• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.428-439
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• 2020

Erwinia pyrifoliae is a Gram-negative bacterial plant pathogen that causes black shoot blight in apple and pear. Although earlier studies reported the genome comparison of Erwinia species, E. pyrifoliae strains for such analysis were isolated in 1996. In 2014, the strain E. pyrifoliae EpK1/15 was newly isolated in the apple tree showing black shoot blight in South Korea. This study aimed to better understand the similarities and differences caused by natural variations at the genomic level between newly isolated E. pyrifoliae EpK1/15 and the strain Ep1/96, which were isolated almost 20 years apart. Several comparative genomic analyses were conducted, and Clusters of Orthologous Groups of proteins (COG) database was used to classify functional annotation for each strain. E. pyrifoliae EpK1/15 had similarities with the Ep1/96 strain in stress-related genes, Tn3 transposase of insertion sequences, type III secretion systems, and small RNAs. The most remarkable difference to emerge from this comparison was that although the draft genome of E. pyrifoliae EpK1/15 was almost conserved, Epk1/15 strain had at least three sorts of structural variations in functional annotation according to COG database; chromosome inversion, translocation, and duplication. These results indicate that E. pyrifoliae species has gone natural variations within almost 20 years at the genomic level, and we can trace their similarities and differences with comparative genomic analysis.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.7
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• pp.897-904
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• 2013

Seven bacterial isolates (viz., AB05, AB10, AB11, AB12, AB14, AB15, and AB17) were derived from the rhizosphere and evaluated in terms of plant growth-promoting activities and the inhibition of Phytophthora infestans affecting tomatoes in Korea. According to 16S rDNA sequencing, a majority of the isolates are members of Bacillus, and a single isolate belongs to Paenibacillus. All seven isolates inhibited P. infestans by more than 60% in vitro. However, AB15 was the most effective, inhibiting mycelial growth of the pathogen by more than 80% in vitro and suppressing disease by 74% compared with control plants under greenhouse conditions. In a PGPR assay, all of the bacterial isolates were capable of enhancing different growth parameters (shoot/root length, fresh biomass, dry matter, and chlorophyll content) in comparison with non-inoculated control plants. AB17-treated plants in particular showed the highest enhancement in fresh biomass with 18% and 26% increments in the root and shoot biomass, respectively. However, isolate AB10 showed the highest shoot and root growth with 18% and 26% increments, respectively. Moreover, the total chlorophyll content was 14%~19% higher in treated plants.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.69-70
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• 2018

Erwinia pyrifoliae is a Gram-negative bacterium causing black shoot blight in apple and Asian pear trees. E. pyrifoliae strain EpK1/15 was isolated in 2014 from an apple twig from the Pocheon, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. In this study, we report the draft genome sequence of E. pyrifoliae EpK1/15 using PacBio RS II platform. The draft genome is comprised of a circular chromosome with 4,027,225 bp and 53.4% G + C content and a plasmid with 48,456 bp and 50.3% G + C content. The draft genome includes 3,798 protein-coding genes, 22 rRNA genes, 77 tRNA genes, 13 non-coding RNA genes, and 231 pseudo genes.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.267-270
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• 2010

We designed a sensitive and specific PCR-based method with enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC) primer to detect Erwinia pyrifoliae, which cause shoot blight in Asian pear, from a mixed culture and infected plant materials. The primers specifically detected only E. pyrifoliae and showed no cross-reactivity with other bacterial phytopathogens.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.45-53
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• 2009

An antagonistic bacterial strain KLF01 was isolated from rhizosphere of tomato and identified to be Lactobacillus sp. by biochemical and genetic analysis. This strain showed antagonism against the used plant pathogenic bacteria like Ralstonia solanacearum, (bacterial wilt), Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri, (Citrus canker), Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria (Bacterial spot), Eriwinia pyrifoliae (Shoot-blight) and Eriwinia carotovora subsp. carotovora group (Potato scab) through agar well diffusion method. In planta test done by drench application of strain KLF01 $(4{\times}10^8 cfu/ml)$ into the experimental plot containing tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) cultivar 'Lokkusanmaru' and red pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) cultivar 'Buja' plants, in pot test post-inoculated with the plant pathogenic bacteria, R. solanacearum significantly reduced the disease severity, compared to the non-treated plants.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.30-42
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• 2008

The disease-specific (dsp) region and the hypersensitive response and pathogenicity (hrp) genes, including the hrpW, $hrpN_{Ep}$, and hrpC operons have previously been sequenced in Erwinia pyrifoliae WT3 [Shrestha et al. (2005a)]. In this study, the remaining hrp genes, including the hrpC, hrpA, hrpS, hrpXY, hrpL and hrpJ operons, were determined. The hrp genes cluster (ca. 38 kb) was comprised of eight transcriptional units and contained nine hrc (hrp conserved) genes. The genetic organization of the hrp/hrc genes and their orientation for the transcriptions were also similar to and collinear with those of E. amylovora, showing ${\geq}80%$ homologies. However, ORFU1 and ORFU2 of unknown functions, present between the hrpA and hrpS operons of E. amylovora, were absent in E. pyrifoliae. To determine the HR active domains, several proteins were prepared from truncated fragments of the N-terminal and the C-terminal regions of $HrpN_{Ep}$ protein of E. pyrifoliae. The proteins prepared from the N-terminal region elicited HR, but not from those of the C-terminal region indicating that HR active domains are located in only N-terminal region of the $HrpN_{Ep}$ protein. Two synthetic oligopeptides produced HR on tobacco confirming presence of two HR active domains in the $HrpN_{Ep}$. The HR positive N-terminal fragment ($HN{\Delta}C187$) was further narrowed down by deleting C-terminal amino acids and internal amino acids to investigate whether amino acid insertion region have role in faster and stronger HR activity in $HrpN_{Ep}$ than $HrpN_{Ea}$. The $HrpN_{Ep}$ mutant proteins $HN{\Delta}C187$ (D1AIR), $HN{\Delta}C187$ (D2AIR) and $HN{\Delta}C187$ (DM41) retained similar HR activation to that of wild-type $HrpN_{Ep}$. However, the $HrpN_{Ep}$ mutant protein $HN{\Delta}C187$ (D3AIR) lacking third amino acid insertion region (102 to 113 aa) reduced HR when compared to that of wild-type $HrpN_{Ep}$. Reduction in HR elicitation could not be observed when single amino acids at different positions were substituted at third amino acids insertion region. But, substitution of amino acids at L103R, L106K and L110R showed reduction in HR activity on tobacco suggesting their importance in activation of HR faster in the $HrpN_{Ep}$ although it requires further detailed analysis.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.266-287
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• 2004

The non infecting, plant associated bacteria have attracted increased attention for stimulating plant growth and as environmental friendly plant protecting agents. Pink-pigmented facultatively methylotrophic bacteria (PPFMs), classified as Methylobacterium spp., are persistent colonizers of plant leaf surfaces. As the leaves of most or all plants harbor PPFMs that utilize leaf methanol as their sole source of carbon and energy, which is a specific attribute of the genus Methylobacterium. Although they are not well known, these bacteria are co-evolved, interacting partners in plant metabolism. This claim is supported, for example, by the following observations: (1) PPFMs are seed-transmitted, (2) PPFMs are frequently found in putatively axenic cell cultures, (3) Low numbers of seed-borne PPFMs correlate with low germinability, (4) Plants with reduced numbers of PPFM show elevated shoot/root ratios, (5) Foliar application of PPFMs to soybean during pod fill enhances seed set and yield, (6) Liverwort tissue in culture requires PPFM-produced vitamin B12 for growth, (7) treated plants to suppress or decrease disease incidence of sheath blight caused by Rhizoctonia solani in rice, and (8) the PPFM inoculation induced number of stomata, chlorophyll concentration and malic acid content, they led to increased photosynthetic activity. Methylobacterium spp. are bacterial symbionts of plants, shown previously to participate in plant metabolism by consuming plant waste products and producing metabolites useful to the plant. There are reports that inform about the beneficial interactions between this group of bacteria and plants. Screening of such kind of bacteria having immense plant growth promoting activities like nitrogen fixation, phytohormone production, alleviating water stress to the plants can be successfully isolated and characterized and integration of such kind of organism in crop production will lead to increased productivity.

• Korean Journal of Breeding Science
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.581-586
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• 2011

'Cheongdam' is a japonica rice variety developed from a cross between SR19200-HB826-34, a line of good germination ability and shoot emergence at low temperature and Juanbyeo, good quality and direct-seeding adaptable cultivar by the rice breeding team of National Institute of Crop Science, RDA in 2006. This variety has 153 days of total growth duration from seeding to maturity in direct-seeding, and 160 days of growth duration from seeding to maturity in transplanting. This is erect plant type with culm length of 74 cm, thick culm, and green leaves. It has large panicle shape with 126 and 140 spikelets per panicle in direct-seeding and transplanting, respectively. Milled rice is transluscent and medium in grain size of non-glutinous endosperm. This variety is susceptible to leaf and neck blast, bacterial blight, stripe virus disease and brown planthopper. The yield potential of 'Cheongdam' is 5.84 MT/ha at ordinary transplanting culture and 5.62 MT/ha and 5.89 MT/ha at wet direct-seeding and dry direct-seeding cultures, respectively in the local adaptability test for three years. 'Cheongdam' would be adaptable to middle and southern plain of Korea for direct-seeding culture and transplanting rice culture.