• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.129-135
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• 2004

We compared the DNA sequences of the genus Metagonimus: M. yokogawai, M. takahashii, and M. miyatai. We obtained 288 D1 ribosomal DNA (rDNA) and mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (mtCOI) fragments from the adult worms by PCR, that were cloned and sequenced. Phylogenetic relationships inferred from the nucleotide sequences of the 28S D1 rDNA and mtCOI gene. M. takahashii and M. yokogawai are placed in the same clade supported by DNA sequence and phylogenie tree analysis in 28S D1 rDNA and mtCOI gene region. The above findings tell us that M. takahashii is closer to M. yokogawai than to M. miyatai genetically. This phylogenetic data also support the nomination of M. miyatai as a separate species.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.48-55
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• 2024

The study assessed the utility of mitochondrial DNA for identifying a deceased rorqual discovered off the western coast of India. Both the COI and Cytb genes exhibited remarkable 99-100% similarity with the GenBank sequence of Balaenoptera musculus through a global BLAST search, confirming their affiliation with this species. Inter-species genetic distances for COI and Cytb genes ranged from 6.75% to 9.80% and 7.37% to 10.96% respectively, compared with other Balaenopteridae species. The Bayesian phylogenies constructed based on both COI and Cytb genes demonstrated clear and separate clustering for all Balaenopteridae species, further reaffirming their distinctiveness, while concurrently revealing a cohesive clustering pattern of the generated sequences within the B. musculus clade. Beyond species confirmation, this study provides valuable insights into the presence of live and deceased B. musculus individuals within Indian marine ecosystems. This information holds significant potential for guiding conservation efforts aimed at safeguarding Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMAs) in India over the long term.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.27 no.11
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• pp.1331-1339
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• 2017

DNA barcoding is the identification of a species based on the DNA sequence of a fragment of the cytochrome C oxidase subunit I (COI) gene in the mitochondrial genome. It is widely applied to assist with the sustainable development of fishery-product resources and the protection of fish biodiversity. This study attempted to verify horse-head fish (Branchiostegus japonicus) and fake horse-head fish (Branchiostegus albus) species, which are commonly consumed in Korea. For the validation of the two species, a real-time PCR method was developed based on the species' mitochondrial DNA genome. Inter-species variations in mitochondrial DNA were observed in a bioinformatics analysis of the mitochondrial genomic DNA sequences of the two species. Some highly conserved regions and a few other regions were identified in the mitochondrial COI of the species. In order to test whether variations in the sequences were definitive, primers that targeted the varied regions of COI were designed and applied to amplify the DNA using the real-time PCR system. Threshold-cycle (Ct) range results confirmed that the Ct ranges of the real-time PCR were identical to the expected species of origin. Efficiency, specificity and cross-reactivity assays showed statistically significant differences between the average Ct of B. japonicus DNA ($21.85{\pm}3.599$) and the average Ct of B. albus DNA ($33.49{\pm}1.183$) for confirming B. japonicus. The assays also showed statistically significant differences between the average Ct of B. albus DNA ($22.49{\pm}0.908$) and the average Ct of B. japonicus DNA ($33.93{\pm}0.479$) for confirming B. albus. The methodology was validated by using ten commercial samples. The genomic DNA-based molecular technique that used the real-time PCR was a reliable method for the taxonomic classification of animal tissues.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.274-277
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• 2017

A sea star was collected from the Korea Strait in the waters adjacent to eastern Jeju Island, Korea ($33^{\circ}39^{\prime}86^{{\prime}{\prime}}N$, $127^{\circ}33^{\prime}12^{{\prime}{\prime}}E$) at a depth of 92 m on November 5, 2016. This specimen was identified as Marginaster paucispinus Fisher, 1913, from the family Poraniidae of the order Valvatida, based on morphological characteristics. The genus Marginaster Perrier, 1881 and M. paucispinus, which were first reported in the South China Sea, are new to the Korean fauna. Partial sequences of mitochondrial COI and 16S ribosomal RNA of M. paucispinus were have been determined for the first time and were deposited in GenBank. They are the first molecular records for the genus Marginaster.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.37-53
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• 2001

Two regions of mtDNA genome, cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) and 165 ribosomal RNA (165 rRNA) genes, were sequenced for 15 species of the long-horned beetle belonging to four subfamilies and geographic samples of mulberry longicorn beetle, Apriona germari, from two localities in Korea. Ten samples of A. germari collected from Suwon and Busan revealed three COI haplotypes ranging in nucleotide divergence of 0.3% to 0.5%, and the two populations shared one common COI haplotype (80%). The sequence divergence among 15 species of the long-horned beetle was much higher in COI gene (12.3%∼39.4%) than 16S rRNA gene (7.2% to 23.1), and the maximum value in the COI gene is exceptional compared with other relevant studies, including that of Coleoptera. The greatly increased divergence in the COI gene, in facto was stemmed from a peculiar sequence of Prionus insularis belonging to Prioninne, divergence of which ranges from 31.2% to 39.3% from other species. We discussed possible reason of the divergence in this species. Due to the abnormality of COI gene divergence, decrease in phylogenetic signal was severe in COI nucleotide and, subsequently, the converted amino acid sequences, rendering us to put more confidence on the 16S5 rRNA gene data. Although the molecular phylogeny confidently supports the monophyletic origin of Lepturinae, the presence of discrepancy between molecular data and traditional taxonomic views also is a testable hyothesis. One such discrepancy includes taxonomic position of Sophronica obrioides and Theophilea cylindricollis belonging to Lamiinae.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.225-232
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• 2019

Two feather mites, Bychovskiata hypoleuci Mironov and Ddabert, 1997 and Phyllochaeta interifolia (Mégnin and Trouessart, 1884) are reported for the first time in South Korea. Specimens of these two species were collected from the common sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos. The genera Bychovskiata Dubinin, 1951 and Phyllochaeta Dubinin, 1951 are also new reports for South Korea. Here, we provide morphological descriptions and illustrations of these two species. Additionally, we provide partial sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I(COI) as DNA barcodes.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.215-224
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• 2019

We describe three feather mites recovered from a wood sandpiper Tringa glareola that was stored in a $-20^{\circ}C$ freezer at the Chungnam Wild Animal Rescue Center. These feather mites are reported for the first time in South Korea: Avenzoaria totani (Canestrini, 1978), Ingrassia veligera Oudemans, 1904 and Montchadskiana glareolae Dabert and Ehrnsberger, 1999. In this study, we provide morphological diagnoses and illustrations. Additionally, we provide partial sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I(COI) gene as molecular characteristics of three species.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.51-57
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• 2017

The tiny dragonfly, Nannophya pygmaea (Odonata: Libellulidae), is an endangered insect in South Korea. Previously, a partial mitochondrial DNA sequence that corresponded to a DNA barcoding region has been used to infer genetic diversity and gene flow. In this study, we additionally sequenced the barcoding region from N. pygmaea that had been collected from three previously sampled populations (40 individuals) and these sequences were combined with the preexisting data. We also selected and sequenced an additional mitochondrial gene (ND5) to find further variable gene regions in the mitochondrial genome. DNA barcoding sequences of 108 individuals from five South Korean localities showed that genetic diversity was highest in Gangjin, Jeollanam-do Province. Muuido, which was previously occupied by a single haplotype, was also found to have an identical haplotype, which confirmed the low genetic diversity on this islet. Gene flow among populations is highly limited, and no clear distance- or region-based geographic partitioning was observed. Phylogenetic relationships among haplotypes showed that there were no discernable haplotypes in South Korea. ND5 provided slightly more haplotypes compared to the barcoding region in 40 individuals (14 vs. 10 haplotypes in the COI gene). It also had a slightly higher within-locality diversity estimate, which suggested that ND5 had potential as mitochondrial DNA-based marker for population genetic analysis.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.169-175
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• 2017

In the northwestern Pacific region, the pen shell (Atrina pectinata) is a widely distributed bivalve and economically important in fisheries. Recently, stock of this species has been greatly reduced due to overexploitation and marine pollution, which arouses interest in conservation. Studies on genetic and taxonomic entities of pen shells have not been tried in Korea, which makes difficult to take measures for effective conservation of this marine resource. In this study, we investigated mitochondrial genetic polymorphism of pen shells collected from 4 locations in Korea and Japan using cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene sequences. A total of 39 haplotypes were identified among 86 individuals of pen shell. Although only 5 haplotypes were shared, no significant genetic differentiation was observed between Korean and Japanese populations. These results suggest that pen shell populations of these regions share an ancestral population which might have experienced expansion during the Pleistocene, but gene flow must have been highly restricted after expansion.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.36-41
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• 2012

The larvae of Chaoborus are widely distributed in lakes, ponds, and reservoirs. These omnivorous Chaoborus larvae are crucial predators and play a role in structuring zooplankton communities, especially for small-sized prey. Larvae of Chaoborus are commonly known to produce predator-induced polyphenism in Daphnia sp. Nevertheless, their taxonomy and molecular phylogeny are very poorly understood. As a fundamental study for understanding the role of Chaoborus in predator-prey interactions in a freshwater ecosystem, the molecular identification and phylogenetic relationship of Chaoborus were analyzed in this study. A molecular comparison based on partial mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) between species in Chaoborus was carried out for the identification of Chaoborus larvae collected from 2 localities in Korea. According to the results, the Chaoborus species examined here was identified as C. flavicans, which is a lake-dwelling species. Furthermore, partial mitochondrial genome including COI, COII, ATP6, ATP8, COIII, and ND3 were also newly sequenced from the species and concatenated 5 gene sequences excluding ATP8 with another 9 dipteran species were compared to examine phylogenetic relationships of C. flavicans. The results suggested that Chaoborus was more related to the Ceratopogonidae than to the Culicidae. Further analysis based on complete mitochondrial DNA sequences and nuclear gene sequences will provide a more robust validation of the phylogenetic relationships of Chaoborus within dipteran lineages.