• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Plant Pathology Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.84.2-85
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• 2003

Magnaporthee grisea causes the devastating blast disease of rice. Entensive research has been conducted on infection mechanisms, particularly on appressorium formation and penetration, of this fungus during the last decade. However, the role(s) of cell-wall-degrading enzymes (CWDEs) on pathogenesis is not clearly demonstrated at molecular level. Many CWDES in plant pathogenic fungi including M. grisea are redundant; that is, there are multiple genes encoding enzymes with a similar or overlapping spectrum of activities. It is laborious to isolate all of the genes encoding related enzymes and to construct mutants lacking all 9f them. Thus, we considered alternative strategies to address the role of CWDEs in pathogenesis. Since expression of CWDE genes Is repressed by a simple sugar, as the first step, we cloned a Snfl (sucrose non-fermenting) gene (MgSnf1) from M. grisea. The predicted amino acid sequence showed a high identity with other Snf1 genes from various fungi. To elucidate molecular function of MgSnf1, a transformant lacking MgSnf1 was created by targeted gene replacement. En glucose, sucrose, and xylan the MgSnf1 mutant grew normally but in pectin and complex media, it grew slower than wild type. Expression of various CWDEs in MgSnf1 mutant was investigated and found that expression of some CWDEs is repressed. However, no significant difference was observed in conidial germination, appressorium formation, and pathogenicity in MgSnf1 mutant. However, MgSnf1 functionally complemented a yeast MgSnf1 mutant. These results suggest that MgSnf1 is involved in regulation of CWDEs and MgSnf1 is dispensable in pathogenicity of M. grisea.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.57 no.4
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• pp.249-252
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• 2017

Rabies virus (RABV) causes a neurological disease in warm-blooded animals that is nearly always fatal. In this study, we analyzed the matrix (M) genes in 10 Korean street RABV strains isolated from two Provinces during 2011-2013. The M genes in these 10 Korean strains were highly conserved during 1999-2013. Phylogenetic analysis revealed they were closely related to the M genes of RABVs isolated in northeastern China. Specific amino acid substitutions were identified in the KRVB1206, KRVF1301, and BV9901PJ strains. However, functional domains, including those involved in virus production and pathogenicity, were conserved in all 10 strains.

• ALGAE
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.133-144
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• 2020

Pythium porphyrae is responsible for devastating outbreaks in seaweed farms of Pyropia, the most valuable cultivated seaweed worldwide. While the genus Pythium contains many well studied pathogens, the genome of P. porphyrae has yet to be sequenced. Here we report the first available gene repertoire of P. porphyrae and a preliminary analysis of pathogenicity-related genes. Using ab initio detection strategies, similarity based and manual annotation, we found that the P. porphyrae gene repertoire is similar to classical phytopathogenic Pythium species. This includes the absence of expanded RxLR effector family and the detection of classical pathogenicity-related genes like crinklers, glycoside hydrolases, cellulose-binding elicitor lectin-like proteins and elicitins. We additionally compared this dataset to the proteomes of 8 selected Pythium species. While 34% of the predicted proteome appeared specific to P. porphyrae, we could not attribute specific enzymes to the degradation of red algal biomass. Conversely, we detected several cellulases and a cutinase conserved with plant-pathogenic Pythium species. Together with the recent report of P. porphyrae triggering disease symptoms on several plant species in lab-controlled conditions, our findings add weight to the hypothesis that P. porphyrae is a reformed plant pathogen.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.62 no.6
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• pp.948-951
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• 2020

Treponema phagedenis KS1, a fastidious anaerobe, was isolated from a bovine digital dermatitis (BDD)-infected dairy cattle in Chungnam, Korea. Initial data indicated that T. phagedenis KS1 exhibited putative virulent phenotypic characteristics. This study reports the whole genome assembly and annotation of T. phagedenis KS1 (KCTC14157BP) to assist in the identification of putative pathogenicity related factors. The whole genome of T. phagedenis KS1 was sequenced using PacBio RSII and Illumina HiSeqXTen platforms. The assembled T. phagedenis KS1 genome comprises 16 contigs with a total size of 3,769,422 bp and an overall guanine-cytosine (GC) content of 40.03%. Annotation revealed 3,460 protein-coding genes, as well as 49 transfer RNA- and 6 ribosomal RNA-coding genes. The results of this study provide insight into the pathogenicity of T. phagedenis KS1.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.151-161
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• 2021

Fusarium wilt disease of tomato plants caused by Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici (FOL race2) is one of the most important diseases of tomatoes worldwide. In the competition between tomato and FOL, the FOL can win by overcoming the immune system of tomato plants. Resistant interaction between the FOL race2 and tomato plants is controlled by avirulence genes (AVR2) in FOL and the corresponding resistance genes (I2) in tomato plants. In this study, 7 FOL isolates (KACC) were used to test their pathogenicity, and FOL race2 was selected because it is a broad problem in Korea. The Fol40044 isolates showed the most severe pathogenicity, and the avr2 gene was also isolated and identified. Moreover, to select resistance, 20 tomato varieties were inoculated with the Fol40044, and the degree of pathogenicity was evaluated by analyzing the expression of the avr2 gene. As a result, three resistant tomato varieties (PCNUF73, PCNUF101, PCNUF113) were selected, and the expression of the avr2 gene was much lower than that of the control Heinz cultivar. This result shows that the screening assay is very efficient when the avr2 gene is used as a marker to evaluate the expression level when selecting varieties resistant to tomato wilt disease. Based on these results, it is possible to isolate the I2 gene, which exhibits resistance and molecular biological interactions with the AVR2 gene from the three tomato-resistant varieties. The I2 gene provides breeders more opportunities for Fusarium disease resistance and may contribute to our understanding of their interactions with the FOL and host plant.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.70-75
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• 2012

In Salmonella enterica, many genes encoded within Salmonella pathogenicity islands (SPI) 1 and 2 are required to cause a range of diseases in a variety of hosts. The SPI1-encoded regulator HilD activates both the SPI1 and 2 genes at different times during growth in Luria-Bertani (LB) media. In this study, the expression levels of hilD during growth in LB were investigated. The data suggest that hilD expression is induced in the early stationary phase and decreases in the late stationary phase, when sseA, an SPI2 gene, is maximally expressed. However, HilD could act as an activator of sseA expression in the late stationary phase despite being present at low levels. SseA expression was investigated in SPI1 regulator mutant strains, hilA, hilD and invF mutants. As expected, hilD mutation decreased sseA expression. However, we found that invF mutation caused a 1.5-fold increase in sseA expression in not only LB but also M9 minimal media, which is thought to resemble an intracellular environment. InvF overexpression restored sseA expression to wild-type levels in an invF mutant but did not cause an additional reduction in sseA expression. These results suggest that SPI1 controls SPI2 expression either positively or negatively.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.337-351
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• 2008

Host-pathogen interaction in rice bacterial blight pathosystem was analyzed for a better understanding of their relationship and recognition of stable pathogenicity among the populations of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae. A total number of 52 bacterial strains isolated from diseased leaf samples collected from 12 rice growing states and one Union Territory of India, were inoculated on 16 rice varieties, each possessing known genes for resistance. Analysis of variance revealed that the host genotypes(G) accounted for largest(78.4%) proportion of the total sum of squares(SS), followed by 16.5% due to the pathogen isolates(I) and 5.1% due to the $I{\times}G$ interactions. Application of the Additive Main effects and Multiplicative Interaction(AMMI) model revealed that the first two interaction principal component axes(IPCA) accounted for 66.8% and 21.5% of the interaction SS, respectively. The biplot generated using the isolate and genotypic scores of the first two IPCAs revealed groups of host genotypes and pathogen isolates falling into four sectors. A group of five isolates with high virulence, high absolute IPCA-1 scores, moderate IPCA-2 scores, low AMMI stability index '$D_i$' values and minimal deviations from additive main effects displayed in AMMI biplot as well as response plot, were identified as possessing stable pathogenicity across 16 host genotypes. The largest group of 27 isolates with low virulence, small IPCA-1 as well as IPCA-2 scores, low $D_i$ values and minimal deviations from additive main effect predictions, possessed stable pathogenicity for low virulence. The AMMI analysis and biplot display facilitated in a better understanding of the host-pathogen interaction, adaptability of pathogen isolates to specific host genotypes, identification of isolates showing stable pathogenicity and most discriminating host genotypes, which could be useful in location specific breeding programs aiming at deployment of resistant host genotypes in bacterial blight disease control strategies.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.136-150
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• 2014

Although multiple transcription factors (TFs) have been characterized via mutagenesis to understand their roles in controlling pathogenicity and infection-related development in Magnaporthe oryzae, the causal agent of rice blast, if and how forkhead-box (FOX) TFs contribute to these processes remain to be characterized. Four putative FOX TF genes were identified in the genome of M. oryzae, and phylogenetic analysis suggested that two of them (MoFKH1 and MoHCM1) correspond to Ascomycota-specific members of the FOX TF family while the others (MoFOX1 and MoFOX2) are Pezizomycotina-specific members. Deletion of MoFKH1 (${\Delta}Mofkh1$) resulted in reduced mycelial growth and conidial germination, abnormal septation and stress response, and reduced virulence. Similarly, ${\Delta}Mohcm1$ exhibited reduced mycelial growth and conidial germination. Conidia of ${\Delta}Mofkh1$ and ${\Delta}Mohcm1$ were more sensitive to one or both of the cell cycle inhibitors hydroxyurea and benomyl, suggesting their role in cell cycle control. On the other hand, loss of MoFOX1 (${\Delta}Mofox1$) did not show any noticeable changes in development, pathogenicity, and stress response. Deletion of MoFOX2 was not successful even after repeated attempts. Taken together, these results suggested that MoFKH1 and MoHCM1 are important in fungal development and that MoFKH1 is further implicated in pathogenicity and stress response in M. oryzae.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.363-370
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• 2014

Campylobacter jejuni is a prevalent foodborne pathogen worldwide. Human infection by C. jejuni primarily arises from contaminated poultry meats. Genes expressed in vivo may play an important role in the pathogenicity of C. jejuni. We applied an immunoscreening method, in vivo-induced antigen technology (IVIAT), to identify in vivo-induced genes during human infection by C. jejuni. An inducible expression library of genomic proteins was constructed from sequenced C. jejuni NCTC 11168 and was then screened using adsorbed, pooled human sera obtained from clinical patients. We successfully identified 24 unique genes expressed in vivo. These genes were implicated in metabolism, molecular biosynthesis, genetic information processing, transport, and other processes. We selected six genes with different functions to compare their expression levels in vivo and in vitro using real-time RT-PCR. The results showed that the selected six genes were significantly upregulated in vivo but not in vitro. In short, these identified in vivo-induced genes may contribute to human infection of C. jejuni, some of which may be meaningful vaccine candidate antigens or diagnosis serologic markers for campylobacteriosis. IVIAT may present a significant and efficient method for understanding the pathogenicity mechanism of Campylobacter and for finding targets for its prevention and control.

• 한국균학회소식:학술대회논문집
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• 2014.10a
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• pp.9-9
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• 2014

Null mutants generated by targeted gene replacement are frequently used to reveal function of the genes in fungi. However, targeted gene deletions may be difficult to obtain or it may not be applicable, such as in the case of redundant or lethal genes. Constitutive expression system could be an alternative to avoid these difficulties and to provide new platform in fungal functional genomics research. Here we developed a novel platform for functional analysis genes in Magnaporthe oryzae by constitutive expression under a strong promoter. Employing a binary vector (pGOF1), carrying $EF1{\beta}$ promoter, we generated a total of 4,432 transformants by Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation. We have analyzed a subset of 54 transformants that have the vector inserted in the promoter region of individual genes, at distances ranging from 44 to 1,479 bp. These transformants showed increased transcript levels of the genes that are found immediately adjacent to the vector, compared to those of wild type. Ten transformants showed higher levels of expression relative to the wild type not only in mycelial stage but also during infection-related development. Two transformants that T-DNA was inserted in the promotor regions of putative lethal genes, MoRPT4 and MoDBP5, showed decreased conidiation and pathogenicity, respectively. We also characterized two transformants that T-DNA was inserted in functionally redundant genes encoding alpha-glucosidase and alpha-mannosidase. These transformants also showed decreased mycelial growth and pathogenicity, implying successful application of this platform in functional analysis of the genes. Our data also demonstrated that comparative phenotypic analysis under over-expression and suppression of gene expression could prove a highly efficient system for functional analysis of the genes. Our over-expressed transformants library would be a valuable resource for functional characterization of the redundant or lethal genes in M. oryzae and this system may be applicable in other fungi.