• Journal of Species Research
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.231-239
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• 2018

While screening indigenous prokaryotic species in Republic of Korea in 2017, a total of 17 bacterial strains assigned to the phylum Bacteroidetes were isolated from a variety of environmental habitats including water of fountain, tidal flat, plant root, soil, the gut of Russian grayling butterfly, ginseng field, seawater, lagoon and seashore sand. From the 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity of more than 98.7% and the formation of a robust phylogenetic clade with the closest species, it was found that the 17 strains belong to independent and recognized bacterial species. There has been no official report that the identified 17 species have been previously isolated in the Republic of Korea. Thus, 15 species in 10 genera of one family in the order Flavobacteriales, one species in one genus of one family in the order Cytophagales, and one species in one genus of one family in the order Sphingobacteriales are proposed as unrecorded species of the phylum Bacteroidetes found in the Republic of Korea. Gram reaction, colony and cell morphology, basic phenotypic characteristics, isolation source, taxonomic status, strain ID and other information are described in the species descriptions.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.202-209
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• 2018

Eight bacterial strains, 18JY8-13, 18JY13-16, 18JY43-7, 18JY12-7, 18JY1-1, 18JY1-7, 18JY15-3, and 18JY7-2 assigned to the phylum Firmicutes were isolated from a variety of soil samples collected in the Jeju Island, Korea. Cells of the eight strains were Gram-positive, aerobic and showed resistant to UV-radiation. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequence revealed that strains 18JY8-13, 18JY13-16, 18JY43-7, 18JY12-7, 18JY1-1, 18JY1-7, 18JY15-3, and 18JY7-2 were most closely related to Bacillus paranthracis(99.9%), Bacillus paramycoides(99.6%), Bacillus australimaris(99.9%), Bacillus wiedmannii (100%), Bacillus halosaccharovorans(99.6%), Bacillus deserti(98.7%), Bacillus cereus (99.8%), and Bacillus albus(100%), respectively. This is the first report of these eight species in Korea.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.210-221
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• 2018

Eight bacterial strains assigned to the phylum Firmicutes were isolated from the soil samples in Korea. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strains 18JY14-16, 18JY14-35, 18JY42-5, 18JY12-20, 18JY35-8, 18JY76-9, 18JY39-1 and 18JY54-12 were most closely related to Paenibacillus lupini (MH497638; 99.4%), Paenibacillus illinoisensis (MH497643; 99.8%), Paenibacillus tundrae (MH497658; 99.7%), Paenibacillus selenitireducens (MH497639; 99.4%), Paenibacillus eucommiae (MH 497640; 99.9%), Paenibacillus vini (MH497654; 99.4%), Paenibacillus gorillae (MH497647; 99.5%), and Paenibacillus macquariensis (MH497649; 99.9%) respectively. These Paenibacillus species were Gram-stain-positive, rod-shaped and radiation resistant bacteria. This is the first report of these nine bacterial species in Korea.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.222-230
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• 2018

Six bacterial strains 18JY42-3, 18SH, 18JY76-11, 17J11-11, 18JY14-14, and 18JY15-11 assigned to the phylum Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Actinobacteria were isolated from soil samples in Korea. The Cohnella species, strain 18JY42-3 was Gram-stain-positive, short rod-shaped and beige-colored. The Methylobacterium species, strains 18SH and 18JY76-11 were Gram-stain-negative, short rod-shaped and pink-colored. The Microterricola species, strain 17J11-11 was Gram-stain-positive, short rod-shaped and yellow-colored. The Paenarthrobacter species, strains 18JY14-14 and 18JY15-11 were Gram-stain-positive, short rod-shaped and white-colored. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequence showed that strains 18JY42-3, 18SH, 18JY76-11, 17J11-11, 18JY14-14, and 18JY15-11 were most closely related Cohnella rhizosphaerae (MH497628; 98.8%), Methylobacterium goesingense (MH497632; 99.1%), Methylobacterium populi (MH497635; 99.9%), Microterricolagilva (MH504108; 98.4%), Paenarthrobacter nicotinovorans (MH497641; 100%), and Paenarthrobacter nitroguajacolicus (MH497646; 99.2%), respectively. All the six unrecorded strains showed resistance to UV radiation. This is the first report of these six species in Korea.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.85-104
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• 2020

In 2019, after a comprehensive investigation of indigenous prokaryotic species in Korea, a total of 12 bacterial strains assigned to the phylum Proteobacteria were isolated from soil. With the high 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity (>98.8%) and formation of a robust phylogenetic clade with the closest species, it was determined that each strain belonged to independent, predefined bacterial species. This study identified two species in the family Burkholderiaceae, one species in the family Comamonadaceae, two species in the family Oxalobacteraceae, one species in the family Micrococcaceae, one species in the family Bradyrhizobiaceae, one species in the family Methylobacteriaceae, one species in the family Rhizobiaceae, one species in the family Rhodocyclaceae, and one species in the family Sphingomonadaceae. There is no official report about these 12 species in Korea, so are described as unreported bacterial species in Korea in this study. Gram reaction, basic biochemical characteristics, colony, and cell morphology are also described in the species description section.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.319-336
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• 2019

During an investigation of unrecorded prokaryotic species in Republic of Korea, a total of 53 bacterial strains belonging to the class Gammaproteobacteria were isolated from soil, seawater, tidal flats, rhizosphere, salt ponds, beach sand, urine, manure, sediment, and animal intestine (Russian grayling butterfly [Hipparchia autonoe], mouse [Mus musculus], and sea bass [Lateolabrax japonicus]). Strains were identified to species using the 16S rRNA gene sequence, showing high similarity (>98.7%) with the closest bacterial species and forming a robust clade in the neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree. The 53 strains of Gammaproteobacteria in this study have not been report previously in Korea. Therefore, we describe 27 genera of 16 families in 7 orders: 13 strains in the order Alteromonadales, 1 strain in the order Chromatiales, 11 strains in the order Enterobacterales, 7 strains in the order Oceanospirillales, 10 strains in the order Pseudomonadales, 8 strains in the order Vibrionales, and 3 strains in the order Xanthomonadales. Gram reaction, strain ID, isolation source, and morphological and basic biochemical characteristics are described for each species.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.249-258
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• 2019

Owing to a distinct environmental regime and anthropogenic effects, freshwater bacterial communities of urban streams are considered to be different from those of large freshwater lakes and rivers. To obtain unrecorded, freshwater bacterial species in Korea, water and sediment samples were collected from various urban streams of the Han River watershed in 2018. After plating the freshwater samples on R2A agar, approximately 1000 bacterial strains were isolated from the samples as single colonies and identified using 16S rRNA gene sequence analyses. A total of 26 strains, with >98.7% 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity with validly published bacterial species but not reported in Korea, were determined to be unrecorded bacterial species in Korea. The unrecorded bacterial strains were phylogenetically diverse and belonged to four phyla, six classes, 12 orders, 16 families, and 21 genera. At the generic level, the unreported species were assigned to Nocardioides, Streptomyces, Microbacterium, Kitasatospora, Herbiconiux, Corynebacterium, and Microbacterium of the class Actinobacteria; Paenibacillus and Bacillus of the class Bacilli; Caulobacter, Methylobacterium, Novosphingobium, and Porphyrobacter of the class Alphaproteobacteria; Aquabacterium, Comamonas, Hydrogenophaga, Laribacter, Rivicola, Polynucleobacter, and Vogesella of the class Betaproteobacteria; Arcobacter of the class Epsilonproteobacteria; and Flavobacterium of the class Flavobacteriia. The details of the 26 unreported species, including Gram reaction, colony and cell morphology, biochemical properties, and phylogenetic position are also provided in the strain descriptions.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.136-159
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• 2019

This study was carried out to investigate the flora of six islands belonging to the Gogunsan Archipelago (i.e., Sinsi-do, Seonyu-do, Munyeo-do, Yami-do, Bian-do, and Duri-do) in the Korean Peninsula. As results of five field surveys from March to October of 2016, we have identified 575 total taxa, representing 527 species, five subspecies, 42 varieties, and one hybrid, placed in 358 genera and 118 families. Of these 575 taxa, four are endemic to Korea, six taxa are listed on the Korean Red List of threatened species, 67 are floristic regional indicator plants, and 74 are invasive alien species. In this study, we compared species richness among the islands, and find that the larger the islands, the higher the species richness. In the case of habitat affinity types, forest species were most common, followed by farmland, seacoast, bare ground and wetland species. From similarity analyses based on the composition of vascular plants, each island did not exhibit either local specificity or unique diversity. On the contrary, the proportion of invasive alien and ruderal species may increase by human activities. Investigations and analyses of island flora such as this are important to assess the current status of the flora, predict future vegetation patterns and the spread of the alien species, and establish managment plans of plant diversity.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.197-214
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• 2019

The taxonomic hierarchy of the phylum Proteobacteria was assessed, after which the isolation and classification state of Proteobacteria species with valid names for Korean indigenous isolates were studied. The hierarchical taxonomic system of the phylum Proteobacteria began in 1809 when the genus Polyangium was first reported and has been generally adopted from 2001 based on the road map of Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology. Until February 2018, the phylum Proteobacteria consisted of eight classes, 44 orders, 120 families, and more than 1,000 genera. Proteobacteria species isolated from various environments in Korea have been reported since 1999, and 644 species have been approved as of February 2018. In this study, all novel Proteobacteria species from Korean environments were affiliated with four classes, 25 orders, 65 families, and 261 genera. A total of 304 species belonged to the class Alphaproteobacteria, 257 species to the class Gammaproteobacteria, 82 species to the class Betaproteobacteria, and one species to the class Epsilonproteobacteria. The predominant orders were Rhodobacterales, Sphingomonadales, Burkholderiales, Lysobacterales and Alteromonadales. The most diverse and greatest number of novel Proteobacteria species were isolated from marine environments. Proteobacteria species were isolated from the whole territory of Korea, with especially large numbers from the regions of Chungnam/Daejeon, Gyeonggi/Seoul/Incheon, and Jeonnam/Gwangju. Most Halomonadaceae species isolated from Korean fermented foods and solar salterns were halophilic or halotolerant. Air-borne members of the genera Microvirga, Methylobacterium, and Massilia had common characteristics in terms of G+C content, major respiratory quinones, and major polar lipids.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.161-175
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• 2019

During a comprehensive investigation of indigenous prokaryotic species in Korea, a total of 46 bacterial strains assigned to the classes Alphaproteobacteria, Betaproteobacteria, Deltaproteobacteria, and Epsilonproteobacteria were isolated from a diversity of habitats including freshwater, seawater, brackish water, ginseng soil, plant roots, natural caves, and tidal flats. Based on their high 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities (>98.7%) and formation of strongly-supported phylogenetic clades with the closest type species, each strain was assigned to an independent, predefined bacterial species. Since there were no published or official reports regarding the isolation of these 46 species in Korea, here we report them as new species to Korea: 34 species in 14 families in the five orders of Alphaproteobacteria, 10 species in five families in the three orders of Betaproteobacteria, one species of Deltaproteobacteria and one species of Epsilonproteobacteria. Gram reaction, colony and cell morphology, basic biochemical characteristics, isolation source, and strain IDs are described in the species description section.