Hyun Kyung Kim

Detection of SFTS Virus in Ixodes nipponensis and Amblyomma testudinarium (Ixodida: Ixodidae) Collected From Reptiles in the Republic of Korea

Abstract A survey of reptile-associated ticks and their infection status with severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) virus was conducted to determine the relative abundance and distribution among lizards, skinks, and snakes in the Republic of Korea (ROK). In total, 132 reptiles, including 49 lizards (two species), 15 skinks (one species), and 68 snakes (eight species) were collected. In total, 84 ixodid ticks belonging to two genera (Ixodes and Amblyomma) were collected from 28/132 (21.2%) lizards, skinks, and snakes. Ixodes nipponensis Kitaoka & Saito was only collected from lizards and skinks, while Amblyomma testudinarium Koch was only collected from snakes. Takydromus wolteri had the highest tick index (0.7; total number ticks/total number collected hosts) among lizards and skinks, while Rhabdophis tigrinus had the highest tick index (2.2) among the snakes. Ixodes nipponensis larvae and nymphs accounted for 11.1% and 88.9%, respectively, of all ticks collected from lizards and skinks, while only A. testudinarium nymphs were collected from snakes. Nymphs of both species of ticks were collected from lizards and skinks from April to October, while I. nipponensis larvae were collected only from September to October. Ixodes nipponensis larvae and nymphs were preferentially attached to the lateral trunk (83.3%) and the foreleg axillae (16.7%) of lizards and skinks. SFTS virus was detected in both I. nipponensis and A. testudinarium collected from lizards and snakes. Phylogenetic analysis of SFTS viruses of ticks collected from two lizards and one snake demonstrated close relationships with SFTS virus strains observed from humans and ticks in the ROK, China, and Japan. These results implicate lizards and snakes as potential hosts of SFTS virus.

Mosquito Species Composition and Plasmodium vivax infection Rates for Korean Army Bases near the Demilitarized Zone in the Republic of Korea, 2011

Vivax malaria is a significant military and civilian health threat in northern Republic of Korea (ROK). Mosquito collections were performed at two ROK army installations, Paju near the demilitarized zone (DMZ) using black light traps in 2011. The DMZ, a 4 km wide border, is the northernmost point of the ROK and separates the ROK from the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK). Anopheles spp. were identified by polymerase chain reaction and screened for Plasmodium vivax sporozoites. Of 4,354 female Anopheles mosquitoes identified, Anopheles kleini (61.8%) was the most frequently collected, followed by Anopheles pullus (16.0%), Anopheles belenrae (9.0%), Anopheles sinensis (7.4%), Anopheles sineroides (4.2%), and Anopheles lesteri (1.6%). Anopheles kleini, An. pullus, and An. sineroides showed the highest population densities in June, whereas population densities were highest for An. belenrae, An. lesteri, and An. sinensis in August. The maximum likelihood estimation (estimated number of positive mosquitoes/1,000) for P. vivax was highest for An. lesteri (28.9), followed by An. sineroides (23.3), An. belenrae (15.8), An. sinensis (9.6), An. pullus (5.8) and An. kleini (4.2). The seasonal maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) values were variable among Anopheles species. Anopheles belenrae, An. Pullus, and An. sineroides showed the highest seasonal MLEs in July, whereas An. lesteri and An. sinensis exhibited the highest seasonal MLEs in September and An. kleini during August. This is the first report implicating An. sineroides as a vector of P. vivax in the ROK, and extends our knowledge of the distribution and potential role in malaria transmission.

Insecticide susceptibility and resistance of Culex tritaeniorhynchus (Diptera: Culicidae) larvae collected from Gwangju, Republic of Korea

The susceptibility of Culex tritaeniorhynchus collected from Gwangju, Jeollabuk Province, Republic of Korea (ROK) to insecticides was evaluated under laboratory conditions using ten insecticides (7 pyrethroids and 3 organophosphates) that are currently applied by local public health centers in the ROK. Based on the values of median lethal concentration (LC50), Cx. tritaeniorhynchus larvae were most susceptible to chlorpyrifos (0.006u2003ppm), fenitrothion (0.022u2003ppm), fenthion (0.035u2003ppm) and bifenthrin (0.038u2003ppm), and were least susceptible to esbiol (1.722u2003ppm). In comparative resistance tests, the resistance ratios (RRs) of seven insecticides were compared among each other using two strains of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus that were collected from the same locality during 1992 and 2010. Culex tritaeniorhynchus demonstrated significantly increased RRs to pyrethroids over time, while demonstrating decreased RRs among the organophosphates. Among the pyrethroids, permethrin had the highest RR values of 182.1‐ and 833.3‐fold differences, followed by etofenprox with RRs of 138.4‐ and 224.1‐fold differences in values of LC50 and concentration that produced 90% mortality (LC90), respectively. Culex tritaeniorhynchus strains demonstrated the least amount of change in susceptibility to the organophosphates, chlorpyrifos, fenitrothion and fenthion with 0.020‐, 0.019‐ and 0.001‐fold differences in resistance ratios (RRLC50), respectively.

An Integrated Biological Control Using an Endoparasitoid Wasp (Cotesia plutellae) and a Microbial Insecticide (Bacillus thuringiensis) against the Diamondback Moth, Plutella xylostella

All tested Korean populations of the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella, are known to be resistant especially against pyrethroid insecticides by mutation in its molecular target, para-sodium channel. Moreover, P. xylostella is able to develop resistance against most commercial insecticides. This study was performed to develop an efficient control technique against P. xylostella by a combined treatment of an endoparasitoid wasp, Cotesia plutellae, and a microbial insecticide, Bacillus thuringiensis. To investigate any parasitism preference of C. plutellae against susceptible and resistant P. xylostella, five different populations of P. xylostella were compared in insecticide susceptibilities and parasitism by C. plutellae. These five P. xylostella populations showed a significant variation against three commercial insecticides including pyrethroid, organophosphate, neonicotinoid, and insect growth regulator. However, there were no significant differences among five P. xylostella populations in their parasitic rates by C. plutellae. Moreover, parasitized larvae of P. xylostella showed significantly higher susceptibility to B. thuringiensis. As an immunosuppressive agent, viral ankyrin genes (vankyrins) encoded in C. plutellae were transiently expressed in nonparasitized larvae. Expression of vankyrins significantly enhanced the efficacy of B. thuringiensis against the third instar larvae of P. xylostella. Thus an immunosuppression induced by C. plutellae enhanced the insecticidal efficacy of B. thuringiensis. These results suggest that a combined treatment of C. plutellae and B. thuringiensis may effectively control the insecticide-resistant populations of P. xylostella.

Functional and genetic characteristics of Chlorantraniliprole resistance in the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae): Chlorantraniliprole resistance in DBM

The diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella) is a globally distributed and important economic pest, and it has developed resistance to all conventional insecticide classes used in the field. Chlorantraniliprole is a new chemical class of insecticide that acts as a conformation‐sensitive activator of the insect ryanodine receptor (RyR). In the present study, a field strain (16.3‐fold resistance to chlorantraniliprole) was collected in Korea and lab‐selected with chlorantraniliprole for more than one year. The resulting strain presented 2,157‐fold resistance to chlorantraniliprole. A point mutation (G4946E) in the RyR gene was observed at a high frequency in the resistant strain. Enzyme assays indicated that glutathione S‐transferase (GST) and P450 activity in the resistant strain were 2.4‐ and 1.96‐times higher than that of the susceptible strain, respectively. The expression of the RyR, GST (sigma, omega, and zeta) and CYP321E1 gene was higher in the resistant strain than in the susceptible strain. The F1 progeny resulting from reciprocal crosses did not reveal maternal effects or a diamide‐susceptible phenotype, which suggests an autosomal nearly recessive mode of inheritance. In addition, we surveyed the susceptibility to 13 insecticides (3 diamides, 2 synthetic pyrethroids, 2 spinosyns, 1 organophosphate, 1 oxadiazine, 1 avermectin, and 3 others) in the chlorantraniliprole‐resistant strain. The resistant strain exhibited high cross‐resistance to flubendiamide (5,910 fold) and showed no cross‐resistance to spinetoram, spinosad, indoxacarb, and metaflumizone. These results can serve as an important basis for guiding the use of insecticides in the field.