• Mycobiology
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.157-168
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• 2020

The Mount Juwang was designated as a national park in 1976 because of its unique bedrock geology. Although Juwang National Park has maintained its natural ecosystem well, few macrofungal surveys have been carried out. As a part of a project supported by the National Institute of Biological Resources (NIBR) for the discovery of indigenous fungal species, we surveyed the mushrooms in Juwang National Park from 2018 to 2019. The macrofungi were identified based on morphological and molecular analyses. Among these fungi, five specimens were identified as species previously unrecorded in Korea: Calocybe decolorata, Crepidotus brunnescens, Mycena pearsoniana, Psathyrella phegophila, and P. sulcatotuberculosa. Three of these species are known to be rare in the world: Crepidotus brunnescens, P. phegophila, and P. sulcatotuberculosa. In this study, we provide detailed morphological descriptions of the five unrecorded species from Mt. Juwang in Korea.

• 한국균학회소식:학술대회논문집
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• 2014.10a
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• pp.49-49
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• 2014

In order to find indigenous beneficial fungal species from crop field soils of Nigeria, 23 soil samples were collected from various places of Nigeria in June, 2013 and fungi were isolated through serial dilution technique. Isolated fungi were purified and differentiated according to their morphological and microscopic characteristics. In total, 38 different representative isolates were recovered and the genomic DNA of each isolates was extracted using QIAGEN$^{(R)}$ Plasmid Mini Kit (QIAGEN Sciences, USA) and the identification of fungi was carried out by sequence analysis of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the 18S ribosomal DNA (18S rDNA). Recovered isolates belonged to 9 fungal genera comprising Fusarium, Aspergillus, Chaetomium, Coniothyrium, Dipodascaceae, Myrothecium, Neosartorya, Penicillium and Trichoderma. Aspergillus spp., Penicillium spp. and Trichoderma spp. were the most dominant taxa in this study. The antagonistic potentiality of species belonged to Trichoderma against 10 phytopathogenic fungi (F. oxysporum, C. gloesporoides, P. cytrophthora, A. alternata, A. solani, S. rolfsii, F. solani, R. solani, S. sclerotiorum and P. nicotiana) was assessed in vitro using dual culture assay. The dual culture assay results showed varied degree of antagonism against the tested phytopathogens. The potential Trichoderma spp. will be further evaluated for their antagonistic and plant growth promotion potentiality under in vivo conditions.

• Mycobiology
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.501-511
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• 2020

Xylophagous termites are capable of degrading lignocellulose by symbiotic gut microorganisms along with the host's indigenous enzymes. Therefore, the termite gut might be a potential niche to obtain natural yeasts with celluloytic, xylanolytic and ethanologenic traits required for bioethanol production from lignocellulosic biomass. In this study, we cultured 79 yeasts from three different termites viz. Coptotermes heimi, Odontotermes javanicus and Odontotermes obesus. After suitable screening methods, we identified 53 yeasts, which belonged to 10 genera and 16 different species of both ascomycetous and basidiomycetous yeasts. Most yeasts in the present study represent their first-ever isolation from the termite gut. Representative strains of identified yeasts were evaluated for their cellulolytic, xylanolytic, and ethanologenic abilities. None of the isolates showed cellulase activity; 22 showed xylanolytic activity, while six produced substantial quantities of ethanol. Among xylanolytic cultures, Pseudozyma hubeiensis STAG 1.7 and Hannaella pagnoccae STAG 1.14 produced 1.31 and 1.17 IU of xylanase. Among ethanologenic yeasts, the strains belonging to genera Candida and Kodamaea produced high amount of ethanol. Overall, highest ethanol level of 4.42 g/L was produced by Candida tropicalis TS32 using 1% glucose, which increased up to 22.92 g/L at 35 ℃, pH 4.5 with 5% glucose. Fermentation of rice straw hydrolysate gave 8.95 g/l of ethanol with a yield of 0.42 g/g using the strain TS32. Our study highlights the gut of wood-feeding termites as a potential source of diverse yeasts that would be useful in the production of xylanase and bioethanol.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.75-85
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• 2020

The collection of biological data of indigenous species must comply with the Nagoya Protocol. Fungi contain various bioactive substances making them an attractive source of several products, including food and medicines. In this study, we investigated the growth characteristics of five indigenous fungal strains, Fomitiporia punctata, Polyporus ulleungus, P. brumalis, Gymnopus subnudus, and Tyromyces kmetii, isolated from samples collected in the Ulleungdo Island. The growth rates for each strain were assessed across various temperatures (20 ℃ to 35 ℃), culture media (Potato dextrose agar, Malt extract & Yeast extract agar, Malt extract agar, Malt extract & peptone agar, Sabouraud dextrose agar, and Modified Melin-Norkrans agar), and pH conditions (4.0 to 8.0). Additionally, we assessed the mycelial growth characteristics in liquid culture. The mycelial growth in different media varied across species; specifically, F. punctata (in MMNA), G subnudus (in MMNA), and P. brumalis (in MEPA) showed rapid growth. Optimal growth temperatures ranged between 25 ℃ and 30 ℃ for most species, with the exception of T. kmetii and P. brumalis, which were able to grow across all the temperatures tested. P. brumalis showed the best growth rate, whereas P. ulleungus showed the lowest growth potential. The optimal pH conditions for mycelial growth ranged between 4.0 and 5.0. In experiments using culture flasks, the dry weight of the culture filtrates decreased with the increasing incubation time and showed a significant decrease between 1 and 6 months of incubation, indicating that the five strains take longer than a month to fully use the culture media. Our findings highlight and establish the optimal growth conditions for five different fungal species that can be used in future application studies.

• Mycobiology
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.184-194
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• 2020

Macrofungi play important roles in forest ecology as wood decayers, symbionts, and pathogens of living trees. For the effective forest management, it is imperative to have a comprehensive overview of macrofungi diversity in specific areas. As a part of the National Institute of Biological Resources projects for discovering indigenous fungi in Korea, we collected macrofungi in Gayasan National Park from 2017 to 2018. These specimens were identified based on morphological characteristics and sequence analysis of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) or the nuclear large subunit rRNA (LSU) region. We discovered 17 macrofungi new to Korea: Butyrea japonica, Ceriporia nanlingensis, Coltricia weii, Coltriciella subglobosa, Crepidotus crocophyllus, Cylindrobasidium laeve, Fulvoderma scaurum, Laetiporus cremeiporus, Lentinellus castoreus, Leucogyrophana mollusca, Marasmius insolitus, Nidularia deformis, Phaeophlebiopsis peniophoroides, Phanerochaete angustocystidiata, Phlebiopsis pilatii, Postia coeruleivirens, and Tengioboletus fujianensis. We described their detailed morphological characteristics.

• Mycobiology
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.269-277
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• 2018

The production of water-soluble pigments by fungal strains indigenous to South Korea was investigated to find those that are highly productive in submerged culture. Among 113 candidates, 34 strains that colored the inoculated potato dextrose agar medium were selected. They were cultured in potato dextrose broth and extracted with ethanol. The productivity, functionality (radical-scavenging activities), and color information (CIELAB values) of the pigment extracts were measured. Five species produced intense yellowish pigments, and two produced intense reddish pigments that ranked the highest in terms of absorbance units produced per day. The pigment extracts of Penicillium miczynskii, Sanghuangporus baumii, Trichoderma sp. 1, and Trichoderma afroharzianum exhibited high radical-scavenging activity. However, the S. baumii extract showed moderate toxicity in the acute toxicity test, which limits the industrial application of this pigment. In conclusion, P. miczynskii KUC1721, Trichoderma sp. 1 KUC1716, and T. afroharzianum KUC21213 were the best fungal candidates to be industrial producers of safe, functional water-soluble pigments.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.704-715
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• 2006

Oil spill was found in 1999 from a diesel storage facility located near the top of Baekun Mountain in Uiwang City. Application of bioremediation techniques was very relevant in removing oil spills in this site, because the geological condition was not amenable for other onsite remediation techniques. For efficient bioremediation, bacterial communities of the contaminated site and the uncontaminated control site were compared using both molecular and cultivation techniques. Soil bacterial populations were observed to be stimulated to grow in the soils contaminated with diesel hydrocarbon, whereas fungal and actinomycetes populations were decreased by diesel contamination. Most of the dieseldegrading bacteria isolated from contaminated forest soils were strains of Pseudomonas, Ralstonia, and Rhodococcus species. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis revealed that the profiles were different among the three contaminated sites, whereas those of the control sites were identical to each other. Analysis of 16S rDNA sequences of dominant isolates and clones showed that the bacterial community was less diverse in the oil-contaminated site than at the control site. Sequence analysis of the alkane hydroxylase genes cloned from soil microbial DNAs indicated that their diversity and distribution were different between the contaminated site and the control site. The results indicated that diesel contamination exerted a strong selection on the indigenous microbial community in the contaminated site, leading to predominance of well-adapted microorganisms in concurrence with decrease of microbial diversity.

• Mycobiology
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.53-61
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• 2009

The process of biodegradation in lingo-cellulosic materials is critically relevant to biospheric carbon. The study of this natural process has largely involved laboratory investigations, focused primarily on the biodegradation and recycling of agricultural by-products, generally using basidiomycetes species. In order to collect super white rot fungi and evaluate its ability to degrade lingo-cellulosic material, 35 fungal strains, collected from forests, humus soil, livestock manure, and dead trees, were screened for enzyme activities and their potential to decolorize the commercially used Poly-R 478 dye. In the laccase enzymatic analysis chemical test, 33 white rot fungi and 2 brown rot fungi were identified. The degradation ability of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) according to the utilized environmental conditions was higher in the mushrooms grown in dead trees and fallen leaves than in the mushrooms grown in humus soil and livestock manure. Using Poly-R 478 dye to assess the PAH-degradation activity of the identified strains, four strains, including Agrocybe pediades, were selected. The activities of laccase, MnP, and Lip of the four strains with PAH-degrading ability were highest in Pleurotus incarnates. 87 fungal strains, collected from forests, humus soil, livestock manure, and dead trees, were screened for enzyme activities and their potential to decolorize the commercially used Poly-R 478 dye on solid media. Using Poly-R 478 dye to assess the PAHdegrading activity of the identified strains, it was determined that MKACC 51632 and 52492 strains evidenced superior activity in static and shaken liquid cultures. Subsequent screening on plates containing the polymeric dye poly R-478, the decolorization of which is correlated with lignin degradation, resulted in the selection of a strain of Coriolus versicolor, MKACC52492, for further study, primarily due to its rapid growth rate and profound ability to decolorize poly R-478 on solid media. Considering our findings using Poly-R 478 dye to evaluate the PAH-degrading activity of the identified strains, Coriolus versicolor, MKACC 52492 was selected as a favorable strain. Coriolus versicolor, which was collected from Mt. Yeogi in Suwon, was studied for the production of the lignin-modifying enzymes laccase, manganese-dependent peroxidase (MnP), and lignin peroxidase (LiP).

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.141-147
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• 2014

Pinewood nematode (PWN: Bursaphelenchus xylophilus) is known to kill pine tree species that are indigenous to countries where the pest was inadvertently imported, but some cultures from the extraction of dead pines do not damage trees. Experiments were conducted to examine the effect of pre-inoculation of these low-pathogenic pinewood nematode on resistance of pine trees against the pest species. The pre-inoculated pine saplings showed induced resistance which lasted for a year, and repeated inoculation of these low-pathogenic nematodes enhanced tree resistance. All nematode samples extracted from dying or dead pines that had been killed not more than three months before the extraction were pathogenic, and most of those extracted from pines that had been killed 2-3 years before were low-pathogenic. When inoculated in pine saplings, number of low-pathogenic nematodes settled, as studied two days after inoculation, was not different from that of pathogenic ones. However, as studied after 30 days of inoculation, rate of reproduction in low-pathogenic nematodes was far lower than that of pathogenic nematodes. The rate of reproduction of several nematode isolates growing on fungal mat media of Botrytis cinerea varied, but three of four low-pathogenic isolates showed same level of reproduction rates as pathogenic ones.