Paul Eunil Jung

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.

Species delimitation of three species within the Russula subgenus Compacta in Korea: R. eccentrica, R. nigricans, and R. subnigricans

Distinguishing individual Russula species can be very difficult due to extensive phenotypic plasticity and obscure morphological and anatomical discontinuities. In this study, we use the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and 28S nuclear ribosomal large subunit (LSU) markers to identify and study the genetic diversity of species in the Russula subgenus Compacta in Korea. We focus on two morphologically similar species that are often misidentified for each other: R. nigricans and R. subnigricans. Based on molecular phylogenetic analyses, we identify three subgroups of R. nigricans, with two from Asia and one from Europe/North America. Surprisingly, we find Korean R. subnigricans are more closely related to R. eccentrica from North America than the type specimen of R. subnigricans from Japan. These molecular data, along with habitat data, reveal that Korean R. subnigricans had previously been misclassified and should now be recognized as R. eccentrica. Both ITS and LSU exhibit high interspecific and low intraspecific variation for R. eccentrica, R. nigricans, and R. subnigricans. These markers provide enough resolutional power to differentiate these species and uncover phylogeographic structure, and will be powerful tools for future ecological studies of Russula.

Re-evaluation of the Genus Antrodia (Polyporales, Basidiomycota) in Korea.

Abstract The wood decay fungi Antrodia P. Karst. play important ecological roles and have significant industrial and economic impacts as both wood degraders and sources of pharmaceutical and biotechnological products. Although each Antrodia species has distinct morphological characteristics, the misidentification rate is especially high due to their simple morphological characters. A combination of morphological and internal transcribed spacer region sequence analyses revealed that 27 of 89 specimens previously identified by morphology alone were correct, whereas 35 of these specimens were misidentified as other Antrodia species. We report here that seven Antrodia species exist in Korea (A. albida, A. heteromorpha, A. malicola, A. serialis, A. sinuosa, A. sitchensis, and A. xantha) and based on these specimens, we provide taxonomic descriptions of these species, except for A. serialis, which was only confirmed by isolate.

Revision of the taxonomic status of the genus Gloeoporus (Polyporales, Basidiomycota) reveals two new species

Gloeoporus Mont. is characterized by an easily separated gelatinous hymenophore and a continuous hymenium over the pore mouth. Recent molecular taxonomic and phylogenetic research showed that morphological grouping of Gloeoporus is polyphyletic. The lack of comprehensive phylogenetic studies of Gloeoporus exacerbates confusion in determining the taxonomic position of the genus. To delimit the genus Gloeoporus, we performed multi-locus phylogenetic analysis using the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, the nuclear large subunit ribosomal DNA (LSU), and the second-largest subunit of RNA polymerase II (rpb2). The phylogenetic analyses revealed that current delimitation of Gloeoporus is not monophyletic. Gloeoporus s.s. includes mostly clamped species lacking cystidia. Some species of Gloeoporus featuring simple septa and cystidia are proposed to be renamed to Meruliopsis. Two new species of Gloeoporus were also observed and they are named Gloeoporus africanus and Gloeoporus orientalis.

Publicly-funded biobanks and networks in East Asia

With the enactment of the Nagoya Protocol, international competitions to secure biological resources are intensifying. Biobanking is one of the many attempts to preserve biological resources and their information for the use in future research and development. Asian countries, especially China, Japan, and Korea are very active in biobanking activities under the strategic plans coordinated by their governments. They also proactively established networks for biobanks of Asia to facilitate resource and expertise sharing. Biobanks of these countries should furthermore standardize operating procedures and diversify funding sources for establishing stable operation systems.

A checklist of the basidiomycetous macrofungi and a record of five new species from mt. Oseo in Korea.

Abstract Basidiomycetous macrofungi play important roles in maintaining forest ecosystems via carbon cycling and the mobilization of nitrogen and phosphorus. To understand the impact of human activity on macrofungi, an ongoing project at the Korea National Arboretum is focused on surveying the macrofungi in unexploited areas. Mt. Oseo was targeted in this survey because the number of visitors to this destination has been steadily increasing, and management and conservation plans for this destination are urgently required. Through 5 field surveys of Mt. Oseo from April to October 2012, 116 specimens of basidiomycetous macrofungi were collected and classified. The specimens were identified to the species level by analyzing their morphological characteristics and their DNA sequence data. A total of 80 species belonging to 57 genera and 25 families were identified. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to identify five of these species—Artomyces microsporus, Hymenopellis raphanipes, Pholiota abietis, Phylloporus brunneiceps, and Sirobasidium magnum—in Korea.