• Journal of Mushroom
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.249-253
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• 2022

Fungi that infect mushrooms and cause diseases are called mycoparasitic fungi. Understanding the diversity of mycoparasitic fungi in wild mushrooms is important for the mushroom industry, as they can parasitize cultivated mushrooms. However, few studies have been conducted on the diversity of mycoparasitic fungi in wild mushrooms in South Korea. Upon surveying mushroom flora, we found a mycoparasitic fungus and analyzed its strain using molecular phylogeny and morphological examination. The strain was identified as Sepedonium laevigatum, which is an unrecorded species in South Korea. In this study, we described the cultural and microscopic characteristics of this strain of fungus.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.133-137
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• 2022

Two specimens of Apogon unicolor (81.0 mm and 96.3 mm in standard length) belonging to the family Apogonidae were firstly collected by using a gill net from the southwestern coastal waters of Jejudo Island, Korea in July 2013. These species are characterized by having 26 lateral line pores, a first dorsal fin with 6 spines, 2+1+8=11 developed gill rackers, posterior margin of preopercle serrated, without markings and spots on the body. Our specimens are well-matched in their morphological and molecular characteristics with Apogon unicolor previously reported. Thus, we newly add this species to the Korean fish fauna and propose its new Korean name "Jin-hong-eol-ge-bi-neul" because the overall fish body and fins reveal deep red colors.

• Mycobiology
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.181-187
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• 2022

To exploit insect-derived fungi, insects were collected from seven different regions in Korea, including Gyeongbuk, Goryeong, and several fungi were isolated from them. A fungal strain designated 21-64-D was isolated from riparian tiger beetle (Cicindela transbaicalica) and morphologically identified as a species belonging to the genus Oidiodendron. Phylogenetic analysis using the nucleotide sequences of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions and the partial sequence of the large subunit of the nuclear ribosomal RNA (LSU) gene revealed the distinct phylogenetic position of the isolate among recognized Oidiodendron species including its closest neighbors O. chlamydosporicum, O. citrinum, O. maius, and O. pilicola. The hyphal and conidial morphology of the strain, particularly club-shaped hyphae, clearly differentiated it from its close relatives. Results indicated that 21-64-D is a novel species in the genus Oidiodendron, for which the name Oidiodendron clavatum sp. nov. is proposed.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.143-154
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• 2022

To obtain unrecorded bacterial species in Korea, various marine samples were collected from Jeollanam-do Province, Korea in 2021. After plating the samples on marine agar and marine R2A agar, and incubating aerobically and anaerobically, approximately 1200 bacterial strains were isolated and identified using 16S rRNA gene sequences. A total of 30 strains showed ≥98.7% 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity with validly published bacterial species but not reported in Korea, indicating that they are unrecorded bacterial species in Korea. The unrecorded bacterial strains belonged to 4 phyla, 7 classes, 13 orders, 19 families, and 22 genera, which were assigned to Azospirllium, Loktanella, and Pseudovibrio of the class Alphaproteobacteria; Grimontia, Halomonas, Marinobacter, Microbulbifer, Photobacterium, Pseudoalteromonas, Pseudidiomarina, Ferrimonas, Shewanella, Simiduia, Thalassotalea, and Vibrio of the class Gammaproteobacteria; Priestia and Enterococcus of the class Bacilli; Persicobacter of the class Cytophagia; Aureivirga of the class Flavobacteriia; Propionigenium and Psychrilyobacter of the class Fusobacteriia; and Tepidibacter of the class Clostridia. The details of the unreported species including Gram reaction, colony and cell morphology, biochemical characteristics, and phylogenetic position are also provided in the description of the strains.

• Mycobiology
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• v.49 no.6
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• pp.534-550
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• 2021

During a survey of fungal diversity associated with insects, mud, soil, and freshwater niches in different areas in Korea, nine interesting fungal strains were isolated. Based on their morphological characteristics and molecular phylogeny analyses, using a combined data set of b-tubulin (BenA), calmodulin (CaM), and second largest subunit of RNA polymerase (RPB2) sequences, the strains CNUFC AM-44, CNUFC JCW3-4, CNUFC S708, CNUFC WT202, CNUFC AS1-29, CNUFC JCW3-5, CNUFC JDP37, and CNUFC JDP62 were identified as Aspergillus alabamensis, A. floridensis, A. subversicolor, Penicillium flavigenum, P. laevigatum, P. lenticrescens, Talaromyces adpressus, and T. beijingensis, respectively. The strain CNUFC JT1301 belongs to series Westlingiorum in section Citrina and is phylogenetically related to P. manginii. However, slow growth when cultivated on CYA, MEA, CREA is observed and the property can be used to easily distinguish the new species from these species. Additionally, P. manginii is known to produce sclerotia, while CNUFC JT1301 strain does not. Herein, the new fungal species is proposed as P. aquadulcis sp. nov. Eight species, A. alabamensis, A. floridensis, A. subversicolor, P. flavigenum, P. laevigatum, P. lenticrescens, T. adpressus, and T. beijingensis, have not been previously reported in Korea. The present study expands the known distribution of fungal species belonging to the families Aspergillaceae and Trichocomaceae in Korea.

• Proceedings of the National Institute of Ecology of the Republic of Korea
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.212-220
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• 2022

DNA markers have been studied and used intensively to identify plant species based on molecular approaches. The genus Medicago belongs to the family Fabaceae and contains 87 species distributed from the Mediterranean to central Asia. Five species of Medicago are known to be distributed in South Korea; however, their morphological characteristics alone cannot distinguish the species. In this study, we analyzed the phylogenetic relationships using collected five species of Medicago from South Korea and 44 taxa nucleotide information from NCBI. The constructed phylogenetic tree using gibberellin 3-oxidase 1 and tRNA^Lys (UUU) to maturase K gene sequences showed the monophyly of the genus Medicago, with five species each forming a single clade. These results suggest that there are five species of Medicago distributed in South Korea. In addition, we designed polymerase chain reaction primers for species-specific detection of Medicago by comparing the plastid sequences. The accuracy of the designed primer pairs was confirmed for each Medicago species. The findings of this study provide efficient and novel species identification methods for Medicago, which will assist in the identification of wild plants for the management of alien species and living modified organisms.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.805-819
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• 2022

The taxonomic status and phylogenetic relationship of Opuntia monacantha Haw. f. jejuensis J. K. Kim ex Y. S. Yang (Jejubaiknyuncho), which is native to southern coast of Jeju Island, Korea was analyzed using DNA markers obtained from Korean Opuntia. Opuntia stricta Haw., O. humifusa Raf., and O. humifusa Raf. f. jeollaensis E. J. Kim and S. S. Whang, native or cultivated in Korea, have no stripes on the back of tepals and have a purple pulp, whereas O. monacantha f. jejuensis has purple stripes on the back of tepals and a greenish-yellow pulp color. Opuntia monacantha has purple stripes on both the front and back of its tepals, whereas stripes appear only on the back of tepals of O. monacantha f. jejuensis. Opuntia monacantha f. jejuensis was assigned to Elatae series in phylogenetic analysis and was found to be more closely related to O. monacantha subsp. arechavaletae (Speg.) Guiggi, compared with O. monacantha at a molecular level. Based on its phylogenetic and morphological differences from O. monacantha and O. monacantha subsp. arechavaletae, which are native or have been cultivated in Jeju areas, O. monacantha f. jejuensis was named as a new forma in this study.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.212-223
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• 2023

A total of 30 bacterial strains were identified in the classes Betaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria in the study of prokaryotic species in Korea. These strains were isolated from a variety of environmental sources, including soil, tidal flat, mud, wetland, pine cone, seaweed, sea sediment, and brackish water. Phylogenetic analysis showed that isolates were identified based on high 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities (≥98.7%) with the predefined bacterial type species. In this study, we present data on previously unreported species from Korea, including 10 species from three families of one order in the class Betaproteobacteria and 20 species from 12 families of nine order in the class Gammaproteobacteria. Morphological, biochemical characteristics, isolation sources, and NIBR deposit numbers are provided in the description sections.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.310-315
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• 2023

In May 2021, characteristic soft rot symptoms, including soft, watery, slimy, black rot, wilting, and leaf collapse, were observed on melon plants (Cucumis melo) in Gokseong, Jeollanam-do, Korea. A bacterial strain, designated KNUB-06-21, was isolated from infected plant samples, taxonomically classified, and phylogenetically analyzed using 16S rRNA and housekeeping gene sequencing. Strain KNUB-06-21 was also examined for compound utilization using the API ID 32 GN system and strain KNUB-06-21 was identified as Pectobacterium brasiliense. Subsequent melon stem inoculation studies using strain KNUB-06-21 showed soft rot symptoms similar to field plants. Re-isolated strains shared phenotypic and molecular characteristics with the original P. brasiliense KNUB-06-21 strain. To our knowledge, ours is the first report of P. brasiliense causing melon soft rot disease in Korea.

• Mycobiology
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.213-218
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• 2022

The genus Mitrula (Mitrulaceae, Helotiales), as also known as swamp beacons, inhabits submerged, decaying vegetation in standing or decaying needles, twigs, leaves, and shallow water. They play an important role in carbon cycling in some freshwater ecosystems. In the herbarium of the Korea National Arboretum (KH), seven Mitrula specimens were collected during mushroom forays in the period from 2019 to 2021. The Korean collections were found to be macromorphologically closely related to M. paludosa and M. elegans, but micro-morphologically they could be distinguished by characteristics of slightly narrower asci and aseptate ascospores. Our molecular phylogenetic analyses of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and 28S rDNA regions also revealed that our specimens were related to M. paludosa and M. elegans, but formed a distinct clade. Based on these results, we reported our specimens as new to science and discussed the phylogeny and diversity of Mitrula species.