• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.475-484
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• 2020

Various indigenous yeasts were isolated and obtained from flowers in the Republic of Korea, and their distribution and species diversity were studied. Seventy-seven flowers were collected from 25 areas in Korea, and 502 yeast strains were isolated from these flowers. A total of 50 species were identified by comparing large subunit rDNA gene sequence homology with the type strains of yeasts. The analysis of yeast distribution showed that the dominant yeast species were Aureobasidium pullulans, A. leucospermi, and Filobasidium magnum in each region and flower samples. Except for the above three yeast species, no species of yeasts showed any meaningful distribution among the habitat regions and sources. In conclusion, 50 species of indigenous yeasts were obtained from flowers that can be used as industrial resources, and the data could be used for further research on yeast diversity and interactions between yeast and its host.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.199-204
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• 2002

A microsporidium, from cabbage white bntteflies, Pieris rapae, collected in Korea, was purified and characterized according to its gene structure, spore morphology and pathogenicity. From the observation of the isolate by SEM and TEM, the endospores, exospores and nuclei, about 12 polar filament coils of the polar tube and posterior vacuoles were all identified. The nucleotide sequence was determined for a portion of genomic DNA which spans the V4 variable region of the small subunit rRNA gene. Comparison with the GenBank database for 15 other microsporidia species suggests that this isolate is most closely related to Nosema species. The pathogenicity against cabbage white butterflies was quantified by inoculating variable doses of spores to the second instar larvae. Peroral inoculation at a dosage of 10$\^$8/ spores/ml resulted in the death of all larvae prior to adult eclosion, but at lower spore dosages of 10$\^$4/-10$\^$5/ spores/ml, many adults successfully emerged. The median lethal dose (LD$\_$50/) was deter-mined to be 4.6$\times$10$\^$6/ spores/ml and the isolate also transmitted transovarially to the progeny eggs at a frequency of 92%.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.88-93
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• 2009

In 2008, leaf rot and blight on pepper seeding ("Dokya-chungchung") occurred in a pepper farm at Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do, Korea. The typical symptom is water-soaking and dark brown leaf blight at edges and tips of leaves. The fungal colonies isolated from infected tissues were pinkish at first and turned gradually to gray. Conidia were fusiform, non-septum, and $8.1-17.0{\times}2.0-3.8{\mu}m$ in size. Several specific PCR primers derived from the sequence of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the rDNA, such as CaINT, CgINT and CcINT were used for the identification of the fungal pathogen. The C. acutatum-specific primer CaINT was amplified single fragment of 496 bp that discriminated C. acutatum from the other species. The pathogenicity test was performed on seedlings and fruits of red pepper. On the basis of the morphological, molecular characteristics and pathogenicity test, we identified as Colletotrichum acutatum. This is the first report on leaf rot and blight on pepper seedling caused by C. acutatum in Korea.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.22 no.7
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• pp.970-980
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• 2012

Native halophytes, such as Suaeda maritima, Limonium tetragonum, S. japonica, Zoysia sinica, and Phragmites australis were collected from the Muan salt marsh. Ninety endophytic fungi were isolated from the roots of the collected halophytes. Molecular insights inferred by internal transcribed spacer containing ITS1, 5.8s, and the ITS2 region showed that all the fungal strains belong to ten orders, i.e., Capnodiales (4.44%), Cystofilobasidiales (1.11%), Dothideales (3.33%), Eurotiales (53.33%), Glomerellales (3.33%), Hypocreales (8.89%), Mucorales (1.11%), Pleosporales (15.56%), Sordariales (1.11%), and Trichosphaeriales (1.11%). The rest (6.67%) of all fungal isolates were not identified. Ninety fungal strains were confirmed at the genus level, containing Acremonium, Alternaria, Aspergillus, Aureobasidium, Cephalosporium, Chaetomium, Cladosporium, Colletotrichum, Cryptococcus, Didymella, Dothideomycete, Emericellopsis, Epicoccum, Eupenicillium, Fusarium, Gibberella, Gongronella, Macrophoma, Microsphaeropsis, Nigrospora, Paecilomyces, Paraconiothyrium, Penicillium, Phaeomyces, Phoma, Pleosporales, Purpureocillium, and Talaromyces. Of all the endophytic fungi identified from the various halophytes, Aspergillus and Penicillium of Eurotiales had the highest abundance.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.234-241
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• 2019

An intensive interaction between yeasts and insects has highlighted their relevance for attraction to food and for the insect's development and behavior. Yeast associated in the gut of insects secretes cellulase which aided in the food digestion (cellulose degradation). Three strains of cellulose-degrading yeast were isolated from the gut of adult grasshoppers collected in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. The strains $ON22^T$, $G10^T$, and $G15^T$, showed positive cellulolytic activity in the carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)-plate assay. The phylogenetic tree based on sequence analysis of D1/D2 domains of the large subunit rRNA gene and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions revealed that the strains $ON22^T$ (100 and 98.4% sequence similarities in D1/D2 domains and ITS) and $G10^T$ (99.8 and 99.5% in D1/D2 domain and ITS region) were most closely related to the species Moesziomyces aphidis JCM $10318^T$; $G15^T$ (100% in D1/D2 domains and ITS) belongs to the species Moesziomyces antarcticus JCM $10317^T$, respectively. Morphology and biochemical test results are provided in the species description. Cellulase with its massive applicability has been used in various industrial processes such as biofuels like bioethanol productions. Therefore, this is the first report of the cellulolytic yeast strains $ON22^T$, $G10^T$, and $G15^T$ related to the genus Moesziomyces in the family Ustilaginaceae (Ustilaginales), in Korea.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.199-205
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• 2017

Although many PCR-based assays have been developed, the majority of rapid detection of Toxoplasma gondii in animal and their meat product has been dependent on immunogenic assays. Thus, there is still a need for more reliable PCR based detection method for T. gondii in retail meats. Recently, a 529-bp repeat element that exists in 200-300 copies per genome of T. gondii genome had been spotlighted for its usefulness as potential detection targers. In this study, the 529-bp repeat element was selected for real-time PCR to detect three types of T. gondii (type I, II and III). A primer pair targeting 82-bp of the 529-bp element detected all three types of T. gondii and showed high level of specificity against 14 different food-borne pathogens as well as 3 protozoan parasites such as Giardia lamblia, Cryptosporidium parvum and Entamoeba histolytica. Application of the new real-time PCR assay in meat samples showed improved detection sensitivity compared to the B1-gene targeted method suggesting potential new target for Toxoplasma gondii screening in retail meats.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.488-492
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• 2012

Two strains, traditionally referred to as rock flower (Bawhi-kot) and buckwheat flower (Memil-kot or Chile-Kot), were isolated from stored traditional soy sauce and were identified by using the 18S ITS1/4 region sequences. The rock flower strain showed 99% of similarity with Cladosporium sp. and buckwheat flower strain was 99% identical with yeast Sterigmatomyces halophilus. Both strains were tentatively named Cladosporium sp. NK1 and Sterigmatomyces halophilus NK2, respectively. The optimal growth pHs and temperatures of both strains in a YPD broth medium were in the range of pH 5.0 to 7.0 and 22 to $27^{\circ}C$. Both strains were able to grow in more than 20% of NaCl. In the enzyme activity assay, high protease activity of Cladosporium sp. NK1 and S. halophilus NK2 were obtained in YPD containing 10% of NaCl. High amylase activities of both stains were in 15% and 5% of NaCl, respectively. Lipase activity was, however, not detected in both strains.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.55-61
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• 2011

Forty yeast strains isolated from soils taken from different locations in Egypt were tested for their P-solubilizing activities on the basis of analyzing the clear zone around colonies growing on a tricalcium phosphate medium after incubation for 5 days at $25^{\circ}C$, denoted as the solubilization index (SI). Nine isolates that exhibited P-solubilization potential with an SI ranging from 1.19 to 2.76 were genetically characterized as five yeasts belonging to the genus Saccharomyces cerevisiae and four non-Saccharomyces, based on a PCR analysis of the ITS1-26S region amplied by SC1/SC2 species-specific primers. The highest P-solubilization efficiency was demonstrated by isolate PSY- 4, which was identified as Saccharomyces cerevisiae by a sequence analysis of the variable D1/D2 domain of the 26S rDNA. The effects of single and mixed inoculations with yeast PSY-4 and Bacillus polymyxa on the P-uptake and growth of corn were tested in a greenhouse experiment using different levels of a phosphorus chemical fertilizer (50, 100, and 200 kg/ha super phosphate 15.5% $P_2O_5$). The results showed that inoculating the corn with yeast PSY-4 or B. polymyxa caused significant increases in the shoot and root dry weights and P-uptake in the shoots and roots. The P-fertilization level also had a significant influence on the shoot and root dry weights and P-uptake in the shoots and roots when increasing the P-level from 50 up to 200 kg/ha. Dual inoculation with yeast strain PSY-4 and B. polymyxa at a P-fertilization level of 200 kg/ha gave higher values for the shoot and root dry weights and P-uptake in the shoots and roots, yet these increases were nonsignificant when compared with dual inoculation with yeast strain PSY-4 and B. polymyxa at a P-fertilization level of 100 kg/ha. The best increases were obtained from dual inoculation with yeast strain PSY-4 and B. polymyxa at a P-fertilization level of 100 kg/ha, which induced the following percentage increases in the shoot and root dry weights, and P-uptake in the shoots and roots; 16.22%, 46.92%, 10.09%, and 31.07%, respectively, when compared with the uninoculated control (fertilized with 100 kg/ha).

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.50-53
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• 2014

Rhizopus soft rot of lily (Lilium longiflorum) caused by Rhizopus oryzae was observed in the experimental field in Taean Lily Experiment Station in Korea, 2012. The typical symptoms were water-soaked lesions on bottom stem and leaf rot. The lesion rapidly expanded and the plant was softened totally. The fungus grew vigorously at an optimum temperature ($25^{\circ}C$) and brownish colony and black sporangia were formed on potato dextrose agar medium. Sporangiophores formed on end of sporangia were sub-globose, brownish and $6-10{\mu}m$ in size. Sporangia were globose, blackish and $87-116{\mu}m$ in size. Sporangiospores were irregularly oval and sub-globose, brownish $4-8{\mu}m$ in size. On the basis of mycological characteristics, analyzing sequences of internal transcribed spacer region of ribosomal DNA, and pathogenicity test on host plants, the causal fungus was identified as R. oryzae. This is the first report of Rhizopus soft rot on lily caused by R. oryzae in Korea.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.347-354
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• 2013

Innate immunity is the ability to differentiate infectious agents from self. The innate immune system is comprised of a complicated network of recognition and effector molecules that act together to protect the host in the early stage of an infectious challenge. Mannose-binding lectin (MBL or mannose-binding protein, MBP) belongs to the family of $Ca^{2+}$-dependent lectins (C-type lectin with a collagen-like domain), which are considered an important component of innate immunity. While it is associated with increased risk and severity of infections and autoimmunity, the most frequent immuno-deficiency syndrome was reported to be low MBL level in blood. Deficiency of human MBL is caused by mutations in the coding region of the MBL gene. Rat homologue gene of human MBL gene was used to study functions of wild type and mutant MBL proteins. Although extensive studies have yielded the structural information of MBL, the functions of MBL, especially mutant MBL, still require investigation. We previously reported the cloning of rat wild-type MBL gene and the production of a truncated form of MBL protein and its antibody. Here, we present the cloning of mutant MBL cDNA in collagen-like domain (R40C, G42D, and G45E) using site-directed mutagenesis and differential behaviors of wild type and mutant MBL in cells. The major difference between wild type and mutant MBL was that while wild type MBL was secreted, mutant MBL was inhibited for secretion, retained in endoplasmic reticulum, and still functioned as a lectin.