• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.17-23
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• 2015

A complete control on quarantine insect pests is required for exporting domestic apples to other countries. To this end, a controlled atmosphere and heat treatment system (CATTS) has been developed as a post-harvest treatment. This study determined the CATTS conditions to control completely two lepidopteran insect pests, the smaller tea tortrix moth, Adoxophyes paraorana and the peach pyralid moth, Dichocrocis punctiferalis, which exhibit different feeding behviors. In both species, the fifth instar larvae were the most tolerant developmental stage to the heat treatment. Under CATTS conditions with 15% $CO_2$ and 1% $O_2$ for 1 h heat treatment at $46^{\circ}C$, the fifth instar larvae of A. paraorana exhibited a complete lethality, while those of D. punctiferalis underwent 88% mortality. To control completely the fifth instar larvae of D. punctiferalis, 2 h heat treatment required under the same atmosphere condition. These CATTS treatment effects were confirmed against over 3,000 fifth instar larvae of each species infesting apples. This study demonstrates that the longer exposure to CATTS conditions is required for the complete disinfestation of the internal apple feeder compared to the non-internal apple feeder.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.27-33
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• 2016

Chlorine dioxide has been used as a disinfectant against microbial pathogens. Recently, its insecticidal activity has been known against stored insect pests by oxidative stress. However, any molecular target of the oxidative stress induced by chlorine dioxide has been not known in insects. This study assessed an enzyme activity of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) as a molecular target of chlorine dioxide in the Indianmeal moth, Plodia interpunctella. AChE activities were varied among developmental stages of P. interpunctella. Injection of chlorine dioxide with lethality-causing doses significantly increased AChE activity of the fifth instar larvae of P. interpunctella. Exposure of the larvae to chlorine dioxide fumigant also significantly increased AChE activity. The fifth instar larvae of P. interpunctella exhibited a negative phototaxis. However, chlorine dioxide treatment significantly interrupted the innate behavior. These results suggest that AChE is one of molecular targets of oxidative stress due to chlorine dioxide in P. interpunctella.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.131-140
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• 2012

The hawthorn spider mite, Tetranychus viennensis, is a pest of apples and a quarantine pest from some countries that import apples from Korea. A controlled atmosphere and temperature treatment system (CATTS) was developed as an alternative disinfestation method to methyl bromide fumigation treatment, and has been applied to control various insects and other arthropod pests on fruits. We applied CATTS to disinfect T. viennensis under conditions that were previously developed to control the peach fruit moth, Carposina sasakii. First, T. viennensis was sampled from Japanese apricot, Prunus mume, and identified by its morphological characters. In addition, both cytochrome oxidase I (COI) and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences supported the morphological identification. Second, the heat-tolerant developmental stage was determined in T. viennensis. When a $46^{\circ}C$ heat treatment was applied to egg, nymph, and adult stages of T. viennensis, adults were the most tolerant stage. Third, when heat temperature was used along with 1% $O_2$ and 15% $CO_2$, the mites showed a significant increase in susceptibility to the heat treatment. Finally, CATTS at $46^{\circ}C$ with 15% $CO_2$ and 1% $O_2$ for 30 min resulted in 100% mortality of all T. viennensis development stages. These results indicated that CATTS isapplicable to disinfest T. viennensis in post-harvest apples.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.245-253
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• 2012

Benzylinedeneacetone (BZA) is a bacterial metabolite which is synthesized by at least two entomopathogenic bacteria, namely Xenorhabdus nematophila and Photorhabdus temperata subsp. temperata. It has been shown to possess inhibitory effects on insect cellular and humoral immune responses as well as antimicrobial activities against various species of bacteria and fungi. However, its relatively high phytotoxicity, and nonsystematic effect have thus far prevented its development into an optimal pesticide. This study screened five different BZA derivatives in order to select an optimal compound, which would have relatively high solubility and low phytotoxicity while retaining sufficient degrees of the immunosuppressive and antimicrobial activities associated with BZA. Hydroxylation of the benzene ring of BZA was found to significantly suppress its immunosuppressive and antimicrobial activities. Transformation of the ketone of BZA by carboxylation also suppressed the inhibitory activities. However, a shortening of the aliphatic chain of BZA into acetate form (4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid: HPA) did not decrease the inhibitory activity. HPA also showed much less phytotoxicity against the hot pepper plant Capsicum annuum, when compared to BZA. This study identified an optimal BZA derivative, which exhibited relatively little phytotoxicity, but retained a high degree of inhibitory activity to suppress insect immune responses and antimicrobial activities against plant pathogens.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.223-230
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• 2012

Some high frequency sounds alter physiological processes of the beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua. This study investigated the effect of ultrasound (${\geq}$ 20 kHz) on larval feeding, pupal development, and adult mating behavior of S. exigua. Ultrasound suppressed feeding behavior of fifth instar larvae, and 30 or 45 kHz treatment inhibited more than 50% of feeding activity. Larvae treated with ultrasound exhibited alterations in major nutrient compositions in the hemolymph plasma. Plasma protein levels decreased with an increase in ultrasound frequency. In contrast, sugar levels increased with an increase in ultrasound frequency. Lipid levels increased with an increase in ultrasound frequency up to 30 kHz and then decreased at treatments > 30 kHz. Hemocytes, the fat body, and epidermis expressed three heat shock proteins and apolipophorin III. Ultrasound treatment markedly inhibited expression of some stress-related genes. Ultrasound treatment also inhibited S. exigua pupal development by extending the pupal developmental period and preventing adult emergence. Last, ultrasound treatment significantly inhibited adult mating behavior, which resulted in a significant decrease in female fecundity. These results show that ultrasound is a physiological stress to S. exigua.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.331-338
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• 2014

Cystatins (CSTs) are reversible and competitive inhibitors of C1A cysteine proteases, corresponding to papain-like cathepsins in plants and animals. A viral CST (CpBV-CST1) was identified from a polydnavirus, Cotesia plutellae bracovirus (CpBV). Our previous study indicated that a transient expression of CpBV-CST1 interfered with immune response and development of Plutella xylostella larvae. To directly demonstrate the protein function, this study produced a recombinant CpBV-CST1 protein (rCpBV-CST1) using bacterial expression system to determine its inhibitory activity against cysteine protease and to assess its physiological alteration in insect immune and development. The open reading frame of CpBV-CST1 encodes a polypeptide of 138 amino acids (${\approx}15kDa$). rCpBV-cystatin protein in BL21 STAR (DE3) competent cells containing a recombinant pGEX4T-3:CpBV-CST1 was over-expressed by 0.5 mM IPTG for 4 h. In biological activity assay, the purified rCpBV-CST1 showed a significant inhibition against papain activity. It inhibited a cellular immune response of hemocyte nodule formation in the beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua. Moreover, its oral administration retarded larval development of the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella in a dose-dependent manner. These results suggest that CpBV-CST1 may be applied to control insect pest populations.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.227-237
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• 2013

The black soldier fly (BSF), Hermetia illucens, is a generalist detritivore that is usually exploited for recycling environmental wastes, including food remnants. These insects can also be used to produce antibiotics for medical applications. For this purpose, flies need to be mass-reared using an automatic rearing system that generates various sounds. Insects use sound as a means of communication for mating or warning against predators. Thus, extrinsic sounds may interrupt the normal physiological processes of insects. In this study, we analyzed the physiological changes due to various sound treatments at $25^{\circ}C$ and 8:16 h (L:D) photoperiod. At 95 dB, larvae were exposed to different sound frequencies (0-5,000 Hz). The treated larvae were adversely affected by the high-frequency sounds and showed significant reduction in pupation and adult emergence. Different sound intensities (0-105 dB) at 5,000 Hz caused significant changes in the pupation and survival of the adults at 85 dB or above. Under a stress sound condition (5,000 Hz, 95 dB), the BSF larvae exhibited aberrations in the expression of genes related to the immune system and digestion. These results indicate that high-frequency sound treatments at or above 85 dB act as a stress sound to BSF development.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.35-43
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• 2013

All tested Korean populations of the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella, are known to be resistant especially against pyrethroid insecticides by mutation in its molecular target, para-sodium channel. Moreover, P. xylostella is able to develop resistance against most commercial insecticides. This study was performed to develop an efficient control technique against P. xylostella by a combined treatment of an endoparasitoid wasp, Cotesia plutellae, and a microbial insecticide, Bacillus thuringiensis. To investigate any parasitism preference of C. plutellae against susceptible and resistant P. xylostella, five different populations of P. xylostella were compared in insecticide susceptibilities and parasitism by C. plutellae. These five P. xylostella populations showed a significant variation against three commercial insecticides including pyrethroid, organophosphate, neonicotinoid, and insect growth regulator. However, there were no significant differences among five P. xylostella populations in their parasitic rates by C. plutellae. Moreover, parasitized larvae of P. xylostella showed significantly higher susceptibility to B. thuringiensis. As an immunosuppressive agent, viral ankyrin genes (vankyrins) encoded in C. plutellae were transiently expressed in nonparasitized larvae. Expression of vankyrins significantly enhanced the efficacy of B. thuringiensis against the third instar larvae of P. xylostella. Thus an immunosuppression induced by C. plutellae enhanced the insecticidal efficacy of B. thuringiensis. These results suggest that a combined treatment of C. plutellae and B. thuringiensis may effectively control the insecticide-resistant populations of P. xylostella.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.107-114
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• 2015

This study focuses on assessing risks which might occur in operation stage of CAES storage cavern and analyzing fire scenarios for the risk that have been assessed with highest risk level. Risks in operation stage were categorized into upper risk group and lower risk group. Components of upper risk group are technical risk, facility risk and natural disaster risk. Lower risk group is composed of 11 sub-risks. 20 experts were chosen to survey questionnaires. ANP model was applied to analyze the relative importance of 11 sub-risks. Results of risk analysis were compared with risk criterion to set risk priorities, and the highest risk was determined to be 'occurrence of the fire within the management opening'. Three fire scenarios were developed for the highest risk level and FDS (Fire dynamics Simulator) was used to analyze these scenarios. No. 3 scenario which air blows from tunnel into outside atmosphere represented that a rate of smoke spread was the fastest among three fire scenarios and a smoke descended most quickly below the limit line of breathing. Thus, No. 3 scenario turned out to be the most unfavorable condition when operating staffs were evacuated from access tunnel.

• Journal of Mushroom
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.111-117
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• 2017

The mushroom species Cordyceps militaris has been studied and cultivated as a medicinal mushroom due to its multiple valuable biological and pharmaceutical activities. For breeding new strains of C. militaris, multiplex PCR assays were performed using primers specific for its mating type genes, MAT1-1 and MAT1-2. Mating types and mating status were confirmed, as evidenced by DNA bands at 233-bp and 191-bp for MAT1-1 and MAT1-2 respectively. The novel 'Dowonhongcho 2ho' was developed through mating; they were found to possess high-quality fruiting bodies when grown in artificial media. The stromata of the new strain were club-shaped, with a bright orange-red color, and measured 7.1 cm in length. They had an average cordycepin content of 0.33%. Compared to 'Dowonhongcho,' the new strain had a 7% higher yield, as well as firm fruiting bodies. The optimum temperature for mycelial growth was $20{\sim}25^{\circ}C$, and the optimum temperature for stroma development was $18{\sim}22^{\circ}C$. The fruiting bodies developed after 49.1 days from inoculation. The use of mating type molecular markers improved the breeding efficiency of the new strain 'Dowonhongcho 2ho.' Thus, they may be valuable for artificial cultivation and industrial-scale production of C. militaris with excellent characteristics.