• BMB Reports
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.474-480
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• 1996

We present a study of evolutionary changes in expression of actin genes among closely related sea urchin species that exhibit different modes of early development. For this purpose, polyclonal antisera raised against peptides from the carboxyl terminus of the HeCyI cytoskeletal actin of Heliocidaris erythrogramma were used. H. erythrogramma is a direct developing sea urchin that proceeds from embryonic to adult stages without an intervening feeding larval stage. Expression patterns of the CyI actin isoform were compared with those of Heliocidaris tuberculata and to a related sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, which both produce a feeding pluteus larval stage. The CyI actin of all three species is expressed in the same cell types. However, its expression patterns have been changed with reorganization of early cell lineage differentiation, which is apparent among the three species. Thus. evolutionary changes in CyI actin gene expression patterns are correlated with not only phylogenetic relationship, but developmental mode. The implication of this observation is that evolutionary changes in expression patterns of histospecific genes may underlie the emergence of novel developmental processes.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.248-251
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• 1985

An imperfect fungus recognized as a dermatophyte was isolated from soil samples and the macroscopic, microscopic and physiological characteristics were examined. From the comparisons of this isolate with the known species, the strain belonged to the genus Microsporum. She showed mant different characteristics from the related species, including colony color and shape, or number in a cell of macrocondium. This isolate was considered to be a novel species in the genus Microsporum. Therefore the name was given to her as Microsporum nigricans Yeeh sp. nov. because of dark blackish color from the macroscopic observation.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.259-283
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• 2021

We isolated nine fungal strains from different environmental materials collected from different locations during a survey of fungal diversity in Korea. Using molecular phylogenetic analyses and morphological characteristics, nine previously undescribed strains were identified and assigned to the species Collariella robusta, Fusicolla acetilerea, Hongkongmyces pedis, Hongkongmyces snookiorum, Mariannaea fusiformis, Metarhizium pemphigi, Pallidocercospora crystallina, Scopulariopsis candida, and Volutella citrinella. Diverse environmental samples may thus be a promising source for isolating and investigating novel fungal species, thus sampling efforts should be increased in future studies. This study also reports identification of some rare fungal species belonging to the genera Hongkongmyces and Pallidocercospora from Korea.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.142-153
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• 2021

Algal genomics approaches provide a massive number of genome/transcriptome sequences and reveal the evolutionary history vis-à-vis primary and serial endosymbiosis events that contributed to the biodiversity of photosynthetic eukaryotes in the eukaryote tree of life. In particular, phylogenomic methods using several hundred or thousands of genes have provided new insights into algal taxonomy and systematics. Using this method, many novel insights into algal species diversity and systematics occurred, leading to taxonomic revisions. In addition, horizontal gene transfers (HGTs) of functional genes have been identified in algal genomes that played essential roles in environmental adaptation and genomic diversification. Finally, algal genomics data can be used to address the pangenome, including core genes shared among all isolates and partially shared strain-specific genes. However, some aspects of the pangenome concept (genome variability of intraspecies level) conflict with population genomics concepts, and the issue is closely related to defining species boundaries using genome variability. This review suggests a desirable future direction to merge algal pangenomics and population genomics beyond traditional molecular phylogeny and taxonomy.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.8
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• pp.992-997
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• 2023

Ferroptosis is a new kind of programmed cell death of which occurrence in microorganisms is not clearly verified. The elevated level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) influences cellular metabolisms through highly reactive hydroxyl radical formation under the iron-dependent Fenton reaction. Iron contributes to ROS production and acts as a cofactor for lipoxygenase to catalyze poly unsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) oxidation, exerting oxidative damage in cells. While ferroptosis is known to take place only in mammalian cells, recent studies discovered the possible ferroptosis-like death in few specific microorganisms. Capacity of integrating PUFA into intracellular membrane phospholipid has been considered as a key factor in bacterial or fungal ferroptosis-like death. Vibrio species in bacteria and Saccharomyces cerevisiae in fungi exhibited certain characteristics. Therefore, this review focus on introducing the occurrence of ferroptosis-like death in microorganisms and investigating the mode of action underlying the cells based on contribution of lipid peroxidation and iron-dependent reaction.

• Mycobiology
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.313-319
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• 2023

During disease surveys of Angelica acutiloba plants in Korea, leaf spot symptoms were observed in a field in Andong in July 2019, and stem rot symptoms in vinyl greenhouses in Yangpyeong in April 2020. Incidence of leaf spot and stem rot of the plants ranged from 10 to 20% and 5 to 30%, respectively. Morphological and cultural characteristics of fungal isolates from the leaf spot and stem rot symptoms fitted into those of the genus Phoma. Molecular phylogenetic analyses of two single-spore isolates from the symptoms using concatenated sequences of LSU, ITS, TUB2, and RPB2 genes authenticated an independent cluster from other Didymella (anamorph: Phoma) species. Moreover, the isolates showed different morphological and cultural characteristics in comparison to closely related Didymella species. These discoveries confirmed the novelty of the isolates. Pathogenicity of the novel Didymella species isolates was substantiated on leaves and stems of A. acutiloba through artificial inoculation. Thus, this study reveals that Didymella acutilobae sp. nov. causes leaf spot and stem rot in Angelica acutiloba.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.835-842
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• 2014

Haloperoxidase (HPO, E.C.1.11.1.7) is a metal-containing enzyme oxidizing halonium species, which can be used in the synthesis of halogenated organic compounds, for instance in the production of antimicrobial agents, cosmetics, etc., in the presence of halides and $H_2O_2$. To isolate and evaluate a novel non-metal HPO using a culture-independent method, a cassette PCR library was constructed from marine seawater in Japan. We first isolated a novel HPO gene from Pseudomonas putida ATCC11172 by PCR for constructing the chimeric HPO library (HPO11172). HPO11172 showed each single open-reading frame of 828 base pairs coding for 276 amino acids, respectively, and showed 87% similarity with P. putida IF-3 sequences. Approximately 600 transformants screened for chimeric genes between P. putida ATCC11173 and HPO central fragments were able to identify 113 active clones. Among them, we finally isolated 20 novel HPO genes. Sequence analyses of the obtained 20 clones showed higher homology genes with P. putida or Sinorhizobium or Streptomyces strains. Although the HPO A9 clone showed the lowest homology with HPO11172, clones in group B, including CS19, showed a relatively higher homology of 80%, with 70% identy. E. coli cells expressing these HPO chimeric genes were able to successfully bioconvert chlorodimedone with KBr or KCl as substrate.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.4-34
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• 2012

Parastenocaris koreana sp. nov. is described based on examination of numerous adult specimens of both sexes from several localities in Korea. Scanning electron micrographs are used to examine intra- and interpopulation variability of micro-characters, in addition to light microscopy. The new species is most closely related to the Japanese P. biwae Miura, 1969, which we redescribe based on newly collected material from the Lake Biwa drainage area. The two species differ in size, relative length of the caudal rami, shape of the anal operculum, shape of the genital double somite, relative length of the inner distal process on the female fifth leg, as well as relative length of the apical setae on the second, third, and fourth legs exopods in both sexes. Detailed examinations of three disjunct populations of P. koreana reveal also some geographical variation, especially in the surface ornamentation of somites, which may indicate some population structuring or even cryptic speciation. Lack of intraspecific variability in the number and position of sensilla on somites, as well as their potential phylogenetic significance, is a novel discovery. Both species examined here belong to the brevipes group, which we redefine to include 20 species from India (including Sri Lanka), Australia, East Asia, Northern Europe, and North America. A key to species of this group is also provided. In order to test the monophyly of the redefined brevipes group with highly disjunct distribution, as well as relationship between different species, a cladistics analysis is performed based on 39 morphological characters and with help of three outgroup taxa. Six equally parsimonious cladograms are generated, all of which show that the ingroup is well defined by at least three synapomorphies. Reconstructed phylogeny questions the previously suggested hypothesis about the origin of this group in South East Asia, with one Australian species showing the most basal position. We speculate that the present distribution of this group may be a combination of ancient vicariance and subsequent dispersal, with a possible origin in the Gondwanaland, in the rift valley between Australia and India.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.384-396
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• 2023

Colletotrichum acutatum species complex is one of the most important groups in the genus Colletotrichum with a high species diversity and a wide range of host plants. C. acutatum and related species have been collected from different plants and locations in Korea and deposited into the Korean Agricultural Culture Collection (KACC), National Institute of Agricultural Sciences since the 1990s. These fungal isolates were previously identified based mainly on morphological characteristics, and a limitation of molecular data was provided. To confirm the identification of species, 64 C. acutatum species complex isolates in KACC were used in this study for DNA sequence analyses of six loci: nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacers (ITS), betatubulin 2 (TUB2), histone-3 (HIS3), glyceraldehyde3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), chitin synthase 1 (CHS-1), and actin (ACT). The molecular analysis revealed that they were identified in six different species of C. fioriniae (24 isolates), C. nymphaeae (21 isolates), C. scovillei (12 isolates), C. chrysanthemi (three isolates), C. lupini (two isolates), and C. godetiae (one isolate), and a novel species candidate. We compared the hosts of KACC isolates with "The List of Plant Diseases in Korea", previous reports in Korea and global reports and found that 23 combinations between hosts and pathogens could be newly reported in Korea after pathogenicity tests, and 12 of these have not been recorded in the world.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.88-93
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• 2010

Superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), and catalase (CAT) play crucial roles in balancing the production and decomposition of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in living organisms. These enzymes act cooperatively and synergistically to scavenge ROS. In order to imitate the synergism of these enzymes, we designed and synthesized a novel 32-mer peptide (32P) on the basis of the previous 15-mer peptide with GPX activity and a 17-mer peptide with SOD activity. Upon the selenation and chelation of copper, the 32-mer peptide was converted to a new Se- and Cu-containing 32-mer peptide (Se-Cu-32P) that displayed both SOD and GPX activities, and its kinetics was studied. Moreover, the novel peptide was demonstrated to be able to better protect vero cells from the injury induced by the xanthine oxidase (XOD)/xanthine/$Fe^{2+}$ damage system than its parents. Thus, this bifunctional enzyme imitated the synergism of SOD and GPX and could be a better candidate of therapeutic medicine.