• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.20-25
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• 2011

Gibberella zeae (anamorph: Fusarium graminearum), a homothallic (self-ferile) ascomycete with ubiquitous geographic distribution, causes serious diseases in several cereal crops. Ascospores (sexual spores) produced by this fungal pathogen have been suggested as the main source of primary inoculum in disease development. Here, we report the function of a gene designated GzRUM1, which is essential for ascospore formation in G. zeae. The deduced product of GzRUM1 showed significant similarities to the human retinoblastoma (tumor suppressor) binding protein 2 and a transcriptional repressor, Rum1 in the corn smut fungus (Ustilago maydis). The transcript of GzRUM1 was detected during the both vegetative and sexual stages, but was more highly accumulated during the latter stage. In addition, no GzRUM1 transcript was detected in a G. zeae strain lacking a mating-type gene (MAT1-2), a master regulator for sexual development in G. zeae. Targeted deletion of GzRUM1 caused no dramatic changes in several traits except ascospore formation. The ${\Delta}$GzRUM1 strain produced perithecia (sexual fruit bodies) but not asci nor ascospores within them. This specific defect leading to an arrest in ascospore development suggests that GzRUM1, as Rum1 in U. maydis, functions as a transcriptional regulator during sexual reproduction in G. zeae.

• Journal of Korea Technical Association of The Pulp and Paper Industry
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.34-40
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• 2012

In this study, new antibacterial materials were developed to manufacture a functional corrugated board. Sulfur solution, a new antibacterial solution made from inorganic sulfur in the laboratory, and other antibacterial mat erials were adopted to treat the surface of a linerboard. We measured the antibacteriocidal and bacteriostatic activities, as well as the fungal resistance of the surface-treated linerboards, to identify the antibacterial properties. The mechanical properties of the surface-treated linerboard were also determined in order to identify the effects of the antibacterial materials on linerboard properties. Linerboard treated with sulfur solution, PVOH, and sodium metasulfite showed the highest antibacterial activity, while linerboard treated with sulfur solution and nano sulfur showed the highest fungal resistance. It was identified that sulfur solution has effective antibacterial properties. The antibacterial materials did not affect the mechanical properties of the surface-treated linerboard, but the binder showed significant effects in terms of the burst strength, the compressive strength, and the stiffness of the linerboard.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.101-108
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• 2021

We collected the ascomata of Tuber species from the rhizosphere of Quercus dentata in Danyang, Korea. We observed the morphological characteristics of ectomycorrhizal roots and ascomata, and identified the species based on the results of the phylogenetic analysis conducted using the DNA sequences of an internal transcribed spacer, a large-subunit rDNA, translation elongation factor 1-α DNA (TEF1), and MAT. Finally, we identified the fungal species as Tuber himalayense B.C. Zhang & Minter, which has not been recorded previously in Korea. We evaluated the morphological characteristics and conducted phylogenetic analysis of the ascoma and mycorrhiza (associated with Q. dentata) of T. himalayense.

• Mycobiology
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.92-100
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• 2018

The filamentous Ascomycota Colletotrichum gloeosporioides sensu lato is a fungus that has been reported worldwide as a causal agent of anthracnose disease in avocado and other crops. In Mexico, this species affects fruits from an early stage of development in the orchard until the post-harvest stage. Although fungicides are continuously applied to control Colletotrichum species, pericarp cankers and soft rot mesocarp in fruits are still frequently observed. Considering the lack of a precise description of the causative agent, the aim of the current study was to determine the pathogens involved in this symptomatology. Twenty-four isolates were consistently obtained from the pericarp of avocado fruits cv. "Hass" collected in the central avocado-producing area of Mexico. Morphological features such as colony growth, conidia size, and mycelial appressorium were assessed. Bayesian multilocus phylogenetic analyses were performed using amplified sequences of the internal transcribed spacer region of the nuclear ribosomal DNA; actin, chitin synthase, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase partial genes; and APn2-Mat1-2 intergenic spacer and mating type Mat1-2 partial gene from the nine selected isolates. In addition, fruits were inoculated with a conidial suspension and reproducible symptoms confirmed the presence of Colletotrichum fructicola in this area. This pathogenic species can now be added to those previously reported in the country, such as C. acutatum, C. boninense, C. godetiae, C. gloeosporioides, and C. karstii. Disease management programs to reduce the incidence of anthracnose should include C. fructicola to determine its response to fungicides that are routinely applied, considering that the appearance of new species is affecting the commercial quality of the fruits and shifting the original population structure.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.83-97
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• 2024

Fusarium graminearum, the causal agent of Fusarium head blight (FHB) in cereal crops, employs the production of sexual fruiting bodies (perithecia) on plant debris as a strategy for overwintering and dissemination. In an artificial condition (e.g., carrot agar medium), the F. graminearum Z3643 strain was capable of producing perithecia predominantly in the central region of the fungal culture where aerial hyphae naturally collapsed. To unravel the intricate relationship between natural aerial hyphae collapse and sexual development in this fungus, we focused on 699 genes differentially expressed during aerial hyphae collapse, with 26 selected for further analysis. Targeted gene deletion and quantitative real-time PCR analyses elucidated the functions of specific genes during natural aerial hyphae collapse and perithecium formation. Furthermore, comparative gene expression analyses between natural collapse and artificial removal conditions reveal distinct temporal profiles, with the latter inducing a more rapid and pronounced response, particularly in MAT gene expression. Notably, FGSG_09210 and FGSG_09896 play crucial roles in sexual development and aerial hyphae growth, respectively. Taken together, it is plausible that if aerial hyphae collapse occurs on plant debris, it may serve as a physical cue for inducing perithecium formation in crop fields, representing a survival strategy for F. graminearum during winter. Insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying aerial hyphae collapse provides offer potential strategies for disease control against FHB caused by F. graminearum.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.26 no.4 s.87
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• pp.450-457
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• 1998

The cryparin of Cryphonectria parasitica belongs to a cell wall associated fungal hydrophobin. The cryparin, though it is encoded by a single copy gene, is known for the high expression during the liquid culture of C. parasitica, and it turns out that 22% of total mRNA was transcribed for cryparin at 48hr after the liquid culture. In addition, it is also known as one of down-regulated fungal proteins by the presence of double stranded RNA virus, Cryphonectria hypovirus 1. In previous studies (Kim et al., 1999), we have constructed a cryparin-null mutant by replacing the cryparin gene with hygromycin B resistance gene due to site directed homologous recombination. In order for the promoter analysis of cryparin which seems to be very strong as well as mycoviral specific, it is preferable to have a strain with only a target promoter replaced and a discernable target site for incoming vectors. However, the cryparin-null mutant revealed the presence of an additional copy of transforming vector except the one which replaced the cryparin gene. In addition, the cryparin-null mutant did not contain any markers for targeted integration of incoming vectors. This prompts us to design an experiment to obtain a strain for promoter analysis of cryparin gene. A different mating type strain EP6(Mata, $met^-$) was mated with the cryparin-null mutant ${\triangle}$Crp194-7(MatA, Crp${\triangle}$::hph) to make the progenies with only a single replacement vector and $met^-$ characteristic remained. Nutritional assay as well as Southern blot analysis revealed that the progeny, ${\triangle}$Crp194-a6, was the methionine auxotroph with a single replacing vector in genome. Northern blot analysis and PAGE showed that there was no cryparin produced in this bred strain either.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.48-52
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• 2020

In July 2019, typical rot symptom was observed on peach fruits harvested from the fields at Andong, Korea. As the disease progressed, white and purple colored mycelial mat developed on the surface of the infected fruits. A causal pathogen was isolated from the infected fruit and cultured on potato dextrose agar media for identification. Fungal colonies on potato dextrose agar produced 3 pigments, including purple, yellow, and white colors. The isolate incited fruit rot symptoms on artificially inoculated peach fruits, from which the same fungus was isolated, fulfilling Koch's postulates. Based on the morphological characteristics and sequence analysis of rDNA internal transcribed spacer, translation elongation factor 1-alpha, and β-tubulin, the causal agent of the disease was identified as Fusarium avenaceum. This study is the first report of fruit rot of peach fruits caused by Fusarium avenaceum in Korea.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.141-147
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• 2014

Pinewood nematode (PWN: Bursaphelenchus xylophilus) is known to kill pine tree species that are indigenous to countries where the pest was inadvertently imported, but some cultures from the extraction of dead pines do not damage trees. Experiments were conducted to examine the effect of pre-inoculation of these low-pathogenic pinewood nematode on resistance of pine trees against the pest species. The pre-inoculated pine saplings showed induced resistance which lasted for a year, and repeated inoculation of these low-pathogenic nematodes enhanced tree resistance. All nematode samples extracted from dying or dead pines that had been killed not more than three months before the extraction were pathogenic, and most of those extracted from pines that had been killed 2-3 years before were low-pathogenic. When inoculated in pine saplings, number of low-pathogenic nematodes settled, as studied two days after inoculation, was not different from that of pathogenic ones. However, as studied after 30 days of inoculation, rate of reproduction in low-pathogenic nematodes was far lower than that of pathogenic nematodes. The rate of reproduction of several nematode isolates growing on fungal mat media of Botrytis cinerea varied, but three of four low-pathogenic isolates showed same level of reproduction rates as pathogenic ones.

• Mycobiology
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.406-420
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• 2021

Gloeostereum incarnatum has edible and medicinal value and was first cultivated and domesticated in China. We sequenced the G. incarnatum monokaryotic strain GiC-126 on an Illumina HiSeq X Ten system and obtained a 34.52-Mb genome assembly sequence that encoded 16,895 predicted genes. We combined the GiC-126 genome with the published genome of G. incarnatum strain CCMJ2665 to construct a genetic linkage map (GiC-126 genome) that had 10 linkage groups (LGs), and the 15 assembly sequences of CCMJ2665 were integrated into 8 LGs. We identified 1912 simple sequence repeat (SSR) loci and detected 700 genes containing 768 SSRs in the genome; 65 and 100 of them were annotated with gene ontology (GO) terms and KEGG pathways, respectively. Carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) were identified in 20 fungal genomes and annotated; among them, 144 CAZymes were annotated in the GiC-126 genome. The A mating-type locus (MAT-A) of G. incarnatum was located on scaffold885 at 38.9 cM of LG1 and was flanked by two homeodomain (HD1) genes, mip and beta-fg. Fourteen segregation distortion markers were detected in the genetic linkage map, all of which were skewed toward the parent GiC-126. They formed three segregation distortion regions (SDR1-SDR3), and 22 predictive genes were found in scaffold1920 where three segregation distortion markers were located in SDR1. In this study, we corrected and updated the genomic information of G. incarnatum. Our results will provide a theoretical basis for fine gene mapping, functional gene cloning, and genetic breeding the follow-up of G. incarnatum.