers then sequenced and compared with the other related sequences in GenBank (NCBI). Three fungal species were identified as Colletotrichum queenslandicum (Weir and Johnst, 2012) from black mangrove (Avicennia germinans); Colletotrichum ti (Weir and Johnst, 2012) from white mangrove (Laguncularia racemosa) and buttonwood mangrove (Conocarpus erectus); Fusarium equiseti (Corda) from red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle). In addition, C. ti and F. equiseti were identified from mango Mangifera indica L. sampled close by the mangrove area. This study provides first evidence of anthracnose on four mangrove species caused by Colletotrichum and Fusarium species in the "Términos" coastal lagoon in Campeche State southern Mexico. This is the first time that C. queenslandicum and C. ti are reported in Mexico. F. equiseti has not been reported affecting M. indica and R. mangle until the present work. Little is known regarding fungal diseases affecting mangroves in Mexico. These ecosystems are protected by Mexican laws and may be threatened by these pathogenic fungus. This is the first report of the effect of Trichoderma harzianum TRICHO-SIN as an effective biological control against of Colletotrichum and Fusarium species.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.268-279
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• 2021

Citrus scab, caused by the fungal pathogen Elsinoë fawcettii, is one of the most important fungal diseases affecting Citrus spp. Citrus scab affects young tissues, including the leaves, twigs, and fruits, and produces severe fruit blemishes that reduce the market value of fresh fruits. To study the molecular responses of satsuma mandarin (C. unshiu) to E. fawcettii, plant hormone-related gene expression was analyzed in response to host-compatible (SM16-1) and host-incompatible (DAR70024) isolates. In the early phase of infection by E. fawcettii, jasmonic acid- and salicylic acid-related gene expression was induced in response to infection with the compatible isolate. However, as symptoms advanced during the late phase of the infection, the jasmonic acid- and salicylic acid-related gene expression was downregulated. The gene expression patterns were compared between compatible and incompatible interactions. As scabs were accompanied by altered tissue growth surrounding the infection site, we conducted gibberellic acid- and abscisic acid-related gene expression analysis and assessed the content of these acids during scab symptom development. Our results showed that gibberellic and abscisic acid-related gene expression and hormonal changes were reduced and induced in response to the infection, respectively. Accordingly, we propose that jasmonic and salicylic acids play a role in the early response to citrus scab, whereas gibberellic and abscisic acids participate in symptom development.