• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.219-224
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• 2014

A gram-negative bacterium was isolated from spent substrate of Agaricus bisporus and showed marked antagonistic activity against Pseudomonas tolaasii. The bacterium was identified as Pseudomonas azotoformans by based on the cultural, biochemical and physiological characteristics, and 16S rRNA gene sequence. The isolated bacterium was saprophytic but not parasitic nor pathogenic to cultivation mushroom. The isolated bacterium for P. tolaasii cell was not sufficient for inhibition in vitro. Control efficacy of Pseudomonas azotoformans HC5 to brown blotch of P. tolaasii was 73, 78, and 71% on A. bisporus, Flammulina velutipes, and Pleurotus ostreatus, respectively. In the future, the suppressive bacterium may be useful for development of a biocontrol system.

• 한국균학회소식:학술대회논문집
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• 2014.10a
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• pp.11-11
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• 2014

Fungal pathogens have huge impact on health and economic wellbeing of human by causing life-threatening mycoses in immune-compromised patients or by destroying crop plants. A key determinant of fungal pathogenesis is their ability to undergo developmental change in response to host or environmental factors. Genetic pathways that regulate such morphological transitions and adaptation are therefore extensively studied during the last few decades. Given that epigenetic as well as genetic components play pivotal roles in development of plants and mammals, contribution of microbial epigenetic counterparts to this morphogenetic process is intriguing yet nearly unappreciated question to date. To bridge this gap in our knowledge, we set out to investigate histone modifications among epigenetic mechanisms that possibly regulate fungal adaptation and processes involved in pathogenesis of a model plant pathogenic fungus, Magnaporthe oryzae. M. oryzae is a causal agent of rice blast disease, which destroys 10 to 30% of the rice crop annually. Since the rice is the staple food for more than half of human population, the disease is a major threat to global food security. In addition to the socioeconomic impact of the disease it causes, the fungus is genetically tractable and can undergo well-defined morphological transitions including asexual spore production and appressorium (a specialized infection structure) formation in vitro, making it a model to study fungal development and pathogenicity. For functional and comparative analysis of histone modifications, a web-based database (dbHiMo) was constructed to archive and analyze histone modifying enzymes from eukaryotic species whose genome sequences are available. Histone modifying enzymes were identified applying a search pipeline built upon profile hidden Markov model (HMM) to proteomes. The database incorporates 22,169 histone-modifying enzymes identified from 342 species including 214 fungal, 33 plants, and 77 metazoan species. The dbHiMo provides users with web-based personalized data browsing and analysis tools, supporting comparative and evolutionary genomics. Based on the database entries, functional analysis of genes encoding histone acetyltransferases and histone demethylases is under way. Here I provide examples of such analyses that show how histone acetylation and methylation is implicated in regulating important aspects of fungal pathogenesis. Current analysis of histone modifying enzymes will be followed by ChIP-Seq and RNA-seq experiments to pinpoint the genes that are controlled by particular histone modifications. We anticipate that our work will provide not only the significant advances in our understanding of epigenetic mechanisms operating in microbial eukaryotes but also basis to expand our perspective on regulation of development in fungal pathogens.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.136-150
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• 2015

Pseudomonas syringae pathovar tabaci is a plant pathogenic bacterium that causes wildfire disease in tobacco plants. In P. syringae pv. tabaci, PsyI, a LuxI-type protein, acts as an AHL synthase, while primary and secondary sequence analysis of PsyR has revealed that it is a homolog of the LuxR-type transcriptional regulator that responds to AHL molecules. In this study, using phenotypic and genetic analyses in P. syringae pv. tabaci, we show the effect of PsyR protein as a quorum-sensing (QS) transcriptional regulator. Regulatory effects of PsyR on swarming motility and production of siderophores, tabtoxin, and N-acyl homoserine lactones were examined via phenotypic assays, and confirmed by quantitative real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Further qRT-PCR showed that PsyR regulates expression of these virulence genes in response to environmental signals. However, an upstream region of the gene was not bound with purified MBP-PsyR protein; rather, PsyR was only able to shift the upstream region of psyI. These results suggested that PsyR may be indirectly controlled via intermediate-regulatory systems and that auto-regulation by PsyR does not occur.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.728-736
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• 2015

Cronobacter species (Cronobacter spp.), previously known as Enterobacter sakazakii, are gram negative food borne pathogenic bacteria. They pose a very high risk of infection to neonates and immuno-compromised individuals and can affect the human central nervous system. Consequently, survivors often suffer from severe neurological impairment including hydrocephalus, quadriplegia, and developmental delays. Cronobacter spp. were not only isolated from plant food and products such as cereals, fruits, vegetables, legume products, herbs, and spices but also from animal source foods such as milk, meat, fish, and products made from these foods. Therefore, rapid detection of Cronobacter spp. is essential for food safety. Many detection methods have been developed since the Cronobacter spp. were first reported. However, the development of more rapid, sensitive, and easy-to-use detection methods for the Cronobacter spp. is required. In this review, our aim was to study and compare the available detection methods for Cronobacter spp., including culture-based, molecular biology-based, and immunology-based methods. This study will contribute to the development of new and rapid detection method for Cronobacter spp.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.79-83
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• 2012

It has been known that the proteome profiles in the period of growth and development of rice are changed by the growth conditions including temperature, soil, and fertilization. In this study, the proteome profiles of Odae polished white rice grown in Chulwon and Chilgog were compared on 2-dimensional(D) gels. The differentially expressed proteins were selected from the 112 identified total proteins and classified into functional groups. The most significantly differentially expressed proteins were stress responsive proteins; Ent-kaur-16-ene synthase, which is responsible for synthesizing a plant hormone gibberellin, was expressed in Chulwon rice and heat shock proteins were in Chilgog rice, respectively. Xylanase inhibitor protein, which inhibits the enzyme xylanase produced by pathogenic fungi and Bacilli, was expressed significantly high in Chilgog rice grown at high temperature. Differential expressions of transporter proteins were observed both in Chulwon and Chilgog rice. Regarding the facts that Chilgog rice contained relatively higher amount of proteins than Chulwon rice and Chulwon rice showed large number of proteins were differentially expressed, it can be concluded that different cultivation conditions could change the protein expression profiles in rice in various ways, including elevation of protein amount or differential expressions of specific proteins, etc. The results suggest that the characteristics of the profiles of the proteome in the polished white rice are definitely changed by the environmental factors including high temperature. The results can be utilized for the development of the proper cultivation conditions for the production of high quality rice with good palatability.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.135-141
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• 2006

We isolated a bacterium which produces antifungal substances from the Sanktpeterburg soils at Russia. The iso-lated strain was identified as Brevibacillus sp. and shown a strong antifungal activity on plant pathogenic fungi. Brevibacillus sp. KMU-391 produced maximum level of antifungal substances under incubation aerobically at $30^{\circ}C$ for 48 hours in trypticase soybean broth containing 1.0% sucrose and 1.0% polypeptone at 180 rpm and initiated pH adjusted to 7.0. Precipitate of culture broth by $30{\sim}60%$ ammonium sulfate precipitation exhibited strong antifungal activity against Didymella bryoniae by dry cell weight. Butanol extract of cultured broth also shown fungal growth inhibitory activity against Botrytis cinerea KACC 40573, Botrytis fabae KACC 40962, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides KACC 40804, Colletotrichum orbiculare KACC 40808, Didymella bryoniae KACC 40669, Fusarium graminearum KACC 41040, Fusarium oxysporum KACC 40037, Fusarium oxysporum KACC 40052, Fusarium oxysporum f, sp. radicis-Iycopersici KACC 40537, Fusarium oxysporum KACC 40902, Monosporascus cannonballus KACC 40940, Phytophthora camvibora KACC 40160, Rhizoctonia solani AG-1(IA) KACC 40101, Rhizoctonia solani AG-4 KACC 40142, and Scleotinia scleotiorum KACC 41065 by agar diffusion method.

• Weed & Turfgrass Science
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.256-259
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• 2016

An obligate plant pathogenic fungus Puccinia zoysiae Dietel, the causal agent of rust disease, which is implicated in the damage of zoysiagrass (Zoysia spp.) in Korea. The fungus is one of the important pathogens, which attacks and colonizes susceptible zoysiagrass. Zoysia rust disease was observed in Jangseong, Hoengseong and Hapcheon in 2014 and 2015, Korea. The typical symptoms of the disease appeared first as small white spots on the leaf and stem of zoysiagrass plants, and turn brownish, dark brown spores revealed on the lesions. Uredospores were light brown in color, ellipsoid or spherical in shape and $22.0{\sim}25.0{\times}15.0{\sim}17.5{\mu}m$ in size. On the basis of the morphological characteristics, the fungus was identified as P. zoysiae. Pathogenicity of the fungus was proved by artificial inoculation on Z. japonica. The rust disease firstly appeared approx. early or middle June and then increased middle of October in Korea. In field, Z. matrella ecotypes were more resistant than Z. japonica ecotypes against the pathogen. Disease response against the pathogen was different among ecotypes of each species, respectively.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.189-199
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• 2019

The purpose of this study is to derive spatial area(preventive zone) where the movement of livestock vehicles occurs frequently. For this purpose, this study used 6 periods facility entrance data provided by KAHIS. This data was converted into vehicle movement data between livestock facilities and aggregated into administrative district units. The R-mode factor analysis was performed on the constructed OD data, and the region extracted by the same factor was judged as one region. The results of the analysis are summarized as follows. First, the factor analysis of 6 periods data showed 16 ~ 18 factors, and the derived factors explained 63 ~ 68% of the total variance. Second, based on the factors that were derived, Jeonam coastal area, Jeonnam area, Jeonbuk area, Chungnam coastal area, Gyeongnam area, northern Gyeongbuk area, Yeongnam costal area were found to be stable, with little change over time. On the other hand, Chungbuk area, Gangwon area, Seoul metropolitan area are relatively volatile areas. Third, 13 areas were derived by combining data from six periods.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.12
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• pp.353-362
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• 2018

The national loss caused by the periodic livestock epidemic is very large. In addition, vehicle movement is the main cause of livestock epidemics in Korea. In this context, this study analyzed the relationship between the degree centrality of livestock facilities and the outbreak of infectious diseases. For this purpose, a livestock vehicle movement network was constructed using the facility entrance data provided by KAHIS. Afterwards, the centrality index was derived for each facility in the vehicle movement network and the mean centrality index of the epidemic and non-epidemic facilities were compared. The analysis results are summarized as follows. First, the degree centrality of epidemic facilities is significantly greater than non-epidemic facilities. As a result of the analysis of the entire period data and the period-based data, in most data, the degree centrality of facilities where livestock infectious diseases occurred was significantly greater than most non-occurrence facilities. Second, in the entire period data, the difference in degree centrality between the epidemic and non-epidemic facilities was smaller for HPAI than for FMD. On the other hand, no significant difference was found in the results of the analysis according to the divided period. The policy implications of the results are as follows. First, proactive management of facilities based on centrality is needed. Second, in the case of cloven-hoofed animal facilities, it is more urgent to introduce a management policy based on the degree centrality.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.185-194
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• 2006

A fungal strain of Trichoderma having strong chitinolytic activity was isolated from field soil enriched with crabshell for several years. Based on 5.8S rRNA, partial 18S, 28S rRNA genes, ITS1, ITS2 sequence analysis and morphological characteristics, the fungus was identified as Trichoderma asperellum and named as Trichoderma asperellum T-5 (TaT-5). The fungus released lytic enzymes such as chitinase and ${\beta}$-1, 3-glucanse, and produced six antifungal substances in chitin broth medium. To demonstrate the protective effect of TaT-5 against damping-off in cucumber plant caused by Rhizoctonia solani, TaT-5 culture broth (TA), chitin medium (CM) and distilled water (DW) were applied to each pot at 10 days after sowing, respectively. Then, the homogenized hyphae of R. solani were infected to each pot at 1 week after TaT-5 inoculation. During experimental period, fresh weight of shoot and root in cucumber plant more increased at TA treatment compared to other treatments. PR-proteins (${\beta}$-1, 3-glucanase and chitinase) activities in cucumber leaves markedly increased at CM and DW treatments, but the activity slightly increased and then decreased at TA treatment at 3 days after infection of R. solani. The activity of PR-proteins activities in cucumber roots at all treatments decreased with time where the degree of decrement was more alleviated at TA treatment than CM and DW. These results suggest that the lytic enzymes (chitinase and ${\beta}$-1, 3-glucanse) and antifungal substances produced by TaT-5 can reduce the pathogenic attack by R. solani in cucumber plants.