• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.280-283
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• 2003

A soybean-sprout rot epidemic occurred in a mass production soybean sprout factory in 2000 and 2001 in Korea, which caused up to 20% production loss. Among the causal pathogenic bacteria and fungi, Pythium deliense was found to be the dominant pathogen of severe root and hypocotyls rot, particularly in recirculating water system. An average of 90% of the isolated fungi from the rotted sprout on potato dextrose agar were Pythium sp. The fungal density of Pythium in the sampled water was monitored in the recycled water system for 1 year using a selective medium (com meal agar with Pimaricin, 10 mg； Rifampicin, 10 mg； and Ampicillin, 100 mg per 1 liter). The drained water from the soybean-sprout cultivation always had a certain amount of fungus in it. The removal of Pythium from the recycling water system must be thorough, safe, and environment friendly. However, the pathogen in the water was easily found even after ozone and chlorine treatments, which were devised on the recycling system for the removal of microorganisms. 5-$\mu\textrm{m}$ pore size filter was applied and was able to successfully control the disease. As the sprout industry increasingly shifts into mass production, the demand for water will increase continuously. Recycling water for sprout production is eco-friendly. However, a process must be devised to be able to first decompose organic matters before Pythium zoospores are filtered.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.570-574
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• 2016

Botrytis cinerea is a necrotrophic pathogen causing a major problem in the export and post-harvest of strawberries. Inappropriate use of fungicides leads to resistance among fungal pathogens. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the sensitivity of B. cinerea to various classes of fungicide and to determine the effectiveness of different concentrations of commonly used fungicides. We thus evaluated the effectiveness of six classes of fungicide in inhibiting the growth and development of this pathogen, namely, fludioxonil, iprodione, pyrimethanil, tebuconazole, fenpyrazamine, and boscalid. Fludioxonil was the most effective ($EC_{50}$ < $0.1{\mu}g/ml$), and pyrimethanil was the least effective ($EC_{50}=50{\mu}g/ml$), at inhibiting the mycelial growth of B. cinerea. Fenpyrazamine and pyrimethanil showed relatively low effectiveness in inhibiting the germination and conidial production of B. cinerea. Our results are useful for the management of B. cinerea and as a basis for monitoring the sensitivity of B. cinerea strains to fungicides.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.19-25
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• 2002

Colletotrichum species are important fungal pathogen that cause great damages on various host plant species worldwide. In Korea, Colletotrichum species cause massive economic losses on apple, peach, grape, and essecially, sweet persimon productions. In the past, Identification of the pathogen and the studies on the genetic relationships among the pathogenic isolates were mainly based on morphology, cultural characteristics, and the difference in pathogenicity. However, in recent years, these traditional methods have been replaced with molecular methods to solve the difficulty of classification on pathogens. Therefore, in this study, RAPD and PCR-RFLP methods were employed for the studies of genetic relationship among the different isolates of Colletotrichum species that cause damages on sweet persimon. As a results of genetic relationship analysis, Colletotrichum species tested were divided into two big groups or five small groups.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.54-62
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• 2017

In 2014, abnormal brown spots were observed on Hongro apples in fields in Gyeongsangbuk-do Province and during low-temperature storage. The spots were round, blight brown, and different from the symptoms of previously reported apple diseases. A fungal pathogen was isolated and cultured on potato dextrose agar, and it was morphologically similar to Fusarium decemcellulare. A pathogenicity test showed the same brown spots on both wounded and unwounded Hongro and Fuji apple cultivars. RPB1 and RPB2 sequences of F. decemcellulare KNU-GC01 matched with those of F. decemcellulare NRRL 13412 (98.3% and 97.6% similarities, respectively); both strains clustered together in the phylogenetic tree, indicating their close relationship at the species level. Therefore, F. decemcellulare is a newly reported pathogen that causes brown spots on apples in Korea.

• Plant Biotechnology Reports
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.301-308
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• 2011

This study tested the relative and combined efficacy of ShPx2 and ShPAL transgenes by comparing Nicotiana tabacum hybrids with enhanced levels of $_L$-phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) activity and cationic peroxidase (Prx) activity with transgenic parental lines that overexpress either transgene. The PAL/Prx hybrids expressed both transgenes driven by the 35S CaMV promoter, and leaf PAL and Prx enzyme activities were similar to those of the relevant transgenic parent and seven- to tenfold higher than nontransgenic controls. Lignin levels in the PAL/Prx hybrids were higher than the PAL parent and nontransgenic controls, but not significantly higher than the Prx parent. All transgenic plants showed increased resistance to the necrotrophs Phytophthora parasitica pv. nicotianae and Cercospora nicotianae compared to nontransgenic controls, with a preponderance of smaller lesion categories produced in Prx-expressing lines. However, the PAL/Prx hybrids showed no significant increase in resistance to either pathogen relative to the Prx parental line. These data indicate that, in tobacco, the PAL and Prx transgenes do not act additively in disease resistance. Stacking with Prx did not prevent a visible growth inhibition from PAL overexpression. Practical use of ShPAL will likely require more sophisticated developmental control, and we conclude that ShPx2 is a preferred candidate for development as a resistance transgene.

• Mycobiology
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.340-345
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• 2019

An 82-year-old man with diabetes was admitted to the emergency department with a third-degree burn on his left leg. The deep swab specimen from his left leg was cultured on Sabouraud dextrose agar without cycloheximide and incubated at $25^{\circ}C$ for 5 days. On the basis of morphological characteristics and multigene phylogenetic analyses of the internal transcribed spacer region of ribosomal DNA and partial fragments of beta-tubulin and translation elongation factor 1-alpha, the causal agent of fungal skin infection was identified as Bisifusarium delphinoides, which was newly introduced by accommodating a Fusarium dimerum species complex. Thus, we describe here the first case of skin infection caused by B. delphinoides on a burn patient with diabetes mellitus based on morphological observation and molecular analysis.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.91-98
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• 2021

The current social demand for organic, sustainable, and eco-friendly approaches for farming, while ensuring the health and productivity of crops is increasing rapidly. Biocontrol agents are applied to crops to ensure biological control of plant pathogens. Research on the biological control of white root rot disease caused by a soil-borne pathogen, Rosellinia necatrix, is limited in pears compared to that in apple and avocado. This pathogenic fungus has an extensive host range, and symptoms of this disease include rotting of roots, yellowing and falling of leaves, wilting, and finally tree death. The severity of the disease caused by R. necatrix, makes it the most harmful fungal pathogen infecting the economical fruit tree species, such as pears, and is one of the main limiting factors in pear farming, with devastating effects on plant health and yield. In addition to agronomic and cultural practices, growers use chemical treatments to control the disease. However, rising public concern about environmental pollution and harmful effects of chemicals in humans and animals has facilitated the search for novel and environmentally friendly disease control methods. This review will briefly summarize the current status of biocontrol agents, ecofriendly methods, and possible approaches to control disease in pear orchards.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
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• 2006.11a
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• pp.103-115
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• 2006

$\beta$-Glucan is a glucose polymer that has linkage of $\beta$-(1,3), -(1,4) and -(1,6). As exclusively found in fungal and bacterial cell wall, not in animal, $\beta$-glucans are recognized by innate immune system. Dendritic cells (DC) or macrophages possesses pattern recognition molecule (PRM) for binding $\beta$-glucan as pathogen-associated molecular pattern (PAMP). Recently $\beta$-glucan receptor was cloned from DC and named as dectin-l which belongs to type II C-type lectin family. Human dectin-1 is consisted of 7 exons and 6 introns. The polypeptide of dectin-1 has 247 amino acids and has cytoplasmic, transmembrane, stalk and carbohydrate recognition domains. Dectin-1 could recognize variety of beta-1,3 and/or beta-1,6 glucan linkages, but not alpha-glucans. In our macrophage cell line culture system, dectin-1 mRNA was detected in RA W264.7 cells by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Dectin-1 was also detected in the murine organs of spleen, thymus, lung and intestines. Treatment of RA W264.7 cells with $\beta$-glucans of Ganoderma lucidum (GLG) resulted in increased expression of IL-6 and TNF-$\alpha$ in the presence of LPS. However, GLG alone did not increase IL-6 nor TNF-$\alpha$. These results suggest that receptor dectin-1 cooperate with CD14 to activate signal transduction that is very critical in immunoresponse.

• Mycobiology
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.114-121
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• 2018

Mon1 is a guanine nucleotide exchange factor subunit that activates the Ypt7 Rab GTPase and is essential for vacuole trafficking and autophagy in eukaryotic organisms. Here, we identified and characterized the function of Mon1, an ortholog of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Mon1, in a human fungal pathogen, Cryptococcus neoformans. Mutation in mon1 resulted in hypersensitivity to thermal stress. The mon1 deletion mutant exhibited increased sensitivity to cell wall and endoplasmic reticulum stress. However, the mon1 deletion mutant showed more resistance to the antifungal agent fluconazole. In vivo studies demonstrated that compared to the wild-type strain, the mon1 deletion mutant attenuated virulence in the Galleria mellonella insect model. Moreover, the mon1 deletion mutant was avirulent in the murine inhalation model. These results demonstrate that Mon1 plays a crucial role in stress survival and pathogenicity in C. neoformans.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.349-353
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• 2011

The ascomycete fungus Fusarium graminearum is an important plant pathogen responsible for Fusarium head blight in small grains and ear rot on maize. This fungus also produces the estrogenic metabolite, zearalenone (ZEA) that causes estrogenic disorders in humans and animals. Previously, we developed a conditional gene expression system for this fungus using a ZEA-inducible promoter (Pzear). In the present study, four other estrogenic compounds, including ${\beta}$-estradiol, estriol, estrone, and secoisolariciresinol, were screened as possible substitutes for ZEA in this system. Among them, ${\beta}$-estradiol was able to successfully induce the expression of a gene controlled by Pzear, while estrone was only able to partially induce its expression but the other two compounds were not effective. In combination, these results demonstrate that ${\beta}$-estradiol can replace ZEA in this conditional gene expression system, thereby eliminating the need to use the more expensive reagent, ZEA, and facilitating high-throughput functional analyses of F. graminearum in future studies.