• Journal of Species Research
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.235-240
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• 2016

To investigate the indigenous prokaryotic species diversity in Korea, various environmental samples from diverse ecosystems were examined taxonomically. The isolated bacterial strains were identified based on 16S rRNA gene sequences, and those exhibiting at least 98.7% sequence similarity with known bacterial species but never reported in Korea were selected as unrecorded species. As an outcome of this study, 10 unrecorded bacterial species belonging to the phylum Firmicutes were discovered from various sources such as soil, tidal flat, fresh water, sea water, kimchi and gut of Fulvia mutica. The unrecorded species were assigned to 7 different genera of 5 families, namely Bacillus and Ornithinibacillus of Bacillaceae, Exiguobacterium of Exiguobacteriaceae, Brevibacillus and Paenibacillus of Paenibacillaceae, Staphylococcus of Staphylococcaceae, and Lactococcus of Streptococcaceae. The selected isolates were subjected to further taxonomic characterization including the analysis of Gram reaction, cellular and colonial morphology, biochemical activities, and phylogenetic trees. The descriptive information on the 10 unrecorded species are provided.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.25-41
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• 2017

As a subset study for the collection of Korean indigenous prokaryotic species, 62 bacterial strains belonging to the phylum Actinobacteria were isolated from various sources. Each strain showed higher 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity (>98.75%) and formed a robust phylogenetic clade with closest species of the phylum Actinobacteria which were defined with valid names, already. There is no official description on these 62 actinobacterial species in Korea. Consequently, unrecorded 62 species of 25 genera in the 14 families belonging to the order Actinomycetales of the phylum Actinobacteria were found in Korea. Morphological properties, basic biochemical characteristics, isolation source and strain IDs are described in the species descriptions.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.123-134
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• 2018

A total of 22 bacterial strains belonging to the phylum Bacteroidetes were isolated primarily from aquatic environments such as seawater, freshwater, lagoon and tidal flat. One of these 22 strains was isolated from ginseng soil. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that 21 strains showed the high sequence similarities(${\geq}98.7%$) to the closest type strains and formed robust phylogenetic clades with closely related species in the phylum Bacteroidetes. One strain, which had been previously classified as Balneola vulgaris in the phylum Bacteroidetes, was identified as a member of the newly described phylum Rhodothermaeota. These strains had not been previously reported in Korea. Here, we report 21 species of 13 genera in the phylum Bacteroidetes and one species in the phylum Rhodothermaeota which were not reported in Korea. Morphological, biochemical, and physiological characteristics, isolation sources, and NIBR deposit numbers are described in the species descriptions.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.99-116
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• 2021

In 2018, as a subset study to discover indigenous prokaryotic species in Korea, a total of 18 unreported bacterial strains were discovered. From the high 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity (>98.8%) and formation of a robust phylogenetic clade, it was determined that each strain belonged an independent and predefined bacterial species. There were no official report that these 18 species were previously described in Korea; therefore, one strain of Williamsia, one strain of Rhodococcus, three strains of Microbacterium, three strains of Agromyces, one strain of Arthrobacter, one strain of Paeniglutamicibacter, one strain of Pseudarthrobacter, one strain of Nocardioides, one strain of Fibrella, one strain of Hymenobacter, one strain of Deinococcus, two strains of Fictibacillus, and one strain of Paenibacillus are described as unreported bacterial species in Korea. Gram reaction, basic biochemical characteristics, and colony and cell morphologies are described in the species description section.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.201-216
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• 2021

During an investigation of indigenous prokaryotic species in the Republic of Korea, a total of 38 bacterial strains belonging to the class Gammaproteobacteria were isolated from diverse environments. Samples were collected from soil, seawater, sand, sedimentary soil, rabbit feces, rat intestines, marine wetland, and tidal flats. The strains were identified to the species level using the high 16S rRNA gene sequences and showed high similarity (>98.7%) with the closest bacterial species and formed a robust clade in the neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree; it was determined that each strain belonged to independent, predefined bacteria species within the class Gammaproteobacteria. The 38 strains of Gammaproteobacteria analyzed in this study have not been reported in the Republic of Korea. Therefore, this study describes 20 genera of 13 families in 8 orders: Aeromonadales, Alteromonadales, Cellvibrionales, Enterobacterales, Lysobacterales, Oceanospirillales, Pseudomonadales, and Vibrionales. For each species, we describe Gram reaction, strain ID, isolation source, colony and cell morphology, cultural, physiological, and basic biochemical characteristics.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.23-45
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• 2021

For the collection of indigenous prokaryotic species in Korea, 77 strains within the phylum Actinobacteria were isolated from various environmental samples, fermented foods, animals and clinical specimens in 2019. Each strain showed high 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity (>98.8%) and formed a robust phylogenetic clade with actinobacterial species that were already defined and validated with nomenclature. There is no official description of these 77 bacterial species in Korea. The isolates were assigned to 77 species, 31 genera, 18 families, 14 orders and 2 classes of the phylum Actinobacteria. All the strains except one Coriobacteriia strain were affiliated within the class Actinomycetia. Among them, the orders Streptomycetales and Microbacteriales were predominant. A number of strains were isolated from forest soils, riverside soils, and ginseng cultivated soils. Twenty-nine strains were isolated from 'Protected Ecosystem and Scenery Areas'. Morphological properties, basic biochemical characteristics, isolation source and strain IDs are described in the species descriptions.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.310-320
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• 2022

As a subset study to discover indigenous prokaryotic species in Korea, we isolated 20 bacterial strains and assigned them to the phyla Actinobacteria, Bacteroidota, Firmicutes, and Proteobacteria. From the high 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity (≥98.7%) and formation of a robust phylogenetic clades, we determined that each strain belonged to independent, predefined bacterial species. There are no official reports of these 20 species in Korea; therefore, 7 strains of the Actinobacteria, 2 strain of the Bacteroidota, 3 strains of the Firmicutes, and 8 strains of the Firmicutes are described in Korea for the first time. Gram reaction, colony and cell morphology, basic biochemical characteristics, and isolation sources are also described in the species description section.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.442-454
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• 2022

A total of 31 bacterial strains were isolated from the Geum River basin in the Republic of Korea during our investigation of indigenous prokaryotic species. The isolated bacterial strains had high 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity (>98.7%) with those of validly published bacterial species, which have not been reported in Republic of Korea. The 31 bacterial strains were phylogenetically diverse and assigned to 4 phyla, 8 classes, 18 orders, 21 families, and 27 genera. At the genus level, the unreported species were affiliated with Kineococcus, Pedococcus, Rhodoluna, Salinibacterium, Rhodoluna, Arthrobacter, Williamsia, Nakamurella, Nocardioides of the class Actinobacteria, Patulibacter of the class Thermoleophilia, Pontibacter, Hymenobacter of the class Cytophagia, Flavobacterium of the class Flavobacteriia, Geomicrobium of the class Bacilli, Brevundimonas, Gellertiella, Rhizobium, Paracoccus, Taonella, Sphingomonas of the class Alphaproteobacteria, Burkholderia, Polaromonas, Hydrogenophaga, Chitinilyticum, Azospira, Zoogloea of the class Betaproteobacteria, and Pseudomonas of the class Gammaproteobacteria. The unreported bacterial species were further characterized by examining their morphological, cultural, physiological, and biochemical properties. The detailed descriptions of the 31 bacterial strains were provided.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.12 no.spc2
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• pp.1-6
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• 2023

During an investigation into the indigenous prokaryotic species diversity in Korea, a total of five bacterial strains were isolated from various environments in Korea. The isolated bacterial strains were identified by analyzing their 16S rRNA gene sequences, and those with a minimum of 98.7% sequence similarity with known bacterial species but not reported in Korea were designated as unrecorded species. These isolates were assigned to three phyla, five orders, five families, and five different genera. The isolates were identified as Cumulibacter manganitolerans (99.1%) and Myolicibacterium tusciae (98.7%) of the class Actinomycetes; Bacillus marasmi (99.9%) of the class Bacilli; and Novosphingobium mathurense (100%) and Microvirga ossetica (98.8%) of the class Alphaproteobacteria. Gram reaction, colony and cellular morphology, basic biochemical characteristics, and phylogenetic position of theses isolates are also described.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.119-135
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• 2021

Korea has stepped up efforts to investigate and catalog its flora and fauna to conserve the biodiversity of the Korean Peninsula and secure biological resources since the ratification of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 1992 and the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits (ABS) in 2010. Thus, after its establishment in 2007, the National Institute of Biological Resources (NIBR) of the Ministry of Environment of Korea initiated a project called the Korean Indigenous Species Investigation Project to investigate indigenous species on the Korean Peninsula. For 15 years since its beginning in 2006, this project has been carried out in five phases, Phase 1 from 2006-2008, Phase 2 from 2009-2011, Phase 3 from 2012-2014, Phase 4 from 2015-2017, and Phase 5 from 2018-2020. Before this project, in 2006, the number of indigenous species surveyed was 29,916. The figure was cumulatively aggregated at the end of each phase as 33,253 species for Phase 1 (2008), 38,011 species for Phase 2 (2011), 42,756 species for Phase 3 (2014), 49,027 species for Phase 4 (2017), and 54,428 species for Phase 5(2020). The number of indigenous species surveyed grew rapidly, showing an approximately 1.8-fold increase as the project progressed. These statistics showed an annual average of 2,320 newly recorded species during the project period. Among the recorded species, a total of 5,242 new species were reported in scientific publications, a great scientific achievement. During this project period, newly recorded species on the Korean Peninsula were identified using the recent taxonomic classifications as follows: 4,440 insect species (including 988 new species), 4,333 invertebrate species except for insects (including 1,492 new species), 98 vertebrate species (fish) (including nine new species), 309 plant species (including 176 vascular plant species, 133 bryophyte species, and 39 new species), 1,916 algae species (including 178 new species), 1,716 fungi and lichen species(including 309 new species), and 4,812 prokaryotic species (including 2,226 new species). The number of collected biological specimens in each phase was aggregated as follows: 247,226 for Phase 1 (2008), 207,827 for Phase 2 (2011), 287,133 for Phase 3 (2014), 244,920 for Phase 4(2017), and 144,333 for Phase 5(2020). A total of 1,131,439 specimens were obtained with an annual average of 75,429. More specifically, 281,054 insect specimens, 194,667 invertebrate specimens (except for insects), 40,100 fish specimens, 378,251 plant specimens, 140,490 algae specimens, 61,695 fungi specimens, and 35,182 prokaryotic specimens were collected. The cumulative number of researchers, which were nearly all professional taxonomists and graduate students majoring in taxonomy across the country, involved in this project was around 5,000, with an annual average of 395. The number of researchers/assistant researchers or mainly graduate students participating in Phase 1 was 597/268; 522/191 in Phase 2; 939/292 in Phase 3; 575/852 in Phase 4; and 601/1,097 in Phase 5. During this project period, 3,488 papers were published in major scientific journals. Of these, 2,320 papers were published in domestic journals and 1,168 papers were published in Science Citation Index(SCI) journals. During the project period, a total of 83.3 billion won (annual average of 5.5 billion won) or approximately US $75 million (annual average of US $5 million) was invested in investigating indigenous species and collecting specimens. This project was a large-scale research study led by the Korean government. It is considered to be a successful example of Korea's compressed development as it attracted almost all of the taxonomists in Korea and made remarkable achievements with a massive budget in a short time. The results from this project led to the National List of Species of Korea, where all species were organized by taxonomic classification. Information regarding the National List of Species of Korea is available to experts, students, and the general public (https://species.nibr.go.kr/index.do). The information, including descriptions, DNA sequences, habitats, distributions, ecological aspects, images, and multimedia, has been digitized, making contributions to scientific advancement in research fields such as phylogenetics and evolution. The species information also serves as a basis for projects aimed at species distribution and biological monitoring such as climate-sensitive biological indicator species. Moreover, the species information helps bio-industries search for useful biological resources. The most meaningful achievement of this project can be in providing support for nurturing young taxonomists like graduate students. This project has continued for the past 15 years and is still ongoing. Efforts to address issues, including species misidentification and invalid synonyms, still have to be made to enhance taxonomic research. Research needs to be conducted to investigate another 50,000 species out of the estimated 100,000 indigenous species on the Korean Peninsula.