Myung Soo Park

Two New Species of Trichoderma Associated with Green Mold of Oyster Mushroom Cultivation in Korea

This paper describes and illustrates two new species, Trichoderma pleurotum and T. pleuroticola, associated with green mold disease of oyster mushroom in Korea.

Production of l-lactic acid from a green microalga, Hydrodictyon reticulum, by Lactobacillus paracasei LA104 isolated from the traditional Korean food, makgeolli

The freshwater microalga, Hydrodictyon reticulum, that contained 47.5% reducing sugars including 35% glucose was used as substrate for the production of l-lactic acid (LA) by LA-producing bacteria. Lactobacillus paracasei LA104 was selected for fermentation in a 5-l fermentor since it was able to grow at pH 3, 60g LA/l, 200g glucose/l, 125g NaCl/l, and 45°C and produced over 97.3% optically pure l-lactic acid with glucose as a substrate. Simultaneous saccharification and cofermentation from H. reticulum to l-LA using LA104 was investigated in a jar fermentor. The yield reached 46g/100g H. reticulum dry material, with a final concentration of 37.11g/l and a productivity of 1.03g/l/h. This is the first report of the production of l-LA from a microalga, and H. reticulum could be a potential feedstock for large-scale production of l-LA by LA104.

Fungal Endophytes in Roots of Aralia Species and Their Antifungal Activity

, endophytic fungi, ITS sequence.Endophytes are microorganisms that form symptomlessinfections within healthy plant tissues (Carroll, 1986;Carroll, 1988). Endophytic micr oorganism have been foundin nearly all plant families (Sieber et al., 1988), whichrepresent many species in different climate regions of theworld (Bussaben et al., 2001; Fisher et al., 1992; Larran etal., 2000, 2001, 2002; Luginbuhl and Muller, 1980;McInroy and Kloepper, 1991; Pereira et al., 1999; Petrini andCarroll, 1981; Spurr and Welty, 1975). Dryfuss and Chapela(1994) estimated that there may be at least 1 million speciesof endophytic fungi alone. It seems obvious that endo-phytes are a rich and reliable source of genetic diversity andnovel, undescribed species. Novel microbes usually haveassociated with their novel natural products. This fact alonehelps to eliminate the problems of dereliction in compounddiscovery (Strobel and Daisy, 2003).The presence of endophytes within plant tissues mayconfer certain advantages to the host plant (Carroll, 1991).Endophytic fungi are of biotechnological interest due totheir potential use as genetic vectors (Murray et al., 1992),as a source of secondary metabolites (Fisher et al., 1986;Stierle et al., 1993; Strobel et al., 1996) and a biologicalcontrol agents (Bacon, 1990; Clay, 1989; Dorworth andCallan, 1996; Schardl et al., 1991). Carroll (1988) hasdemonstrated the enhancing of the host survival againstfungal pathogens in plant-endophyte associations.

Isolation and characterization of two plasmids from Bifidobacterium longum

In order to develop a cloning vector system which can be used in Bifidobacterium sp., we screened about 100 bifidobacteria from the faeces of adults and children. Among them, only one strain, identified as B. longum KJ, was shown to contain extrachromosomal DNAs. Bifidobacterium longum KJ showed multiple plasmid DNA bands which were resolved to be multimers of two plasmids designated pKJ36 and pKJ50. These plasmids were cloned into the Escherichia coli vector pUC19 as pMS36 and pMS50, respectively, and restriction‐mapped.

Nematicidal and antifungal activities of annonaceous acetogenins from Annona squamosa against various plant pathogens.

The methanol extract of Annona squamosa seeds was highly active against two phytoparasitic nematodes, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus and Meloidogyne incognita. It efficiently suppressed plant diseases, caused by Phytophthora infestans and Puccinia recondita. Ten annonaceous acetogenins (AAs) were isolated, and their chemical structures were identified by mass and nuclear magnetic resonance spectral data. Out of 10 substances, eight displayed strong in vitro nematicidal activity against B. xylophilus with LD(50) values ranging 0.006 to 0.048 μg/mL. Squamocin-G showed potent nematicidal activity against M. incognita. Squamocin, squamocin-G, and squamostatin-A also displayed potent in vitro and in vivo antifungal activities against P. infestans causing tomato late blight. In addition, squamostatin-A effectively controlled the development of wheat leaf rust caused by P. recondita. Our findings suggested that A. squamosa seeds and its bioactive AAs can be an alternative resource of a promising botanical nematicide and fungicide to control various plant diseases.

Delimitation of Russula Subgenus Amoenula in Korea Using Three Molecular Markers

Abstract Distinguishing individual Russula species has been difficult due to extensive phenotypic plasticity and obscure morphological and anatomical discontinuities. Due to highly similar macroscopic features, such as the presence of a red-cap, species identification within the Russula subgenus Amoenula is particularly difficult. Three species of the subgenus Amoneula have been reported in Korea. We used a combination of morphology and three molecular markers, the internal transcribed spacer (ITS), 28S nuclear ribosomal large subunit (LSU), and RNA polymerase II gene (RPB2), for identification and study of the genetic diversity of Russula subgenus Amoenula in Korea. We identified only two species in Korea (R. mariae and R. violeipes); these two species were indistinguishable according to morphology and LSU, but were found to be reciprocally monophyletic species using ITS and RPB2. The markers, ITS, LSU, and RPB2, have been tested in the past for use as DNA barcoding markers, and findings of our study suggest that ITS and RPB2 had the best performance for the Russula subgenus Amoneula.

Identifying airborne fungi in Seoul, Korea using metagenomics

Fungal spores are widespread and common in the atmosphere. In this study, we use a metagenomic approach to study the fungal diversity in six total air samples collected from April to May 2012 in Seoul, Korea. This springtime period is important in Korea because of the peak in fungal spore concentration and Asian dust storms, although the year of this study (2012) was unique in that were no major Asian dust events. Clustering sequences for operational taxonomic unit (OTU) identification recovered 1,266 unique OTUs in the combined dataset, with between 223᾿96 OTUs present in individual samples. OTUs from three fungal phyla were identified. For Ascomycota, Davidiella (anamorph: Cladosporium) was the most common genus in all samples, often accounting for more than 50% of all sequences in a sample. Other common Ascomycota genera identified were Alternaria, Didymella, Khuskia, Geosmitha, Penicillium, and Aspergillus. While several Basidiomycota genera were observed, Chytridiomycota OTUs were only present in one sample. Consistency was observed within sampling days, but there was a large shift in species composition from Ascomycota dominant to Basidiomycota dominant in the middle of the sampling period. This marked change may have been caused by meteorological events. A potential set of 40 allergyinducing genera were identified, accounting for a large proportion of the diversity present (22.5᾿7.2%). Our study identifies high fungal diversity and potentially high levels of fungal allergens in springtime air of Korea, and provides a good baseline for future comparisons with Asian dust storms.

Antimicrobial activities of novel mannosyl lipids isolated from the biocontrol fungus Simplicillium lamellicola BCP against phytopathogenic bacteria.

The antagonistic fungus Simplicillium lamellicola BCP has been developed as a microbial biopesticide that effectively controls the development of various plant diseases caused by both pathogenic bacteria and pathogenic fungi. Antibacterial bioassay-directed fractionation was used to isolate mannosyl lipids from S. lamellicola BCP, and the structures of these compounds were elucidated using spectral analysis and chemical degradation. Three novel mannosyl lipids were characterized and identified as halymecins F and G and (3R,5R)-3-O-β-D-mannosyl-3,5-dihydrodecanoic acid. Massoia lactone and (3R, 5R)-3-hydroxydecan-5-olide were also isolated from S. lamellicola BCP. The three novel compounds inhibited the growth of the majority of phytopathogenic bacteria that were tested, and halymecin F displayed the strongest antibacterial activity. Agrobacterium tumefaciens was the most sensitive to the three novel compounds, with IC₅₀ values ranging from 1.58 to 24.8 μg/mL. The ethyl acetate extract of the fermentation broth from the antagonistic fungus effectively reduced the bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanacearum on tomato seedlings. These results indicate that S. lamellicola BCP suppresses the development of plant bacterial diseases through the production of antibacterial metabolites.

Potential of the Volatile-Producing Fungus Nodulisporium sp. CF016 for the Control of Postharvest Diseases of Apple

In vitro and in vivo mycofumigation effects of the volatileproducing fungus Nodulisporium sp. CF016 isolated from stem of Cinnamomum loureirii and the role of its volatile compounds were investigated against phytopathogenic fungi. The volatile compounds produced by Nodulisporium sp. CF016 inhibited and killed a wide range of plant and storage pathogens including to Pythium ultimum, Rhizoctonia solani, Fusarium oxysporum, Phytophthora capsici, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Colletotrichum coccodes, Magnaporthe oryzae, Alternaria panax, Botrytis cinerea and Penicillium expansum. Mycofumigation with wheat bran-rice hull cultures of Nodulisporium sp. CF016 showed in vivo antifungal activity against gray mold caused by B. cinerea and blue mold caused by P. expansum of apple. The most abundant volatile compound produced by Nodulisporium sp. CF016 was β-elemene followed by 1-methyl-1,4-cyclohexadiene, β-selinene and α-selinene. Nodulisporium sp. CF016 could be an attractive mycofumigant in controlling postharvest diseases of various fruits including apple.

Effect of polyacetylenic acids from Prunella vulgaris on various plant pathogens.

Aims:  This study is aiming at characterizing antifungal substances from the methanol extract of Prunella vulgaris and at investigating those substances’ antifungal and antioomycete activities against various plant pathogens.