• ALGAE
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.59-68
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• 2002

A phylogenetic affinity between charophytes and embryophytes (land plants) has been explained by a few chloroplast genomic characters including gene and intron (Manhart and Palmer 1990; Baldauf et al. 1990; Lew and Manhart 1993). Here we show that a charophyte, Spirogyra maxima, has the largest operon of angiosperm chloroplast genomes, rpl23 operon (trnⅠ-rpl23-rpl2-rps19-rpl22-rps3-rpl16-rpl14-rps8-infA-rpl36-rps11-rpoA) containing both embryophyte introns, rpl16.i and rpl2.i. The rpl23 gene cluster of Spirogyra contains a distinct eubacterial promoter sequence upstream of rpl23, which is the first gene of the green algal rpl23 gene cluster. This sequence is completely absent in angiosperms but is present in non-flowering plants. The results imply that, in the rpl23 gene cluster, early charophytes had at least two promoters, one upstream of trnⅠ and and another upstream of rpl23, which partially or completely lost its function in land plants. A comparison of gene clusters of prokaryotes, algal chloroplast DNAs and land plant cpDNAs indicated a loss of numerous genes in chlorophyll a+b eukaryotes. A phylogenetic analysis using presence/absence of genes and introns as characters produced trees with a strongly supported clade containing chlorophyll a+b eukaryotes. Spirogyra and embryophytes formed a clade characterized by the loss of rpl5 and rps9 and the gain of trnⅠ (CAU) and introns in rpl2 and rpl16. The analyses support the hypothesis that the rpl23 gene cluster and the rpl2 and rpl16 introns of land plants originated from a common ancestor of Spirogyra and land plants.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.75-84
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• 2024

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A) on clinical outcomes among high-risk patients. Methods: This retrospective study involved 1,368 patients and the same number of cycles, including 520 cycles with PGT-A and 848 cycles without PGT-A. The study participants comprised women of advanced maternal age (AMA) and those affected by recurrent implantation failure (RIF), recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL), or severe male factor infertility (SMF). Results: PGT-A was associated with significant improvements in the implantation rate (IR) and the ongoing pregnancy rate/live birth rate (OPR/LBR) per embryo transfer cycle in the AMA (39.3% vs. 16.2% [p<0.001] and 42.0% vs. 21.8% [p<0.001], respectively), RIF (41.7% vs. 22.0% [p<0.001] and 47.0% vs. 28.6% [p<0.001], respectively), and RPL (45.6% vs. 19.5% [p<0.001] and 49.1% vs. 24.2% [p<0.001], respectively) groups, as well as the IR in the SMF group (43.3% vs. 26.5%, p=0.011). Additionally, PGT-A was associated with lower overall incidence rates of early pregnancy loss in the AMA (16.7% vs. 34.3%, p=0.001) and RPL (16.7% vs. 50.0%, p<0.001) groups. However, the OPR/LBR per total cycle across all PGT-A groups did not significantly exceed that for the non-PGT-A groups. Conclusion: PGT-A demonstrated beneficial effects in high-risk patients. However, our findings indicate that these benefits are more pronounced in carefully selected candidates than in the entire high-risk patient population.

• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.259-266
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• 2011

Elsholtzia hallasanensis, E. springia, and E. splendens var. fasciflora (Lamiaceae) were reported recently as new species or new varieties of E. splendens according to their morphological characteristics. To reappraise the taxonomic status of these additional taxa and to determine the relationships between all Korean Elsholtzia taxa except E. saxatilis, which is distributed in North Korea, molecular studies based on the nrDNA (ITS) and cpDNA (rpl16, and trnH-psbA) sequences of seven taxa of Elsholtzia and one outgroup were carried out. The molecular data support that E. angustifolia and E. minima are distinct species from E. splendens and E. ciliata, respectively, because they have several private marker genes and show monophyly. The molecular data also support that E. splendens has a very close taxonomic relationship with both E. hallasanensis and E. springia. We found that E. splendens var. fasciflora, with multiple inflorescence, was based on several private marker genes and on the monophyly of its trees, suggesting that it can be considered as a variety. Elsholtzia springia, with the same sequences and the same morphological characteristics with E. hallasanensis after transplanting, should be treated as a synonym of E. hallasanensis. Moreover, we consider the taxonomic status of E. hallasanensis as E. splendens var. hallasanensis (Y. Lee) N.S. Lee & C.S. Lee, stat. nov.

• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.282-293
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• 2012

Phylogenetic studies were conducted to evaluate the taxonomic relationships among 28 taxa, including 2 outgroups of Korean Campanulaceae, using atpB, atpB-rbcL, atpF-H, matK, rbcL, rpl16, rpoC1 and trnL-F regions sequences in chloroplast DNA. The combined analyses of eight chloroplast DNA regions suggest that Codonopsis and Platycodon basally branches within the phylogenetic tree; Wahlenbergia distinguished an independent clade; Campanula forms a clade; Peracarpa and Asyneuma clade is a sister to the Adenophora-Hanabusaya clade; Hanabusaya is placed within the section Remotiflorae of Adenophora; Adenophora form a clade. Our present results support the generic level, although discordance remained at the infrageneric groups such as section and series based on morphological characteristics in the genus Adenophora.

• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.157-165
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• 2023

Paraphlomis koreana (Lamiaceae) was newly named and added to Korean flora in 2014. Paraphlomis belongs to the tribe Paraphlomideae, along with Ajugoides and Matsumurella. However, a recent study has suggested that P. koreana is morphologically similar to Matsumurella chinensis, making them difficult to distinguish from each other. Therefore, we aimed to examine the phylogenetic placement of P. koreana within the tribe and compare its genetic relationship with M. chinensis. We sequenced an additional complete plastid genome for an individual of P. koreana and generated sequences of nuclear ribosomal (nr) DNA regions of internal and external transcribed spacers (ITS and ETS) for two individuals of P. koreana. Maximum likelihood analyses based on two nrDNA regions (ITS and ETS) and four plastid DNA markers (rpl16 intron, rpl32-trnL, rps16 intron, and trnL-F) covering 13 Paraphlomis species and M. chinensis were conducted. Phylogenetic analyses concordantly supported that P. koreana forms a monophyletic group with M. chinensis. Moreover, our study revealed that P. koreana includes nrDNA sequences of M. chinensis as minor intra-individual variants, suggesting that the genetic divergence between the two taxa is incomplete and may represent intraspecific variation rather than distinct species. In conclusion, our findings suggest that the independent species status of P. koreana within Paraphlomis should be reconsidered.

• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.194-201
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• 2011

In order to acquire information on chloroplast DNA markers to evaluate the genetic diversity of evergreen broad leaved plants, we investigated the intraspecific variation of cpDNA in eight non-coding regions of nine species commonly distributed in East Asia. Although no variations were detected in psbA-trnH, rpoB-trnC, rpl16 and atpB-rbcL regions, a relatively large amount of intraspecific variations was detected in the psbC-trnS, rps16 and trnL-F regions. These results suggested that these three cpDNA markers are suitable to assess genetic diversity of the species investigated in this study. In contrast, intraspecific variations were detected in seven taxa except Hedera rhombea and Neolitsea aciculata. Neolitsea sericea and the taxa of Quercus had many polymorphic sites.

• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.85-96
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• 2022

The plant "Hong-do-go-deul-ppae-gi" has been considered as Crepidiastrum × muratagenii, a hybrid between C. denticulatum and C. lanceolatum, based on its morphological traits and geographical distribution. To reveal the hybrid origin of Hong-do-go-deul-ppae-gi, we examined additional morphological traits of this plant and its putative parents (C. denticulatum, C. lanceolatum, C. platyphyllum) and analyzed one nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and four chloroplast regions (trnT-L, trnL-F, rpl16 intron, and rps16 intron). As a result of examining the morphological traits, putative hybrid individuals were classified into three types based on the habit, cauline leaf, outer phyllary, and achene beak traits. A molecular analysis found that the ITS sequences of Type 1 and Type 2 individuals showed additive species-specific sites of C. denticulatum and C. lanceolatum. Plastid sequences of Type 1 and Type 2 individuals showed C. denticulatum and C. lanceolatum sequences, respectively. However, Type 3 individuals had ITS and plastid sequences corresponding to C. denticulatum. Accordingly, Type 1 and Type 2 individuals not only share morphological traits with C. denticulatum and C. lanceolatum but also show additive species-specific sites for C. denticulatum and C. lanceolatum, and not C. platyphyllum, supporting its origin as a hybrid between C. denticulatum and C. lanceolatum. Type 3 had morphological traits similar to other hybrid types but was distinguished with respect to outer phyllaries and demonstrated some resemblance to C. denticulatum. In a molecular analysis, Type 3 was found to be identical with regard to the sequence of C. denticulatum and was judged to be an ecological variation of C. denticulatum.

• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.237-241
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• 2023

The genus Scrophularia L. (Scrophulariaceae) comprises 200-270 species worldwide and is a taxonomically challenging lineage, displaying morphological diversity and hybridization. S. kakudensis is morphologically similar to the closely related taxa S. kakudensis var. microphylla, S. pilosa, and S. cephalantha. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to sequence the chloroplast (cp) genome of S. kakudensis using next-generation sequencing and compare it to those of related taxa. The complete cp genome sequence of Scrophularia kakudensis was found to be 152,355 bp long, consisting of a pair of inverted repeats of 25,485 bp that separate a large single-copy (LSC) of 83,479 bp from small single-copy regions of 17,909 bp. The cp genome contained 78 protein-coding genes, 30 tRNAs, and four rRNAs. A phylogenetic analysis based on 78 protein-coding genes from six Scrophularia species showed S. kakudensis and S. cephalantha formed with 100% bootstrap values. We compared the complete cp genomes of S. kakudensis and S. cephalantha and identified seven sequence divergence regions: matK/rps16, rps16/trnQ, trnS/trnG, rpoB/trnC, trnS/trnG, rpl32/trnL, and ndhD/psaC. These regions may be useful for determining the phylogenetic relationships among S. kakudensis-related species.

• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.247-255
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• 2016

As an attempt to determine the identity of the old trees of flowering cherries planted in the yard of the Catholic Archdiocese of Daegu, we conducted comparative phylogenetic analyses between wild and cultivated Prunus yedoensis Matsum. We generated the phylogeny (MP) and haplotype network (TCS) of 25 individuals, including wild P. yedoensis, from Jeju Island, cultivated P. ${\times}$yedoensis 'Somei-yoshino' from Korea and Japan, and P. spachiana f. ascendens (Makino) Kitam. from Jeju Island and Japan based on highly informative sequences of two cpDNA regions (rpl16 gene and trnS-trnG intergenic spacer). The wild and cultivated P. yedoensis were distinguished from each other in both the phylogeny and haplotype networks, and the old flowering cherry trees in Daegu had a cpDNA haplotype identical to that of the cultivated P. ${\times}$yedoensis 'Someiyoshino'. Compared to the cultivated P. ${\times}$yedoensis 'Somei-yoshino', wild P. yedoensis appears to have greater haplotype diversity, presumably originating from the genetic diversity of P. spachiana f. ascendens that functioned as a maternal parent in the hybrid origin of wild P. yedoensis. A future detailed study requires extensive sampling of P. spachiana f. ascendens from Japan and Korea to determine their precise phylogenetic relationships relative to wild and cultivated P. yedoensis. We concluded that the old flowering cherry trees planted in the yard of the Catholic Archdiocese of Daegu are highly likely to be of cultivated origin rather than wild types from Jeju Island, as previously speculated.

• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.109-114
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• 2021

Veronica nakaiana Ohwi (Plantaginaceae) is an endemic taxon on Ulleungdo Island, Korea. We report the second complete chloroplast genome sequence of V. nakaiana. Its genome size is 152,319 bp in length, comprising a large single-copy of 83,195 bp, a small single-copy of 17,702 bp, and a pair of inverted repeat regions of 25,711 bp. The complete genome contains 115 genes, including 51 protein-coding genes, four rRNA genes, and 31 tRNA genes. When comparing the two chloroplast genomes of V. nakaiana, 11 variable sites are recognized: seven SNPs and four indels. Two substitutions in the coding regions are recognized: rpoC2 (synonymous substitution) and rpl22 (nonsynonymous substitution). In nine noncoding regions, one is in the tRNA gene (trnK-UUU), one is in the intron of atpF, and seven are in the intergenic spacers (trnH-GUG~psbA, trnK-UUU, rps16~trnQ-UUG, trnC-GCA~petN, psbZ~trnG-GCC, ycf3~trnS-GGA, ycf4~cemA, and psbB~psbT). The data provide the level of genetic variation in V. nakaiana. This result will be a useful resource to formulate conservation strategies for V. nakaiana, which is a rare endemic species in Korea.