• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.333-340
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• 2014

The aim of this study was to isolate a potential multifunctional biocontrol agent from bacteria for control of multiple plant diseases as an alternative to fungicides. A total of 201 strains were isolated from soil undamaged by repeated cultivation in Sunchang and their ability to produce antibiotics, siderophores and extracellular enzymes such as protease, cellulase and amylase was investigated. Selected strain SCS3 produced cellulose, protease and amylase. This strain also produced siderophores and showed excellent antifungal activity against various phytopathogens. SCS3 was identified as Bacillus subtilis using 16S rRNA sequencing, and named Bacillus subtilis SCS3. Finally, physiological and biochemical characteristics of B. subtilis SCS3 were examined. From the results, B. subtilis SCS3 was found to be a useful multifunctional biocontrol agent against various phytopathogens.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.445-458
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• 2019

The lipopolysaccharide (LPS) composed of lipid A, core, and O-antigen is the fundamental constituent of the outer membrane in gram-negative bacteria. This study was conducted to investigate the roles of LPS in Burkholderia glumae, the phytopathogen causing bacterial panicle blight and seedling rot in rice. To study the roles of the core oligosaccharide (OS) and the O-antigen region, mutant strains targeting the waaC and the wbiFGHI genes were generated. The LPS profile was greatly affected by disruption of the waaC gene and slight reductions were observed in the O-antigen region following wbiFGHI deletions. The results indicated that disruption in the core OS biosynthesis-related gene, waaC, was associated with increased sensitivity to environmental stress conditions including acidic, osmotic, saline, and detergent stress, and to polymyxin B. Moreover, significant impairment in the swimming and swarming motility and attenuation of bacterial virulence to rice were also observed in the waaC-defective mutant. The motility and virulence of O-antigen mutants defective in any gene of the wbiFGHI operon, were not significantly different from the wild-type except in slight decrease in swimming and swarming motility with wbiH deletion. Altogether, the results of present study indicated that the LPS, particularly the core OS region, is required for tolerance to environmental stress and full virulence in B. glumae. To our knowledge, this is the first functional study of LPS in a plant pathogenic Burkholderia sp. and presents a step forward toward full understanding of B. glumae pathogenesis.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.471-473
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• 2018

Variovorax sp. PMC12 is a rhizobacterium isolated from tomato rhizosphere and enhanced the plant resistance to abiotic and biotic stresses. Here we present the complete genome sequence of strain PMC12. The genome is comprised of two circular chromosomes harboring 5,873,297 bp and 1,141,940 bp, respectively. A total of 6,436 protein-coding genes, 9 rRNAs, 64 tRNAs, 3 ncRNAs, and 80 pseudogenes were identified. We found genes involved in 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase, antioxidant activity, phosphate solubilization, and biosynthesis of proline and siderophore. Those genes may be related to capability of improving plant resistance to various stresses including salinity, cold temperature, and phytopathogen.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.533-542
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• 2021

Chitosan has been considered an environmental-friendly polymer. However, its use in agriculture has not been extended yet due to its relatively low solubility in water. N-Methylene phosphonic chitosan (NMPC) is a water-soluble derivative prepared by adding a phosphonic group to chitosan. This study demonstrates that NMPC has a fungicidal effect on the phytopathogenic fungus Fusarium solani f. sp. eumartii (F. eumartii) judged by the inhibition of F. eumartti mycelial growth and spore germination. NMPC affected fungal membrane permeability, reactive oxygen species production, and cell death. Also, this chitosan-derivative exerted antifungal effects against two other phytopathogens, Botrytis cinerea, and Phytophthora infestans. NMPC did not affect tomato cell viability at the same doses applied to these phytopathogens to exert fungicide action. In addition to water solubility, the selective biological cytotoxicity of NMPC adds value in its application as an antimicrobial agent in agriculture.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.417-425
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• 2019

Biocontrol agents (BCAs) are widely used to protect plants from diverse biotic and abiotic stresses in agricultural and ecological fields. Among the various microbes, many subspecies of the gram-positive genus, Bacillus, have been successfully industrialized as eco-friendly biological pesticides and fertilizers. In the current study, we demonstrated that Bacillus thuringiensis C25 exhibited antagonistic effects on the mycelial growth of Rosellinia necatrix, a fungal phytopathogen. Scanning electron microscopy analysis revealed that B. thuringiensis C25 degraded the cell wall structures of R. necatrix mycelia. In the functional genomic analysis of B. thuringiensis C25, we annotated 5,683 genes and selected the gene sets that potentially encoded fungal cell wall degrading enzymes (CWDEs). The growth inhibition effects on R. necatrix were highly correlated with the transcriptional activity of the mycelial cell wall degrading genes of B. thuringiensis C25. The transcript levels of CWDEs, including CshiA, B, and Glycos_transf_2 genes in B. thuringiensis C25, were enhanced following co-cultivation with R. necatrix. In conclusion, our study suggested that B. thuringiensis C25 could serve as a suitable candidate for controlling R. necatrix and could facilitate elucidating the mechanisms underlying the antifungal activities of BCAs against phytopathogens.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.401-406
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• 1992

Antifungal substances against three plant pathogenic fungi, Phytophthora capsici, Phytophthora nicotianae var. parasitica and Rhizoctionaia solani were fractionated cultures of Streptomyces sp. A-2 strain isolated in Korean soils. Characterizations of active substances related with antagonistic effects were follows : 1. The excellent media which showed the transfer efficiency of antagonistic substances from Streptomyces sp. A-2 strain G.Y.B and B.H.I. among four that are glucose yeast broth (G.Y.B), $M\ddot{u}eller$, brain heart infusion(B.H.I.) and Czapek media. Active substances which were transfered into ethylacetate or left in residual aqueous phase did not lose antagonistic activity in spite of autoclavation. This indicated that bonds of these compounds were rigid enough to keep activity under such conditions. 2. Antagonistic substances were extracted according to adjustment of pH 3 or pH12 to 5 day-old B.H.I. broth cultures of Streptomyces sp. A-2 strain. Comparative analysis fluorescent bands on HPTLC to antagonsitic spectra against three phytopathogenic fungi indicated that major substances with antagonistic activity were extracted regardless of different pH adjustment to broth cultures. Since UV spectrum of these fractions scanned from 500nm to 200nm was similiar to that of polyene macrolide, major substances related with antagonistic activities were assumed to be polyene derivatives antibiotics.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.333-344
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• 2018

Selection of the optimal culture medium and evaluation of the antimicrobial activity against various phytopathogens were performed for four entomopathogenic fungal isolates with excellent insecticidal and antimicrobial activity against the two-spotted spider mite (Tetranychus urticae), green peach aphid (Myzus persicae), and gray mold (Botrytis cinerea). The optimal medium was selected by measuring the amount of blastospore production and the antifungal activity of the culture medium. On the basis of these experiments, GY medium was selected for Beauveria bassiana 2R-3-3-1 and Metarhizium anisopliae 4-2, SD3, and PDB medium for B. bassiana SD15. The antimicrobial activity test against other phytopathogens indicated that all four isolates showed high antifungal activities against Colletotrichum acutatum and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. However, for Phytophthora capsici and C. fructicola, only M. anisopliae SD3 showed a high antifungal activity against P. capsici, and the other three isolates had little activity. Antibacterial activity against Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis was high in two isolates of M. anisopliae but not in two isolates of B. bassiana. Thus, it was confirmed that entomopathogenic fungi effective for pest control could be effectively used as a control agent for various plant diseases.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.362-368
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• 2008

In order to isolate novel oligotrophic bacteria exhibiting antifungal activities, soils were collected from pepper-cultivated fields of Yeongyang, Jecheon, Nonsan, Eumsong and Goesan area in Korea. From soils in pepper cultivated area, a total of 9,354 strains were isolated as oligotrophic bacteria by the R2A dilution method. Among 9,354 oligotrohic bacteria candidates, 1A strain was selected by screening against Phytophthora capsici causing phytophthora blight of hot pepper in the greenhouse and field. The strain was identified as Bacillus vallismortis based on its 16S rDNA sequence and key characteristics as compared with those of authentic cultures of B. vallismortis(KACC 12149) and B. mojavensis(KACC 12096). The strain showed broad spectrum of antibiotic activity in vitro test, as revealed in its strong inhibitory activity to the genera Phytophthora, Collectotrichum, Botrytis and Fusarium, but not to Rhizoctonia and Magnaporthe. In pot experiments, infection rate of hot pepper in the non-treated pots was about 89%, while it was only 29% in the pots treated with 1A strain. The result indicated B. vallismortis 1A is a potential biocontrol agent for phytophthora blight of hot pepper

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.65-76
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• 2019

Bacillus genus are found abundantly in various sites and their secondary metabolites were used as potential agents in agriculture, notably plant growth promoting and bio-control. The objective of this study was to develop the culture conditions of GH1-13 strain including higher cell growth, stable endospore-forming and enhancement of potential agents which are related with plant growth promoting and phytopathogen suppression. The optimal carbon and nitrogen sources were determined by glucose and soy bean flour, respectively, then resulted in $7.5{\times}10^9cells/mL$, $6.8{\times}10^9\;endospore\;cells/mL$ and sporulation yield of 90% after 30 h cultivation in 500 L submerged fermenter at $37^{\circ}C$, pH 7.0. Cells and cell-free supernatant of GH1-13 strains showed the potent antifungal activity against phytopathogenic fungi of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides. It was also confirmed that indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) production of GH1-13 strain was greatly increased by addition of 0.3% tryptophan.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.285-294
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• 1999

Changes of chemico-physical properties and mturitiy during pig manure composting were analysed using three kinds of bulking agents with rice hull(T1), rice hull and extruding hull mixture (T2, 1:1, v/v), and extruding hull(T3). During composting process, temperature of T1, T2 and T3 were maintained over $50^{\circ}C$ for 31, 21, and 35 days respectively. Organic matter content of each treatment was decreased from 82.2%, 82.0%, and 82.8% to 70.5%, 68.9% and 69.7% and pH increased to 8.85, 9.91, and 8.80, respectively. Total nitrogen content of all treatments gradually decreased, but C/N ratio, phosphorous, and potassium content did not, show any changes during composting process. Both germination rate and early growth were tested using radish seeds for composting maturity. From those results, it was concluded that all treatments were stabilized after 45th day and extruding hull(T3) added compost was superior to others. The test of suppressive effect showed that all treatment have no effect against Fusarium oxysporum, Alternaria altemata, Botrytis cinerea. Compost supplemented with rice hull showed an inhibitory effect after 30th days, while compost supplemented with rice hull and extruding hull(T2) had an inhibitory effect during all period against Rhizoctonia solani. But treatment with extruding hull(T3) added compost did not have any inhibitory effect against Rhizoctonia solani. Only 63th samples in T1 and T2 treatment showed inhibitory effect against Colletoerichum gloeosporioides. However, T3 did not. Suppressive effect of extracts from 67 kinds of composts was investigated in vitro against plant pathogens, such as Fusauum oxysporum. Alternaria alternata, Colletotrichum gloeospoioides, Rhizoctonia solani, and Botrytis cinerea. Thirty two of them showed inhibitory effect against more than one phytopathogen, nine against one pathogen, four against two, six against three, six against four, and seven against five.