• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.289-294
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• 2002

The fungal strain SW-3 having antimicrobial activity was isolated from soil of crucified plants in Pocheon, Kyungki-Do, Korea. Strain SW-3 was identified as Alternaria brassicicola by its morphological characteristics, and confirmed by the analysis of the 18S gene and ITS regions of rDNA. The fungus showed a similarity of 99% with Alternaria brassicicola in the 18S rDNA sequence analysis. A. brassicicola has been reported to produce an antitumor compound, called depudecin. We found that strain SW-3 produced antimicrobial metabolites, in addition to depudecin, during sporulation under different growth conditions. The metabolite of the isolated fungus was found to have strong antifungal activity against Microsporium canis and Trichophyton rubrum, and antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aerogenes. The amount and kind of metabolites produced by the isolate were affected by growth conditions such as nutrients and growth periods.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.191-198
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• 1985

Sixty one commercial seed samples of three cruciferous vegetable crops were examined for seed-borne Alternaria spp. by deep freezing blotter method. Alternaria raphani, A. brassicicola and A. brassicae were detected from 7, 6 and 1 seed samples of chinese cabbage out of 20 with average infection ratio of 3.8, 1.8 and 0.5, respectively. A. raphani and A. brassicae were detected from 11 and 2 seed samples of radish out of 38 with average infection ratio of 7.2 and 1.0, respectively. A. brassicicola was detected from 3 samples of cabbage seed with average infection ratio of 21.8. Most of the Alternaria spp. detected were recovered from the seed coat and caused seed rot and seedling infections. A. brassicicola was recovered from the embryos of radish, chinese cabbage and cabbage in low infections and A. raphani was recovered from the embryos of radish. In inoculation experiments, A. brassicicola, A. brassicae and A. raphani produced black leaf spots on old leaves of three creciferous vegetable crops and the spots gradually increased in size appearing gray to light brown lesions which later coalesce and caused defoliation.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.51-56
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• 2002

An antitumor substance was purified from the culture filtrate of phytopathogenic fungus Alternaria brassicicola SW-3 isolated from soil of a chinese cabbage patch, and its characteristics were investigated. Antitumor activity of A. brassicicola SW-3 was measured by MTT assay. The cytotoxic activity against human cancer cell line was detected in the culture filtrate of A. brassicicola SW-3, but no activity found in mycelium. Antitumor substance was isolated from the culture broth by ethyl acetate extraction and purified by silica gel column chromatography. Structure of the purified compound was analyzed by the instrumental analysis such as $^1$H-NMR, $^{13}$ C-NMR and IR spectroscopy. The purified fungal metabolite of an A. brassicicola SW-3, consists of 11 carbon chain with two hydroxyl groups and two epoxides which is identical to depudecin. The $IC_{50}$/ values of the active compound identified as depudecin were $69\mu$g/mL and $57\mu$g/mL against mouse melanoma B16BL6 cell line, and human hepatoma SK-HEP1 cell line, respectively.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.15-20
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• 1978

The purpose of the present study is to describe growth characteristics of seven species of Alternaria occur on naturally infected seeds, and to set up a guide line for quick identification of the species in connection with routine seed health testing. Host range and economic importance of each species are discussed and described with phototographs. The species studied are Alternaria tenuis, A. brassicicola, A. brassicae, A. raphani, A. dauci Alternaria radicina and A. sesami. Other resembling species are discussed in this paper.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.91-99
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• 2019

Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades in fungi are ubiquitously conserved signaling pathways that regulate stress responses, vegetative growth, pathogenicity, and many other developmental processes. Previously, we reported that the AbSte7 gene, which encodes a mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MAPKK) in Alternaria brassicicola, plays a central role in pathogenicity against host cabbage plants. In this research, we further characterized the role of AbSte7 in the pathogenicity of this fungus using ${\Delta}AbSte7$ mutants. Disruption of the AbSte7 gene of A. brassicicola reduced accumulation of metabolites toxic to the host plant in liquid culture media. The ${\Delta}AbSte7$ mutants could not efficiently detoxify cruciferous phytoalexin brassinin, possibly due to reduced expression of the brassinin hydrolase gene involved in detoxifying brassinin. Disruption of the AbSte7 gene also severely impaired fungal detoxification of reactive oxygen species. AbSte7 gene disruption reduced the enzymatic activity of cell walldegrading enzymes, including cellulase, ${\beta}$-glucosidase, pectin methylesterase, polymethyl-galacturonase, and polygalacturonic acid transeliminase, during host plant infection. Altogether, the data strongly suggest the MAPKK gene AbSte7 plays a pivotal role in A. brassicicola during host infection by regulating multiple steps, and thus increasing pathogenicity and inhibiting host defenses.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.7
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• pp.1311-1319
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• 2016

Alternaria brassicicola (Schwein.) invades Brassicaceae and causes black spot disease, significantly lowering productivity. Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and their upstream kinases, including MAPK kinases (MAPKKs) and MAPKK kinases (MAPKKK), comprise one of the most important signaling pathways determining the pathogenicity of diverse plant pathogens. The AbSte7 gene in the genome of A. brassicicola was predicted to be a homolog of yeast Ste7, a MAPKK; therefore, the function was characterized by generating null mutant strains with a gene replacement method. AbSte7 replacement mutants (RMs) had a slower growth rate and altered colony morphology compared with the wild-type strain. Disruption of the AbSte7 gene resulted in defects in conidiation and melanin accumulation. AbSte7 was also involved in the resistance pathways in salt and oxidative stress, working to negatively regulate salt tolerance and positively regulate oxidative stress. Pathogenicity assays revealed that AbSte7 RMs could not infect intact cabbage leaves, but only formed very small lesions in wounded leaves, whereas typical lesions appeared on both intact and wounded leaves inoculated with the wild-type strain. As the first studied MAPKK in A. brassicicola, these data strongly suggest that the AbSte7 gene is an essential element for the growth, development, and pathogenicity of A. brassicicola.

• Mycobiology
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.99-101
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• 2008

The alkaloid securinine was assessed against spore germination of some plant pathogenic and saprophytic fungi (Alternaria alternata, Alternaria brassicae, Alternaria brassicicola, Curvularia lunata, Curvularia maculans, Curvularia pallenscens, Colletotrichum musae, Colletotrichum sp., Erysiphe pisi, Helminthosporium echinoclova, Helminthosporium spiciferum, Heterosporium sp.). Spore germinations of all the tested fungi were inhibited. Alternaria brassicicola, C. lunata, C. pallenscens and H. spiciferum were highly sensitive as complete inhibition of spore germination was observed at very low concentrations (200 ppm).

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.210-219
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• 2017

This study was conducted to establish an efficient screening method for radish (Raphanus sativus) cultivars that are resistant to black spot, which is caused by Alternaria brassicicola. Seven A. brassicicola isolates were selected and investigated for their ability to produce spores and pathogenicity. Of these isolates, A. brassicicola KACC 40036 and 43923 produced abundant spores in V-8 juice agar medium and showed pathogenicity and strong virulence on radish seedlings. We examined the resistance of 61 commercial cultivars of radish to A. brassicicola KACC40036, and found that there are no highly resistant radish cultivars; however, some cultivars, such as 'Geumbong' and 'Searom', showed weak resistance to A. brassicicola. For further study, we selected four radish cultivars that showed different disease responses to A. brassicicola KACC40036. According to the growth stage of the radish seedlings, inoculum concentration, and incubation temperature of radish, development of black spot on four cultivars has been investigated. The results showed that younger seedlings were more sensitive to A. brassicicola than older seedlings, and the disease severity depended on the concentration of the spore suspension. The disease severity of plants incubated in humidity chamber at $25^{\circ}C$ was greater than that of plants grown at $20^{\circ}C$ or $30^{\circ}C$. Taken together, we suggest the following method for screening for radish plants that are resistant to A. brassicicola: 1) inoculate 16-day-old radish seedlings with an A. brassicicola spore suspension ($2.0{\times}10^5spores{\cdot}mL^{-1}$) using the spray method, 2) incubate the inoculated plants in a humidity chamber at $25^{\circ}C$ for 24 h and then transfer the plants to a growth chamber at $25^{\circ}C$ with 80% relative humidity under a 12 h light/dark cycle, and 3) assess the disease severity of the plants two days after inoculation.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.101-111
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• 2008

The fungal genus Alternaria is comprised of many saprophytic and endophytic species, but is most well known as containing many notoriously destructive plant pathogens. There are over 4,000 Alternaria/host associations recorded in the USDA Fungal Host Index ranking the genus 10th among nearly 2,000 fungal genera based on the total number of host records. While few Alternaria species appear to have a sexual stage to their life cycles, the majority lack sexuality altogether. Many pathogenic species of Alternaria are prolific toxin producers, which facilitates their necrotrophic lifestyle. Necrotrophs must kill host cells prior to colonization, and thus these toxins are secreted to facilitate host cell death often by triggering genetically programmed apoptotic pathways or by directly causing cell damage resulting in necrosis. While many species of Alternaria produce toxins with rather broad host ranges, a closely-related group of agronomically important Alternaria species produce selective toxins with a very narrow range often to the cultivar level. Genes that code for and direct the biosynthesis of these host-specific toxins for the Alternaria alternata sensu lato lineages are often contained on small, mostly conditionally dispensable, chromosomes. Besides the role of toxins in Alternaria pathogenesis, relatively few genes and/or gene products have been identified that contribute to or are required for pathogenicity. Recently, the completion of the A. brassicicola genome sequencing project has facilitated the examination of a substantial subset of genes for their role in pathogenicity. In this review, we will highlight the role of toxins in Alternaria pathogenesis and the use of A. brassicicola as a model representative for basic virulence studies for the genus as a whole. The current status of these research efforts will be discussed.

• Korean Journal Plant Pathology
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.92-98
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• 1998

RAPD analysis was performed from four host-specific toxin (HST) producing Alternaria, i.e., A. kikuchiana, A. mali, a. longipes and A. Longipes and A. alternata f. sp. lycopersici, nonpathogenic A. alternata and A. brassicicola to assess their phylogenetic relationship. DNA polymorphism was detected among species (pathotypes) of HST producing Alternaria by PCR amplification and differentiation of the species was recognized by RAPD analysis. Primer OPA-02 was the most profitable among 7 notificated primers for differentiation of the HST producing Alternaria species. UPGMA analysis of the RAPD bands from alternaria spp. revealed that HST producing Alternaria and nonpathogenic a. alternata are closely related.