• Mycobiology
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.303-310
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• 2015

The increasing emergence of lead drugs for the resistance produced by the pathogenic strains and arrival of new diseases have initiated the need for searching novel metabolites with best anticancer and antimicrobial properties than the existing one. With this view, the investigation was conducted for the isolation, identification, and biological evaluation of potential endophytic fungi of Aegle marmelos, a medicinal tree used for more than three decades, for curing various disorders. A total of 169 endophytic fungal strains obtained from sampling and among those 67 were pigmented strains. Upon antagonistic screening, five endophytic fungal strains exhibited antagonistic potentiality by inhibiting the pathogens. These five potent strains were characterized at molecular level by sequencing the amplified internal transcribed spacer (ITS) 1 and ITS 4 regions of rDNA and they were grouped under order Pleosporales, Eurotiales, and Capnodiales. The metabolites from the respective strains were produced in fungal culturing media and extracted using polar solvents. Further, the extracts of five endophytes manifested antimicrobial activity against tested clinical pathogens and Alternaria alternata (FC39BY), Al. citrimacularis (FC8ABr), and Curvularia australiensis (FC2AP) exhibited significant antimicrobial profile against 9 of 12 tested pathogens, showing broad spectrum activity. The antioxidant levels of all the five endophytes revealed the highest activity at least concentrations, and major activity was unveiled by the members of order Pleosporales FC2AP and FC8ABr. This research explains the value of endophytic fungal extracts and its significance of antimicrobial and antioxidant properties.

• Mycobiology
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.104-108
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• 2005

Genus Phellinus taxonomically belongs to Aphyllophorales and some species of this genus have been used as a medicinal ingredients and Indian folk medicines. Especially, P. linteus and morphological-related species are well-known medicinal fungi that have various biological activities such as humoral and cell-mediated, anti-mutagenic, and anti-cancer activities. However, little is known about the rapid detection for complex Phellinus species. Therefore, this study was carried out to develop specific primers for the rapid detection of P. linteus and other related species. Designing the species-specific primers was done based on internal transcribed spacer sequence data. Each primer set detected specifically P. linteus (PL2/PL5R) and P. baumii (PB1/PB4R). These primer sets could be useful for the rapid detection of specific-species among unidentified Phellinus species. Moreover, restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of the ITS region with HaeIII was also useful for clarifying the relationship between each 5 Phellinus species.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.121-128
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• 2003

This study was carried out to identify the phylogenetic relationship of Phellinus species and to know its distribution by comparing the DNA sequences of internal transcribed spacer regions(ITS1 and IST2) and 5.8S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) repeat unit. The Phellinus species had their specific sequences in IST1 and 2 regions depending on suedes. The comparison of the ITS sequences of standard strains indicated that the sequences of ITS1 were more variable than those of ITS2. Nine strains of the commercial products of Phellinus species used in this study were identified as P. lintues, P. baumii, P. igniarius, and P. pini. Most of commercial species were P. pini and P. baumii, and P. gilvus was not found. Also, P. linteus was only found in form of mycelial culture rather than fruiting body. Moreover, the species-specific primers were designed based on ITS sequence data. Each species-specific primers were bound in P. lintues(ITSF-PL2R), P. baumii(PB1F-ITS4R), P. igniarius(IF1-IR3), P. pini(PF1-PR3), and P. gilvus(GF2-GR4), respectively. These primer sets would be useful fer the detection of specific-species among unidentified Phellinus species rapidly.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.13-18
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• 2019

A fungal strain, designated PTT-2, was isolated from the bark of the trunk of a persimmon (Diospyros kaki) tree in Cheongdo, Korea. The isolate showed morphological similarities with Leptosphaerulina saccharicola. Strain PTT-2 had more rapid growth on potato dextrose agar medium than on oatmeal agar, malt extract agar, and synthetic nutrient poor agar media, with colony sizes of 53.8 mm, 49.8 mm, 48.4 mm, and 28.1 mm after 7 days at $25^{\circ}C$ temperature, respectively. Strain PTT-2 produced ascospores, which had irregular wavy edges, oblong to ellipsoidal shape, hyaline appearance and $23.6{\times}10{\mu}m$ size. The black ascomata were developed on PDA medium, and asci were recorded. A BLAST search of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, TEF1-${\alpha}$ and RPB2 gene sequences revealed that strain PTT-2 showed more than 99% nucleotide similarity with a strain of Leptosphaerulina saccharicola previously reported from Thailand. A neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree was constructed by concatenating the above-mentioned sequences, and showed that strain PTT-2 clustered in the same clade with L. saccharicola. Based on these findings, this is the first record of Leptosphaerulina saccharicola occurring in Korea.

• Mycobiology
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.87-93
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• 2023

The fungal strain belonging to the genus Monochaetia of the family Sporocadaceae was isolated from hairy long-horned toad beetle (Moechotypa diphysis) during the screening of microfungi associated with insects from Gangwon Province, Korea. The strain KNUF-6L2F produced white, light brown to dirty black surface, and olivaceous green colonies with the higher growth, while the closest strain M. ilicis KUMCC 15-0520^T were light brown to brown, and M. schimae SAUCC 212201^T light brown to brown toward center. The strain KNUF-6L2F produced shorter (5.7-14.0 ㎛) apical appendages than M. ilicis (6.0-24.0 ㎛), but similar to M. schimae (7.0-12.5 ㎛). Three median cells of KNUF-6L2F were light brown to olivaceous green, whereas brown and olivaceous cells were observed from M. ilicis and M. schimae, respectively. And the strain KNUF-6L2F produced larger conidiogenous cells than M. ilicis and M. schimae. Additionally, phylogenetic analyses based on molecular datasets of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions, translation elongation factor 1-alpha (TEF1α), and β-tubulin (TUB2) genes corroborated the strain's originality. Thus, the strain is different from other known Monochaetia species, according to molecular phylogeny and morophology, hence we suggested the new species Monochaetia mediana sp. nov. and provided a descriptive illustration.

• Mycobiology
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.313-320
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• 2020

In Pleurotus sp., green mold, which is considered a major epidemic, is caused by several Trichoderma species. To develop a rapid molecular marker specific for Trichoderma spp. that potentially cause green mold, eleven Trichoderma species were collected from mushroom farms and the Korean Agricultural Culture Collection (KACC). A dominant fungal isolate from a green mold-infected substrate was identified as Trichoderma pleuroticola based on the sequences of its internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and translation elongation factor 1-α (tef1) genes. In artificial inoculation tests, all Trichoderma spp., including T. atroviride, T. cf. virens, T. citrinoviride, T. harzianum, T. koningii, T. longibrachiatum, T. pleurotum, and T. pleuroticola, showed pathogenicity to some extent, and the observed symptoms were soaked mycelia with a red-brown pigment and retarded mycelium regeneration. A molecular marker was developed for the rapid detection of wide range of Trichoderma spp. based on the DNA sequence alignment of the ITS1 and ITS2 regions of Trichoderma spp. The developed primer set detected only Trichoderma spp., and no cross reactivity with edible mushrooms was observed. The detection limits for the PCR assay of T. harzianum (KACC40558), T. pleurotum (KACC44537), and T. pleuroticola (CAF-TP3) were found to be 500, 50, and 5 fg, respectively, and the detection limit for the pathogen-to-host ratio was approximately 1:10,000 (wt/wt).

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.172-177
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• 2019

A duplex PCR method was developed for simultaneous detection and identification of tobacco root rot pathogens Phytophthora nicotianae and Thielaviopsis basicola. The specific primers for P. nicotianae were developed based on its internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of ribosomal gene, ras gene and hgd gene, while the specific primers for T. basicola were designed based on its ITS regions and ${\beta}$-tubulin gene. The specificity of the primers was determined using isolates of P. nicotianae, T. basicola and control samples. The results showed that the target pathogens could be detected from diseased tobacco plants by a combination of the specific primers. The sensitivity limitation was $100fg/{\mu}l$ of pure genomic DNA of the pathogens. This new assay can be applied to screen out target pathogens rapidly and reliably in one PCR and will be an important tool for the identification and precise early prediction of these two destructive diseases of tobacco.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.184-192
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• 2017

Tylenchulus semipenetrans is an important and widespread plant-parasitic nematode of citrus worldwide and can cause citrus slow decline disease leading to significant reduction in tree growth and yield. Rapid and accurate detection of T. semipenetrans in soil is important for the disease forecasting and management. In this study, a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay was developed to detect T. semipenetrans using DNA extracted from soil. A set of five primers was designed from the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS1) of rDNA, and was highly specific to T. semipenetrans. The LAMP reaction was performed at $63^{\circ}C$ for 60 min. The LAMP product was visualized directly in one reaction tube by adding SYBR Green I. The detection limit of the LAMP assay was $10^{-2}J2/0.5g$ of soil, which was 10 times more sensitive than conventional PCR ($10^{-1}J2/0.5g$ of soil). Examination of 24 field soil samples revealed that the LAMP assay was applicable to a range of soils infested naturally with T. semipenetrans, and the total assay time was less than 2.5 h. These results indicated that the developed LAMP assay is a simple, rapid, sensitive, specific and accurate technique for detection of T. semipenetrans in field soil, and contributes to the effective management of citrus slow decline disease.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.39-45
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• 2020

A fungal isolate US-18-11 was isolated from the soil in Uiseong, Korea. The mycelium growth measured after 7 days of incubation at 22℃ on malt extract agar (MEA) and oatmeal agar (OA) media was 42-43 mm and 41-44 mm in diameter, respectively. The fungal colony formed white to dull green aerial mycelia that were floccose with regular margins and olivaceous black with leaden gray patches on the reverse side. The conidia were hyaline to brown in color, ellipsoidal to ovoid, guttulate, abundant, globose, solitary, or confluent measuring 3.2-7.2×1.1-2.3 ㎛. A BLAST search of the large subunit (LSU), internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, second largest subunit of DNA-directed RNA polymerase II (RPB2) and β-tubulin (TUB2) gene sequences revealed that the isolate US-18-11 has similarities of 99, 100, 97, and 99% with those of Epicoccum draconis CBS 186.83, respectively. A neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree constructed based on the concatenated dataset of above-mentioned sequences showed that isolate US-18-11 clustered with Epicoccum draconis CBS 186.83 in the same clade. Based on the results of morphological, cultural, and phylogenetic analysis, the isolate US-18-11 was identical to the previously described E. draconis CBS 186.83. To our knowledge, this is the first report of E. draconis in Korea.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.12
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• pp.1740-1748
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• 2012

A home-made meju sample contaminated naturally with aflatoxins was used for isolation of fungal strains. Overall, 230 fungal isolates were obtained on dichloran rosebengal chloramphenicol (DRBC) and dichloran 18% glycerol (DG18) agar plates. Morphological characteristics and molecular analysis of a partial ${\beta}$-tubulin gene and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) of rDNA were used for the identification of the isolates. The fungal isolates were divided into 7 genera: Aspergillus, Eurotium, Penicillium, Eupenicillium, Mucor, Lichtheimia, and Curvularia. Three strains from 56 isolates of the A. oryzae/flavus group were found to be aflatoxigenic A. flavus, by the presence of the aflatoxin biosynthesis genes and confirmatory aflatoxin production by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The predominant isolate from DRBC plates was A. oryzae (42 strains, 36.2%), whereas that from DG18 was A. candidus (61 strains, 53.5%). Out of the 230 isolates, the most common species was A. candidus (34.3%) followed by A. oryzae (22.2%), Mucor circinelloides (13.0%), P. polonicum (10.0%), A. tubingensis (4.8%), and L. ramosa (3.5%). A. flavus and E. chevalieri presented occurrence levels of 2.2%, respectively. The remaining isolates of A. unguis, P. oxalicum, Eupenicillium cinnamopurpureum, A. acidus, E. rubrum, P. chrysogenum, M. racemosus, and C. inaequalis had lower occurrence levels of < 2.0%.