• Mycobiology
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.195-209
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• 2023

The seed borne disease such as bakanae is difficult to control. Crop yield loss caused by bakanae depending on the regions and varieties grown, ranging from 3.0% to 95.4%. Bakanae is an important disease of rice worldwide and the pathogen was identified as Fusarium fujikuroi Nirenberg (teleomorph: Gibberella fujikuroi Sawada). Currently, four Fusaria (F. fujikuroi, F. proliferatum, F. verticillioides and F. andiyazi) belonging to F. fujikuroi species complex are generally known as the pathogens of bakanae. The infection occurs through both seed and soil-borne transmission. When infection occurs during the heading stage, rice seeds become contaminated. Molecular detection of pathogens of bakanae is important because identification based on morphological and biological characters could lead to incorrect species designation and time-consuming. Seed disinfection has been studied for a long time in Korea for the management of the bakanae disease of rice. As seed disinfectants have been studied to control bakanae, resistance studies to chemicals have been also conducted. Presently biological control and resistant varieties are not widely used. The detection of this pathogen is critical for seed certification and for preventing field infections. In South Korea, bakanae is designated as a regulated pathogen. To provide highly qualified rice seeds to farms, Korea Seed & Variety Service (KSVS) has been producing and distributing certified rice seeds for producing healthy rice in fields. Therefore, the objective of the study is to summarize the recent progress in molecular identification, fungicide resistance, and the management strategy of bakanae.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.369-375
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• 2011

Fusarium verticillioides (teleomorph: Gibberella moniliformis), a member of the Gibberellea fujikuroi species complex, causes rots of corn stalks and ears, and produces a group of mycotoxins known as fumonisins that are harmful to animals and humans. Here, we focus on the development of a species-specific PCR primer set for differentiating F. verticillioides from other fumonisin-producing Fusarium species belonging to the species complex, such as F. proliferatum, F. fujikuroi, and F. subglutinans that are frequently associated with corn. The specific primers (RVERT1 and RVERT2) derived from the nucleotide sequences of RNA polymerase II beta subunit (RPB2) gene amplified a 208 bp-DNA fragment from only F. verticillioides isolates among the potential fumonisin-producing species examined; all of these isolates were shown to carry FUM1 required for fumonisin biosynthesis. The PCR detection limit using this specific primer set was approximately 0.125 pg/${\mu}l$ genomic DNA of F. verticillioides. In addition, the F. verticillioides-specfic fragment was successfully amplified from genomic DNAs of corn samples contaminated with Fusarium spp. This primer set would provide a useful tool for the detection and differentiation of potential fumonisin-producing F. verticillioides strains in cereal samples.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.178-184
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• 2006

The 18 isolates of soybean red crown rot pathogen(Calonectria ilicicola) were isolated from infected soybean plants showing chlorosis symptom and red perithecia sign in 2002 and 2003 season in Korea. The morphological characteristics of the typical isolate SC03-15, such as macroconidia and macrovesicles in anamorph as well as perithecia, asci and ascospores in teleomorph, were observed from red crown rot pathogens. The perithecia were red-brown globose to ovoid, and $357.9(312.5{\sim}391.5.7){\mu}m$ high and $474.3(419{\sim}535){\mu}m$ diameter. Asci were hyaline and clavate and included 8 ascospores, which were straight to slightly curved, 1(-3)-septate, and $36.9(31.1{\sim}49.4){\times}5.2(4.5{\sim}6.1){\mu}m$. Macroconidia in anamorph were cylindrical, hyaline and in size $73.2(68.1{\sim}77.6){\times}5.8(4.9{\sim}6.8){\mu}m$. Further identification process was performed through molecular method, such as a phylogenetic analysis by rDNA sequencing of ITS and $\beta$-tubuline genes of all isolates tested in this study. All isolates were identified as Calonectria ilicicola by DNA sequencing of ITS and $\beta$-tubuline genes, and morphological characteristics.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.24 no.4 s.79
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• pp.246-254
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• 1996

Since the mid of 1980's, cultivation area and production of Ganoderma lucidum have been increased annually in Korea. However, the presence of a fungal disease has become a major limiting factor in the cultivation of Ganoderma lucidum, causing a serious economic loss. The present study was carried out to isolate and identify the pathogenic fungus to Ganoderma lucidum. Several fungi isolated from the wood logs showing typical symptoms were tested whether they are pathogenic to Ganoderma lucidum or not by cross-pairing culture method, flask inoculation method, and wood log inoculation method. The pathogenic fungus produced ascomata. Mature ascomata was spherical, dark, thick-walled, $45{\sim}95\;{\mu}m$ diameter. Asci were thin-walled, evanescent when mature, disintegrate early. Ascospores were spherical, hyaline, glaborous, thick-walled, refractive, $3.6{\sim}4.3\;{\mu}m$ in size. Conidiophores soon became abundantly septate and broke up into arthrospores, which are cylindrical, $3{\sim}6\;{\mu}m$ long and $3{\sim}4\;{\mu}m$ wide. Based on the observations under dissecting microscope, light microscope and scanning electron microscope, teleomorph and anamorph of the pathogenic fungus were identified as Xylogone sphaerospora Von Arx & Nilsson and Sporendonema purpurascens (Bonordon) Mason & Hughes, respectively. X. sphaerospora is first reported as a pathogenic fungus of Ganoderma lucidum.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.112-117
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• 2000

A similarity coefficient were analyzed by RFLP of fourteen species of entomopathogenic fungi, isolated from inhabiting pupa and adult insect at forest. Each rDNA ITS I and ITS II with primers of ITS 1 and ITS 4 was amplified by PCR. The amplified products were conserved to 500 bp were not demarcated between genus and species. Four Paeciliomyces tenuipes, two Beauveria bassiana and six Cordyceps militaris were treated by seven restriction enzymes and confirmed in species except JB3 by electrophoresis band. However, the band of C. scarabaeicola showed the identity with B. bassiana. The result of this experiment indicated that the teleomorph of C. scarabaeicola was the same as that of B. bassiana. CfoI and HpaII of seven restricted enzymes were easily discriminating in the genus between Paecilomyees and Cordyceps. Especially, CfoI was more effective to classify the genera of Paecilomyees, Cordyceps and Beauveria than other restriction enzymes. The band patterns of RFLP of P. tenuipes, C. militaris, C. scarabaeicola and B. bassiana were also analyzed by UPGMA program of NTSYS-pc and showed 100% significance. Thus, the similarity coefficient tended to be lower between genera by RFLP analysis, but was higher between species.

• 한국균학회소식:학술대회논문집
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• 2014.10a
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• pp.15-15
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• 2014

Fusarium graminearum (teleomorph Gibberella zeae) is an important plant pathogen that causes head blight of major cereal crops such as wheat, barley, and rice, as well as causing ear and stalk rot on maize worldwide. Plant diseases caused by this fungus lead to severe yield losses and accumulation of harmful mycotoxins in infected cereals [1]. Fungi utilize spore production as a mean to rapidly avoid unfavorable environmental conditions and to amplify their population. Spores are produced sexually and asexually and their production is precisely controlled. Upstream developmental activators consist of fluffy genes have been known to orchestrate early induction of condiogenesis in a model filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans. To understand the molecular mechanisms underlying conidiogenesis in F. graminearum, we characterized functions of the F. graminearum fluffy gene homologs [2]. We found that FlbD is conserved regulatory function for conidiogenesis in both A. nidulans and F. graminearum among five fluffy gene homologs. flbD deletion abolished conidia and perithecia production, suggesting that FlbD have global roles in hyphal differentiation processes in F. graminearum. We further identified and functionally characterized the ortholog of AbaA, which is involved in differentiation from vegetative hyphae to conidia and known to be absent in F. graminearum [3]. Deletion of abaA did not affect vegetative growth, sexual development, or virulence, but conidium production was completely abolished and thin hyphae grew from abnormally shaped phialides in abaA deletion mutants. Overexpression of abaA resulted in pleiotropic defects such as impaired sexual and asexual development, retarded conidium germination, and reduced trichothecene production. AbaA localized to the nuclei of phialides and terminal cells of mature conidia. Successful interspecies complementation using A. nidulans AbaA and the conserved AbaA-WetA pathway demonstrated that the molecular mechanisms responsible for AbaA activity are conserved in F. graminearum as they are in A. nidulans. F. graminearum ortholog of Aspergillus nidulans wetA has been shown to be involved in conidiogenesis and conidium maturation [4]. Deletion of F. graminearum wetA did not alter mycelial growth, sexual development, or virulence, but the wetA deletion mutants produced longer conidia with fewer septa, and the conidia were sensitive to acute stresses, such as oxidative stress and heat stress. Furthermore, the survival rate of aged conidia from the F. graminearum wetA deletion mutants was reduced. The wetA deletion resulted in vigorous generation of single-celled conidia through autophagy-dependent microcycle conidiation, indicating that WetA functions to maintain conidia dormancy by suppressing microcycle conidiation in F. graminearum. In A. nidulans, FlbB physically interacts with FlbD and FlbE, and the resulting FlbB/FlbE and FlbB/FlbD complexes induce the expression of flbD and brlA, respectively. BrlA is an activator of the AbaA-WetA pathway. AbaA and WetA are required for phialide formation and conidia maturation, respectively [5]. In F. graminearum, the AbaA-WetA pathway is similar to that of A. nidulans, except a brlA ortholog does not exist. Amongst the fluffy genes, only fgflbD has a conserved role for regulation of the AbaA-WetA pathway.

• 한국균학회소식:학술대회논문집
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• 2014.10a
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• pp.34-34
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• 2014

Filamentous fungi of the genus Colletotrichum (teleomorph, Glomerella) are considered major plant pathogens worldwide. Cereals, legumes, vegetables, and fruit trees may be seriously affected by this pathogen (1). Colletotrichum species cause typical disease symptoms known as anthracnoses, characterized by sunken necrotic tissue, where orange conidial masses are produced. Anthracnose appears in both developing and mature plant tissues (2). We investigated disease occurrence in apple orchards from 2013 to 2014 in northern Gyeongbuk province, Korea. Typical anthracnose with advanced symptoms was observed in all apple orchards studied. Of late, static fruit spot symptoms are being observed in apple orchards. A small lesion, which does not expand further and remains static until the harvesting season, is observed at the beginning of fruit growth period. In our study, static symptoms, together with the typical symptoms, were observed on apples. The isolated fungus was tested for pathogenicity on cv. 'Fuji apple' (fully ripe fruits, unripe fruits, and cross-section of fruits) by inoculating the fruits with a conidial suspension ($10^5$ conidia/ml). In apple inoculated with typical anthracnose fungus, the anthracnose symptoms progressed, and dark lesions with salmon-colored masses of conidia were observed on fruit, which were also soft and sunken. However, in apple inoculated with fungi causing static symptoms, the size of the spots did not increase. Interestingly, the shape and size of the conidia and the shape of the appressoria of both types of fungi were found to be similar. The conidia of the two types of fungi were straight and cylindrical, with an obtuse apex. The culture and morphological characteristics of the conidia were similar to those of C. gloeosporioides (5). The conidia of C. gloeosporioides germinate and form appressoria in response to chemical signals such as host surface wax and the fruitripening hormone ethylene (3). In this study, the spores started to germinate 4 h after incubation with an ethephon suspension. Then, the germ tubes began to swell, and subsequently, differentiation into appressoria with dark thick walls was completed by 8 h. In advanced symptoms, fungal spores of virtually all the appressoria formed primary hyphae within 16 h. However, in the static-symptom fungus spores, no primary hyphae formed by 16 h. The two types of isolates exhibited different growth rates on medium containing apple pectin, Na polypectate, or glucose as the sole carbon. Static-symptom fungi had a >10% reduction in growth (apple pectin, 14.9%; Na polypectate, 27.7%; glucose, 10.4%). The fungal isolates were also genetically characterized by sequencing. ITS regions of rDNA, chitin synthase 1 (CHS1), actin (ACT), and ${\beta}$-tubulin (${\beta}t$) were amplified from isolates using primer pairs ITS 1 and ITS 4 (4), CHS-79F and CHS-354R, ACT-512F and ACT-783R, and T1 and ${\beta}t2$ (5), respectively. The resulting sequences showed 100% identity with sequences of C. gloeosporioides at KC493156, and the sequence of the ${\beta}$t gene showed 100% identity with C. gloeosporioides at JX009557.1. Therefore, sequence data from the four loci studied proves that the isolated pathogen is C. gloeosporioides. We also performed random amplified polymorphic DNA-PCR, which showed clearly differentiated subgroups of C. gloeosporioides genotypes. The clustering of these groups was highly related to the symptom types of the individual strains.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.58-68
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• 2018

Sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea) is used as a nitrogen-fixing green manure in Korea to improve soil quality, reduce soil erosion, and suppress weeds and nematodes. In 2014, wilting sunn hemp plants were observed in green manure-cultivated fields in Wanju, Korea. Leaves of the infected plants began yellowing, starting with the lower leaves, eventually leading to their death. Moreover, a number of dark perithecia were observed on the wilting stems. Six isolates were obtained from these perithecia by single spore isolation. Based on their morphological characteristics, the isolates were identified as Fusarium udum (teleomorph: Gibberella indica). Macroconidia were slightly curved with almost hooked apical cell, and microconidia were formed on false heads by monophialides. Chlamydospores were produced abundantly in the hyphae, either singly or in clusters. To confirm the identification, multilocus sequence analysis was conducted using translation elongation factor 1 alpha (TEF), calmodulin (CAL), and histone 3 (HIS3). The sequences of TEF, CAL, and HIS3 showed 94.4~96.2%, 99.7%, and 99.6~99.8% similarity to the reference sequences of F. udum in NCBI GenBank, respectively. Pathogenicity was tested on sunn hemp and two soybean cultivars using the inoculation method of soil drenching with spore suspension. The wilting symptoms were observed only in sunn hemp and one cultivar of soybean (cv. Teagwang) after 14~21 days of inoculation. This is the first report of wilt disease in sunn hemp caused by Fusarium udum in Korea.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.86-94
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• 2002

Recently a serious outbreak of weed mould caused by a species of Hypocrea occurred in oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) substrates in Korea. The disease was characterized by a rapid infestation of the oyster mushroom substrates by Hypocrea sp. and subsequent inhibition of fructification of the mushroom. In spite of it's serious losses to the oyster mushroom industry in Korea, etiology and ecology of the disease have not been studied. Morphological characteristics of the fungus were examined and molecular characteristics of the fungus were compared with those of the green moulds (Trichoderma spp.) isolated from oyster mushroom bed. Stromata formed superficially on suface of the substrates were pulvinate to effuse or irreguler, initially white but becoming yellowish brown, measuring $6.0{\sim}13.0{\times}3.0{\sim}11.0mm$. Perithecia were globose to subglobose, immersed in stroma, $223{\sim}263\;(Ave.239.9){\times}167.3{\sim}231\;(Ave.204.1){\mu}m$ in size. Asci were unitunicate, cylindrical, nonamyloid, $82.7{\sim}124.8\;(Ave.103.3){\times}4.1{\sim}5.1\;(Ave.4.9){\mu}m$ in size, 16 part-spored. Ascospores were bullet-shaped or somewhat oblong, hyaline, bicellular, roughened or warted, $5.4{\sim}7.4\;(Ave.6.5){\times}3.6{\sim}5.5\;(Ave.4.7){\mu}m$ in size. This fungus readily form the stroma on PDA. Mycelia on PDA nearly invisible and without cottony aerial mycelium. Optimum temperature for mycelial growth of this fungus was $25^{\circ}C$ on PDA and its growth rate was 15 mm per day. This species did not grow at below 10 and above $35^{\circ}C$. Phialides in culture enlarged in the middle and aggregated to penicillate type. They were very variable, shorted ampulliform and occasionally curved when matured, but cylinderical when young, measuring $11.9{\sim}24.3\;(Ave.\;14.7){\times}2.9{\sim}3.9\;(Ave.\;3.4){\mu}m$ when matured and $7.2{\sim}14.0\;(Ave.\;10.8){\times}2.8{\sim}4.9\;(Ave.\;3.5){\mu}m$ when young. Phialosopres were ovoid to ellipsoid, smooth, measuring $3.5{\sim}7.2\;(Ave.\;4.5){\times}2.6{\sim}3.3\;(Ave.\;2.9){\mu}m$. Nineteen isolates of Hypocrea sp. were analyzed on the basis of molecular characteristics and classified into phenotypic groups. On the basis of RAPD, URP-PCR, the fungus was confirm to monoclonal, and was classified as a different taxon from reported species of Hypocrea and Trichoderma and supposed to be a new species not previously reported in literature.