• Journal of Species Research
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.61-66
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• 2024

During an investigation of unrecorded prokaryotic species in Korea, six unrecorded bacterial strains were isolated from soil samples collected from Uljin-gun. Based on a similarity search using the 16S rRNA gene sequence of the isolated strains and the construction of the neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree, five strains were identified to the genus Pseudomonas of the family Pseudomonadaceae, while one strain was identified as a species belonging to the genus Paenibacillus of the family Paenibacillaceae. The details of these unreported species, including gram staining reaction, colony and cell morphology, basic biochemical characteristics, strain ID, and isolation source, are described in the description of the strains.

• Mycobiology
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.11-16
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• 2000

The nucleotide sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of the ribosomal DNA including the 5.8S ribosomal RNA gene (rDNA) have been determined for 11 species in order to analyze their intrageneric relationships. The total length of these sequences ranged from 530 nucleotides for Trichoderma reesei KCTC 1286 to 553 nucleotide for Trichoderma koningii IAM 12534. Generally speaking, the length of ITS1 region was about 30 nucleotides longer than that of the ITS2 region. Also, the sequences of 5.8S rDNA were more conserved in length and variation than those of ITS regions. Although the variable ITS sequences were often ambiguously aligned, the conserved sites were also found. Thus, a neighbor-joining tree was constructed using the full sequence data of the ITS regions and the 5.8S rDNA. The Trichoderma genus used to be grouped on the basis of the morphological features and especially the shape of phialides needs to be reexamined. The phylogenetic tree displayed the presence of monophylogeny in the species of Trichoderma. Therefore, it was difficult to distinguish the intrageneric relationships in the Trichoderma genus.

• Proceedings of the National Institute of Ecology of the Republic of Korea
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.32-41
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• 2021

South Korea presently harbors less than 800 long-tailed gorals (Naemorhedus caudatus), an endangered species. I report for the first time on the taxonomic status and genetic diversity of the Korean species using non-invasive fecal sampling based on mitochondrial cytochrome b gene sequence analyses. To determine the taxonomic status of this species, I reconstructed a consensus neighbor-joining tree and generated a minimum spanning network combining haplotype sequences obtained from feces with a new goral-specific primer set developed using known sequences of the Korean goral and related species (e.g., Russian goral, Chinese goral, Himalayan goral, Japanese serow, etc.). I also examined the genetic diversity of this species. The Korean goral showed only three different haplotypes. The phylogenetic tree and parsimony haplotype network revealed a single cluster of Korean and Russian gorals, separate from related species. Generally, the Korean goral has a relatively low genetic diversity compared with that of other ungulate species (e.g., moose and red deer). I preliminarily showcased the application of non-invasive fecal sampling to the study of genetic characteristics, including the taxonomic status and genetic diversity of gorals, based on mitochondrial DNA. More phylogenetic studies are necessary to ensure the conservation of goral populations throughout South Korea.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.9
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• pp.970-975
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• 2015

The goals of this study were to identify sequence variations in the mitochondrial cytochrome b (mtDNA cyt b) gene in White Hanwoo (Wh) and the genetic relationship between the Wh and other breeds. When whole sequences of the mtDNA cyt b gene in 14 Wh cattle were determined, a silent mutation and two haplotypes were detected in the Wh cattle. The major haplotype, H1, was found in 13 of 14 individuals in the Wh cattle. Haplotype diversity and nucleotide diversity were 0.143 and 0.00013, respectively. Compared to previous reports, these levels of genetic diversity are lower than other Korean and Chinese breeds. To identify the genetic relationship among Korean, Chinese, Japanese, and European cattle breeds, the neighbor-joining (NJ) tree was constructed based on Dxy genetic distances. Two distinct groups were identified and classified as A and B. Wh was found in the A group, which consisted of Bos taurus breeds. From calculating the Dxy genetic distances, Wh was found to be genetically more closely related to two breeds, Heugu (0.00018) and Yanbian (0.00021), than to other breeds. In conclusion, Wh is genetically related to Chikso, Heugu, and Yanbian breeds based on maternal inheritance. The results of this study will be useful for efficient management and sustainable utilization of Wh.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.24 no.11
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• pp.1174-1179
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• 2014

This research was carried out to evaluate whether gamma ray is a useful tool for breeding new strains of mushrooms. For this research, 5 mutant groups, 20 strains of Hypsizigus marmoreus, 2 strains of Lyophyllum decastes, and 1 strain of Lyophyllum shimeji were used. Monokaryon spores from one variety of H. marmoreus were irradiated with 50~2,000 Gy of gamma ray. The propriety dose was 50~200 Gy for mutagenesis. Mutant monokaryon mycelia crossed each order to become dikaryon mycelia. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of rDNA were amplified using PCR, and the products were sequenced. The sequences of the ITS regions (16 partial rDNA, complete ITS1, 5.8 rDNA and partial rDNA) were analyzed by PCR, and strains of H. marmoreus, L. decastes, and L. shimeji were auto-sequenced. The lengths of the sequenced ITSs were 1,052~1,143 nucleotides. Genetic matrices were calculated using Nei-Li's genetic distance coefficient based on ITS sequence. The dissimilarities were 0~3.35% in strains of H. Hypsizigus. In addition, a phylogenetic tree was constructed based on ITS sequences using the neighbor-joining (NJ) method. The phylogenetic tree revealed that 23 strains and 5 mutant groups were divided into 12 clusters; the mutant groups fell into different clusters. These results show that mushroom spores were mutated effectively by gamma ray; therefore, gamma ray could be a useful tool for breeding new strains of mushrooms.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.89-94
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• 2017

DNA sequences of the intergenic spacer 1 and intergenic spacer 2 of the nineteen plants belonging Vitis genus were collected from the Genbank. DNA sequences of the same regions of Vitis thunbergii var. sinuata and Ampelopsis brevipedunculata var. heterophylla, both common plants in Korea, were not available in Genbank. Those two plants were collected, their genomic DNA encoding 18S rRNA, intergenic spacer 1, 5.8S rRNA, intergenic spacer 2 and part of 28S rRNA amplified and DNA sequence determined. DNA sequences of twenty-one plants including two Korean plants were aligned by the Multiple sequence comparison by log-expectation(MUSCLE) algorithm and the alignment was used to calculate neighbor-joining tree and pairwise distance. The results indicate DNA sequences of the two Korean plants are highly homologous with each other, but they are quite distantly related to the other Vitis plants. Distant relationship of the two Korean plants with the other Vitis plants might be due to independent evolution of those two plants in geographically isolated environment. Those two Korean plants are classified in different genera based on the morphology, one in Vitis genus and the other in Ampelopsis genus, providing another example of discrepancy between morphological and genetic classification.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.168-177
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• 2017

Strain A28-5, which can degrade xylan and agar in solid medium, was isolated from a coastal seawater sample collected from Jeju Island, South Korea. This strain was found to be a gram-negative, $Na^+$-requiring bacterial strain with a polar flagellum for motility. Additionally, the strain was tolerant to antibiotics such as ampicillin and thiostrepton. The G+C content of the genome was 43.96% and menaquinone-7 was found to be the predominant quinone. Major fatty acids constituting the cell wall of the strain were $C_{16:1}$ ${\omega}7c/iso-C_{15:0}$ 2-OH (23.32%), $C_{16:0}$ (21.83%), and $C_{18:1}$ ${\omega}7c$ (17.98%). The 16S rRNA gene sequence of the strain showed the highest similarity (98.94%) to that of Catenovulum agarivorans YM01, which was demonstrated by constructing a neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree. A28-5 was identified as a novel species of the genus Catenovulum via DNA-DNA hybridization with Catenovulum agarivorans YM01, and thus was named as Catenovulum jejuensis A28-5. The formation of tetramers and hexamers of xylooligosaccharides and (neo)agarooligosaccharides, respectively, were confirmed by thin-layer chromatography analysis using an enzyme reaction solution containing xylan or agarose with two crude enzymes prepared from the liquid culture of the strain.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.688-693
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• 2017

Antifungal bacterium against Colletotrichum coccodes causing black dot disease of potatoes and anthracnose of tomatoes was isolated from sewage sludge. The isolate showed a 99% sequence homology of partial 16S rRNA of Bacillus methylotrophicus CBMB205 and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens subsp. plantarum FZB42. The isolate was identified as Bacillus sp. SW29-2, using the neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree, BlastN sequence analysis, and morphological and cultural characteristics. Bacillus sp. SW29-2 is an aerobic, Gram-positive, endospore-forming bacterium, of which the morphological and physiological characteristics were the same as those of type strain B. lichniformis CBMB205, except for the cell growth of over 4% NaCl. The cell growth of the temperature and the initial pH of the medium was shown at $18-47^{\circ}C$ (opt. ca. $38^{\circ}C$) and 3-9 (opt. ca. 6.0), respectively. The inhibition size (diameter) of Bacillus sp. SW29-2 against four strains of C. coccodes ranged from 23 to 29 mm. Also, the isolate showed antifungal activity against penicillium rot-causing Penicillium expansum in apples. Thus far, any report on the antifungal activity of Baciilus spp. against C. coccodes has not been found. These results suggest that the Bacillus sp. SW29-2 isolate could be used as a possible biocontrol agent against C. coccodes, and further applied to other plant pathogenic fungi.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.243-248
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• 2015

Cirsium chanroenicum, Cirsium nipponicum, and Cirsium schantarense plants were collected from Changwon, Ulleungdo, and Dooryoon Mountain, respectively. Cirsium japonicum plants were also collected from various locations in Korea. Genomic DNA was prepared from the collected plants and used for amplification of the 18S rDNA, ITS1, 5.8S rDNA, ITS2, and part of 28S rDNA. The ITS1 and ITS2 sequences of the PCR products and from other Cirsium plants reported previously were aligned and compared. Cirsium chanroenicum, Cirsium nipponicum, and Cirsium setidens formed distinct branches on the neighbor-joining tree. Cirsium japonicum and Cirsium pendulum appeared to be close to one another, but Cirsium pendulum plants were clearly clustered in an independent clade. Cirsium shantarense was clustered with the other Cirsium japonicum plants. The most important characteristic that distinguished these two species was the direction of the flowers. All Cirsium japonicum flowers point upward, but Cirsium shantarense flowers point downward. Other than this feature, these two species are almost indistinguishable morphologically. Cirsium chanroenicum is indistinguishable morphologically from Cirsium setidens, but it still formed a distinct group on the neighbor-joining tree based on ITS sequences, suggesting that this species is worth considering as an independent species. Silymarin production of the collected plants was analyzed and appeared to be quite high, indicating that the ability to synthesize silymarin is common to all Cirsium plants analyzed so far.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.464-470
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• 2017

Three Korean native cattle (KNC) and seven exotic breeds (Chikso, Hanwoo, Jeju black, Holstein, Japanese black, Charolais, Angus, Hereford, Simmental, and Cross breed) were characterized by using five microsatellite (MS) markers (INRA30, TGLA325, UMN0803, UMN0905, and UMN0929) from the sex chromosome. Genetic diversity was evaluated across the 10 breeds by using the number of alleles per locus, allele frequency, heterozygosity, and polymorphism information content (PIC) to search for locus and/or breed specific alleles, allowing a rapid and cost-effective identification of cattle samples, avoiding mislabeling of commercial beef. It was divided into two main groups from STRUCTURE analysis, one corresponding to KNC and the other to exotic cattle breeds. These results also showed specific genetic differences between KNC and exotic breeds. Nei's standard genetic distance was calculated and used in the construction of a neighbor-joining tree. Results evidenced a correspondence between genetic distance, breeds' history, and their geographic origin, and a clear separation between KNC and exotic breeds. Overall, this study evidenced that DNA markers can discriminate between domestic and imported beef, contributing to the knowledge on cattle breeds' genetic diversity and relationships by using MS markers of the sex chromosome. These markers would be useful for inhibitory effect about false sales and for building an effective tracking system.