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The overall disease incidence of postharvest fruit rots of kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa) in Korea averaged 32%, but the incidence ranged from 5% to 68% in the orchards surveyed. The percentage of kiwifruit showing internal and external symptoms were 21.9% and 4.9%, respectively, and an additional 5.2% of the kiwifruit showed both internal and external symptoms. Botryosphaeria dothidea and Diaporthe actinidiae cause ripe rot and stem‐end rot, respectively, and were identified as the major postharvest pathogens with average isolation rates of 83.3% and 11.9%. Incidence of the postharvest fruit rots was closely correlated with ripening temperatures favourable to the mycelial growth of the major pathogens. Postharvest fruit rots occurred at all ripening temperatures 11°C and maximum disease incidence was observed at 29°C. No mycelial growth of B. dothidea and D. actinidiae occurred on potato dextrose agar plates under 11°C and the optimum temperature ranges for mycelial growth of the pathogens were...

Bacterial canker of sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) was observed in farmers\` orchards in Goesan, Chungbuk in 2003. Typical canker symptoms occurred on the branches or twigs of sweet cherry in early spring and bacterial exudates oozed out of the cracked barks of diseased trees. Watersoaked brown symptoms appeared on the leaves and severe infection caused thorough defoliation on the branches or twigs of sweet cherry. When severely infected branches or twigs were cut, irregular and rusty-colored symptoms in sapwood and heartwood were clearly found, indicating that they can serve as specific symptoms of bacterial canker of sweet cherry. The causal bacterium responsible for the symptoms was isolated purely from the infected sapwood of sweet cherry. Based on its morphological, physiological and biochemical characteristics, the causal bacterium was identified as Pseudomonas syringae pv. morsprunorum. The bacterium was pathogenic on sweet cherry and Japanese apricot, but not on peach, cherry, and kiwifruit. It is proposed that the disease be named as bacterial canker of sweet cherry.

Severe wilt disease epidemic was found on winter daphnes (Daphne odora Thunb.) cultivated in farmers, nurseries in Suncheon, Jeonnam in 2003. Typical symptoms appeared on the leaves of winter daphne as yellowish wilts and turned brown from the lower leaves on the same plant. Severely infected leaves were defoliated, resulting in blight of stems and eventual death of the entire plant. Black decayed vascular tissues were distinctly observed in a wilted plant. Fusarium sp. was isolated from the diseased plants repeatedly and its pathogenicity was confirmed by artificial inoculation on healthy plants. The fungus was identified as Fusarium oxysporum on the basis of the morphological and cultural characteristics on potato dextrose agar and carnation leaf agar. The optimum temperature for fungal growth was around and the fungal growth was inhibited by metconazole, triflumizole and trifloxystrobin on potato dextrose agar. This is the first report on the wilt disease of winter daphnes caused by F.oxysporum in Korea.

Bacillus subtilis S1-0210 was selected as a biological agent against Botrytis cinerea in strawberry. The isolate inhibited mycelial growth of B. cinerea in vitro tests. A wettable powder formulation of B. subtilis S1-0210 significantly reduced infection rates with lower than 5%, compared with higher than 70% of infection rates in untreated control. The formulation showed 85 to 89% control efficacies of gray mold incidences on fruits of strawberry in pots. Pre-treatment of the agent was more effective in controlling gray mold on fruits and leaves than post-treatment at the early stage of disease development. The formulation also showed 70% control efficacy of gray mold incidence on fruits of strawberry in a field trial. The results indicate that B. subtilis S1-0210 in the wettable powder formulation may be a potential biocontrol agent to control gray mold on strawberry.

Genomic and phenotypic characteristics of the bacterial strains of Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae and P. syringae pv. syringae collected from several kiwifruit orchards of Korea were investigated and compared with those from Japan to elucidate their phylogenic relationships. All the strains of P. syringae pv. actinidiae and pv. syringae tested were sensitive to copper sulfate but Korean and Japanese strains showed quite different responses to streptomycin. Korean strains were sensitive to streptomycin, but most of the Japanese strains of P. syringae pv. actinidiae were highly resistant to streptomycin. Japanese strains were also relatively more resistant to oxytetracycline than Korean strains. Plasmid profiles were not valuable to distinguish Korean strains of P. syringae pv. actinidiae frombJapanese strains. One or more indigenous plasmids with more than 15 kb in size were detected in all strains of P. syringae pv. actinidiae, but the number and sizes of plasmids harbored in P. syringae pv. actinidiae were variable among the strains regardless of their geographic origins. There also observed no significant relationship among resistance levels of the strains of P. syringae pv. actinidiae to antibiotics, their pathogenicity and plasmid profiles. RAPD profiles were useful to analyze the strains of P. syringae pv. actinidiae and pv. syringae. All the strains of P. syringae pv. actinidiae fell into a wide cluster separated from the strains of P. syringae pv. syringae, but Korean strains of P. syringae pv. actinidiae were separated from Japanese strains. The results support that Korean and Japanese strains of P. syringae pv. actinidiae may have different phylogenic origins.

Based on extensive field studies and herbarium research, the taxonomy and distribution of 3 species of Dermatocarpon and its allied fungi occurring in South Korea are discussed. A key to the species is provided and their Korean names are suggested. D. tuzibei Sato is described as new to Korea. This is the first report on taxonomic revision of Dermatocarpon in South Korea.

Based on extensive field studies and herbarium research, the taxonomy and distribution of 6 species of Nephroma occurring in South Korea are discussed. A key to the species is provided and their Korean names are suggested. N. bellum (Sprengel) Tuck. and N. tropicum (Mull. Arg.) Zahlbr. are described as new to South Korea. This is the first report on taxonomic revision of Nephroma in South Korea.

Bacterial blossom blight is one of the most important diseases of kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa). The disease occurs during flowering in the late May and disease outbreaks associated with rainfall during the flowering season have resulted in a severe reduction in kiwifruit production. The causal organism isolated from diseased blossoms of kiwifruits was identified as Pseudomonas syringae pv, syringae based on the physiological and biochemical characteristics and pathogenicity test. Dead fruit stalks, dead pruned twigs, fallen leaves and soils mainly provided R syringae pv. syringae with overwintering places in the kiwifruit orchards, and the inocula also overwintered on buds, trunks, branches, and twigs on the kiwifruit trees. Among the overwintering places, the incula were detected in the highest frequencies from dead fruit stalks. The population density of P. syringae pv. syringae was speculated to be over cfu/ml for the bacterial infection, and the optimum temperature for the bacterial growth ranged 20 to . The highest population density of P. syringae pv. syringae on the overwintering places was detected in May and June when the daily average temperature coincided with the optimum temperature for bacterial growth of P. syringae pv. syringae.

Bacterial blossom blight of kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa) has been mainly controlled by antibiotics. Among 15 candidate chemicals, streptomycin sulfate oxytetracycline WP, streptomycin copper hydroxide WP and oxolinic acid WP were selected as preventive bactericides against bacterial blossom blight of kiwfruit through in vitro and in vivo test. Spray of streptomycin sulfate oxytetracycline WP and streptomycin copper hydroxide WP at flowering period was most effective in controlling bacterial blossom blight of kiwifruit. Among the various combinations of spray times at different spray periods, optimum spray program of the preventive bactericides for the control of bacterial blossom blight of kiwifruit was turned out to be 3 times application with 10 day-interval from early May during the flowering season of kiwifruits.

Girdling of trunk and rainproof installation over kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa) trees were turned out to alleviate bacterial blossom blight effectively in kiwifruit orchards. The disease was most effectively prevented by girdling of tree trunks with 20 mm width around April 10 before about 45 days of flowering stage of kiwifruit, but control efficiencies were not affected by height of girdling on trunks above the ground. Use of a transparent polyvinyl film to protect kiwifruit trees from rain was more effective than windbreak net to prevent the disease, irrespective of kinds of rainproof installation. Installation of partial rainproof vinyl cover over kiwifruit trees around March 10 before about 75 days of flowering stage of kiwifruit prevented most of the disease occurrence on kiwifruit. It is expected that girdling of tree trunks and installation of partial rainproof vinyl cover over kiwifruit trees will be practical as environmentally friendly control methods to manage bacterial blossom blight in kiwifruit orchards.

Lichen is one of the most widely distributed eucaryotic organisms in the world. Lichen is the result of a symbiotic association between two unrelated organisms - a fungus and an alga (or cyanobacterium). In USA, Japan and European countries, there has been a resurgence of interest in lichens as source of novel, pharmacologically active molecules during the last 20 years. However, lichen researches in Korean lichens were mainly focused on investigation of Korean lichen flora and most of them were primitive and short-term based projects until 1990s. In this communication, general introduction of lichens was attempted to draw the attention of Korean researchers to Korean lichen bioresource. Research activities on Korean lichens during the past were also summarized. Recent progress in Korean lichen research is briefly discussed with emphasis of KoLRI (Korean Lichen Research Institute) activities and roles in national researches projects on bioresource development in Korea.

The lichen species Polychidium muscicola was found in South Korea for the first time and this is the first record of the genus Polychidium from the Korean peninsula. This species is characterized by a dichotomously branched minute thallus with clustered cells of Nostoc as the photobiont. A detailed description and illustrations of this species are provided.

Sixteen hundred fruits were randomly collected from 16 kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa) orchards in Jeonnam, Gyeongnam and Jejn provinces in Korea in 2000 and incidences of postharvest fruit rots were examined. The overall disease incidence was 32% and varied much with locations of orchards ranging from 5 to 68%. The percentages of kiwifruits showing internal, external, and both internal and external symptoms were 21.9%, 4.9%, and 5.2%, respectively. Several fungi were isolated from rotten fruits; Botryosphaeria dothidea, Diaporthe actinidiae and Botrytis cinerea were the major pathogens with the average isolation rates of 83.3%, 11.9% and 1.4%, respectively. Based on the symptoms on kiwifruits and the characteristics, the postharvest fruit rots caused by B. dothidea and D. actinidiae are suggested to be named as ripe rots and stem-end rots, respectively.

This study was conducted to identify optimum ripening condition for kiwifruits (Actinidia deliciosa) to prevent postharvest fruit rots caused by Botryosphaeria dothidea, Diaporthe actinidiae and Botrytis cinerea. The optimum temperatures for mycelial growth of B. dothidea, D. actinidiae and B. cinerea were , and , respectively, and the incidence was closely related with the temperature. Although kiwifruits ripened faster at higher temperatures, the rates of diseased fruits increased with the rates of ripened fruits increased. Optimum conditions for ripening of kiwifruit were 20-day at 17C.

Ripe rot was commonly found in overripe kiwifruits (Actinidia deliciosa) during a disease survey conducted in Jeju and Jeonnam provinces in Korea in 1999. While the disease did not manifest any clear external symptoms on kiwifruits, it caused portion of the fruit surface to collapse. Watersoaked flesh tissue could be seen on the sunken part when the skin of the collapsed portion was peeled off. The milky internal symptom with dark green margin developed concentrically as the fruit ripened. A species of Botryosphaeria was consistently isolated from lesions showing typical symptoms of ripe rot on kiwifruit, and its pathogenicity was confirmed by artificial inoculation test on healthy kiwifruits. The fungus was also pathogenic to apple and pear. The mycological characteristics of the fungus were consistent with those of Botryosphaeria dothidea. This is the first report on the detailed mycological characteristics of the causal organism of post-harvest ripe rot of kiwifruit in Korea.

For the effective chemical control to minimize infection of storage pathogens on kiwifruit in the field, this study was conducted to screen alternative fungicides which could be substituted for the fungicides Benomyl WP and Thiophanate-methyl 제 registered for the control of postharvest fruit rats of kiwifruit in Korea. Among the 8 fungicides tested, Tebuconazole WP, Iprodione WP and Flusilazole WP showed higher inhibitory effects on themycelial growths of 3 major pathogens of postharvest fruit rots, Botryosphaeria dothidea, Diaporthe actinidiae and Botrytis cinerea on potato dextrose agar. They also showed control efficiencies as high as those of Benomyl WP and Thiophanate-methyl WP on postharvest fruit rots in the field. They might be good candidates for fungicieds for the control of postharvest fruit rots of kiwifruit.

Occurrence of rust on 2 representative garlic cultivars Daeseo and N므애 in major cultivating regions of Goheung-gun, Jeonnam and Namhae-gun, Gyeongnam was investigated during 1998-1999. Rust disease severities of garlic ranging from 1.2 to 85.8 were quite different according to the investigating years and cultivars. Relatively high rust severities of garlic were observed in 1998 compared with 1999. This might be due to remarkably frequent rainfalls and high humidities during the growing seasons of garlic in 1998. Rust occurred severely on cultivar Daeseo but not on cultivar Namdo. This shows quite different susceptibility or resistance to rust among the cultivars of garlic. Increase of rust severities resulted in remarkable decrease in yields of garlic. It is assumed that rust might cause serious damages in the cultivation of garlic.

Black leaf spot disease occurred on Dendrobium phalaenopsis grown in farmer`s fields located in Bonggangmyon, Gwangyang-eup, Jeonnam, Korea. Black small spots occurred on leaves at initial stage of infection and the infected leaves turned yellow from the tip. The yellow leaves were falled, resulting in stem blighting or eventual death of the entire plant. White mycelial colony of the causal fungus grown on potato dextrose agarturned dark violet later and optimum temperature for the mycelial growth was . The causal fungus isolated from the black leaf spot on D. phalaenopsis was identified as Fusarium moniliforme based on the mycological characteristics and pathogenicity. The fungus also caused same symptoms on leaves of Phalaenopsis sp. and Cymbidium sp. as well sa D. phalaenopsis by wound inoculation. This is the first report on black leaf spot of D. phalaenopsis caused by F.moniliforme in Korea.

Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae strains which cause a canker disease of kiwifruit were isolated from vineyards in Korea. The phytotoxin produced by Korean strains was compared with that of Japanese strains, including the pathotype strain Kw11, of P. syringae pv. actinidiae. PCR primers derived from the phaseolotoxin gene cluster specifically amplified 1.4 kb fragment from DNA of Japanese strains, whereas the DNA from Korean strains did not produce the expected size of bands upon amplification. In contrast, the Korean strains amplified PCR products of 0.71 kb with the CAU primers based on cmaU gene in coronatine biosynthetic gene cluster. To determine the phytotoxin produced by Japanese and Korean strains, phaseolotoxin bioassay with Escherichia coli and coronatine bioassay with tomato leaves were separately conducted. Although all the Japanese strains tested produced phaseolotoxin, the Korean strains produced only coronatine. PCR products amplified with CAU primers and DNA from six coronatine-producing P. syringae pathovars were further characterized by nucleotide sequencing. The phylogenetic relatedness of six coronatine-producing pathovars was judged by their nucleotide sequence homologies in the amplified fragments. The phylogenetic tree indicates that the Korean strain of P. syringae pv. actinidiae and pv. glycinea seem to be closely related.

A lichen-forming fungus was successfully isolated by discharged spore method from Korean lichen (Hetero-dermia sp.) and cultivated in pure culture. The isolate JR0012 inhibited mycelial growth of several plant-pathogenic fungi. Mycelial growth of the four Pythium spp. tested was completely inhibited. Potato dextrose broth was found to be the medium favorable for large-scale production of antibiotics from the isolate. Anti-fungal substances produced in axenic culture were partially purified. This is the first report in Korea of lichen-forming fungus successfully isolated and which exhibited strong antifungal activity against plant-pathogenic fungi, especially the four Pythium spp..

Heterodermia flabellata (Fée) D. D. Awasthi was found as a new lichen record in Jeju Island of South Korea in 2012. A detailed taxonomic description and comments are provided for the taxa. An updated key for all recorded species of Heterodermia from South Korea is given.

The study introduces the genus Mycobilimbia, from South Korea. M. philippina is reported here as being new to the country. Characteristic features of the species are crustose thallus, globose apothecia, K-proper exciple and hypothecium, Biatora-type asci, 3-septate fusiform ascospores, and a lack of secondary compounds.

Direct effects of atmospheric ozone on conidia of the rice blast pathogen, Magnaporthe grisea, were investigated to evaluate ozone-induced effects on infection potential of the rice blast fungus. Acute ozone exposure (200 nl , 8 h 3 days) during sporulation significantly affected conidial morphology, appressorium formation, and disease development on rice loaves. Ozone caused reduction in conidial size and change in conidial shape. Relative cytoplasmic volume of lipids and vacuoles were increased in ozone-exposed conidia. Inhibition of appressorium formation and simultaneous increase in endogenous levee of polyamines were found in ozone-exposed conidia. The inverse relationship between appressorium formation and level of polyamines implies that ozone-mediated increase in intracellular level of polyamines may inhibit appressorium formation in rice blast fungus. Furthermore, rice plants inoculated with ozone-fumigated conidia exhibited less severe disease development than those with unfumigated conidia. This result suggests that the anti-conidial consequence of acute ozone will eventually weaken the rice blasts potential for multiple infection cycle. This further suggests that consequently, rice blast can be transformed from an explosive disease to one that has limited epidemiological potential in the field.

The antifungal activity of super reductive water (SRW) against plant pathogenic fungi was examined to extend its application to integrated pest management (IPM) for plant diseases. Diluted solutions (1/10, 1/25, and 1/50) of SRW inhibited fungal growth of kiwifruit soft rot pathogen, Diaporthe actinidiae, in a concentration dependent manner, When kiwifruits were inoculated on wounds with mycelium blocks, stock and diluted solutions successfully inhibited the disease development. In addition to the high pH of the SRW, fungistatic activity was also considered as the cause of the antifungal effect against the pathogen. Whereas conidial germination of Magnaporthe grisea was not affected by the diluted SRW solutions, appressorium formation was significantly inhibited in a concentration dependent manner, With little harmfulness to human health and environment SRW could be used to control plant pathogenic fungi, particularly appressorium-forming fungal pathogens.

The existence of the lichen species Caloplaca lacinulata (Hue) Zahlbr. (1930) [1931] is confirmed after a gap of about 100 years. The taxon was first described by Hue (1913), growing over granite rocks nearly Seoul. Its rediscovery is documented by a specimen recently collected in Mt. Sorak, extending its distribution within South Korea. A brief description and illustrations are provided for the species. (© 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

To isolate polyketide synthase (PKS) gene from medicinal Usnea longissima lichen forming fungi, and identify the function of obtained PKS.We used Usnea. longissima lichen forming fungi to isolate PKS gene by nested PCR using degenerate primers and screening a Fosimid genomic library. MEGA 4.0.2 program was used for phylogenetic analysis and RT-PCR was used to detect gene expression.We obtained a gene cluster including non-reducing PKS (UlPKS5), putative beta-lactamase and putative dehydratase from Usnea longissima lichen forming fungi. UlPKS5 contained ketosynthase (KS), acyl transferase (AT), product template (PT) and acyl carrier protein (ACP) domain. Phylogenetic analysis shows that UlPKS5 belonged to non-reducing PKS group V, which involved anthraquinone biosynthesis. RT-PCR analyses reveal that the expression of UlPKS5 was up-regulated by sucrose (2% and 10%) and sorbitol (10%).PKS(UlPKS5), putative beta-lactamase and putative dehydratase were related with anthraquinone biosynthesis in U. longissima.

Lichen Endocarpon pusillum is a highly desiccation-tolerant and dominant species in biological soil crusts in arid and semi-arid regions. We report the draft genome sequence of a lichen-forming fungus, E. pusillum strain KoLRILF000583. The draft genome assembly has a size of 37,173,200 bp with a GC content of 49.71%, consisting of 40 scaffolds.

Umbilicaria muehlenbergii strain KoLRILF000956 is amenable to Agrobacterium tumefaciens -mediated transformation (ATMT), making it the only known genetically tractable lichen-forming fungus to date. We report another advancement in lichen genetics, a draft genome assembly for U. muehlenbergii with a size of 34,812,353 bp and a GC content of 47.12%, consisting of seven scaffolds.

The lichen-forming fungus Cladonia metacorallifera strain KoLRI002260 is capable of producing a number of secondary metabolites, including usnic, didymic, and squamatic acids, which have antitumor, antioxidant, and antibiotic activities. The draft genome assembly has a size of 36,682,060 bp, with a G+C content of 44.91%, and consists of 30 scaffolds.

Numerous attempts have been made to control desertification and restore soil by inducing biological soil crusts (BSCs) formation through inoculation with cyanobacteria or application of soil fixing chemicals. In this study, combined application of biological (cyanobacteria) and chemical (superabsorbent polymer: SAP) materials to sand particles was conducted under laboratory conditions. Nostoc sp. was applied to sand at 5 to 25 mg fresh weight (FW)/cm2 and incubated at 25°C under 100 μmol photons m−2 s −1 for 12 hr per day for 3 months. MWD (Mean Weight Diameter) analysis showed that the minimal cell dose for artificial BSCs induction was 10 mg FW/cm2, and the resulting BSC was stable enough to resist various destructive factors. Aggregate stability of the combined biological and chemical treatment (ACSAP) was higher than that of samples treated with Nostoc cells alone (AC) in the fast and slow wetting tests, but less stable than that of AC treatment in the wet stirring test. The SAP showed no harmful effect on Nostoc cell growth because of increased biomass during ACSAP treatment. However, the levels of extracellular polysaccharides (ESP) were lower upon ACSAP treatment than AC treatment. The wet stirring test demonstrated that ESP content was more important than cyanobacterial biomass for maintaining stability of the induced BSC. Overall, this study provides useful information regarding the interaction of Nostoc cells and superabsorbent polymer during artificial BSC formation. The results indicate that future studies investigating application of combined treatment of Nostoc cells and SAP in the field are warranted.

Disease incidence of bacterial blossom blight (Pseudomonas syringae van Hall) ranged from 13.0 to 36.2% in naturally infected kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa (A. Chev) C. F. Liang et A. R. Ferguson) orchards of the major kiwi fruit‐growing areas in Korea from 1997 to 1999. A significant correlation occurred between disease incidence and rainfall at flowering. Several control practices were compared with conventional chemical control to prevent bacterial blossom blight of kiwifruit. Streptomycin sulfate + oxytetracycline WP applied 3 times at 10‐day intervals resulted in control efficiencies from 75.6 to 79.8% in 1997 and 1998, respectively. Trunk injection of various concentrations of acetic acid also displayed variable control efficiencies. Injection with 7% (v/v) acetic acid was the best injection treatment with control efficiencies from 70.9 to 77.0%. Use of a transparent polyvinyl film to protect kiwifruit trees from rain or girdling of trunks of kiwifruit trees alleviated the diseases at rate...

Lichens are considered a great bio-resource because they produce large numbers of secondary metabolites with many biological activities; however, they have not been cultivated under artificial conditions to date. As a result, lichen substances from natural sources are limited and have not been widely utilized in commercial applications. Accordingly, interest in lichen-associated fungi, especially endogenic fungi, has increased. Ultraviolet (UV) radiation in sunlight is harmful to human health, resulting in demand for effective UV filtering agents for use in sunscreen. In this study, we purified (3R)-5-hydroxymellein, which has UVA absorption activity, from the secondary metabolites of an endolichenic fungus (ELF000039). The antioxidant properties were then assessed by in vitro tests. The antioxidant activity of (3R)-5-hydroxymellein was high when compared to the recognized antioxidants ascorbic acid (ASA) and butyl hydroxyl anisole (BHA). Moreover, the compound exhibited no cytotoxicity toward mouse melanoma cell lines, B16F1 and B16F10, or the normal cell line, HaCaT. Furthermore, (3R)-5-hydroxymellein recovered the damage caused by UVB irradiation and inhibited melanin synthesis. Taken together, these results suggest that (3R)-5-hydroxymellein could have an interesting and vital profile to go further development as a multifunctional skin UV protectant.

The paper describes three new records of lichen genus Rhizocarpon (R. alpicola, R. grande and R. lavatum) from South Korea. Brief taxonomic description and comments are provided for the new records. An artificial key is also provided for known species of this genus in South Korea.

Lichen genus Sarcographa Fee, a stromatoid Graphidacean taxa, was newly found in Geomun Island, Jeonnam province. The lichen grew on the bark of Camellia japonica and Eurya emarginata along the coastal line of the island. It was identified as Sarcographa tricosa (Ach.) Mull. Arg. for the first time in Korea.

Brown leaf spots on leaves of kiwifruit(Actinidia deliciosa) were observed at farmers` orchards in Suncheon and Goheung, Jeonnam Province, Korea in June, 2006. They developed to form dark brown ring spots and severely infected leaves resulted in defoliation during the growing season of kiwifruit. Alternaria sp. was isolated from the diseased leaves repeatedly and was identified as Alternaria alternata on the basis of its mycological characteristics on potato dextrose agar and its pathogenicity was confirmed by wound inoculation on healthy leaves of kiwifruit. A. alternata formed gray to dark sooty gray colony and produced numerous conidia on potato dextrose agar. The conidia, commonly in long chains of 5 or more produced on conidiophores, have transverse and longitudinal septa and mostly ovoid or obclavate in shape and were pale brown golden brown in color. The condia were in size and conidiophores were in length. This is the first report on the brown ring spot on leaves of kiwifruit caused by A. alternata in Korea.

The lichen-forming fungus Cladonia macilenta strain KoLRI003786 is capable of producing an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, biruloquinone, which effectively prevents neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease. Laying the foundation to unravel the biruloquinone biosynthetic pathway, we present the 37.11-Mb draft genome sequence of strain KoLRI003786.

Transformation-mediated mutagenesis in both targeted and random manners has been widely applied to decipher gene function in diverse fungi. However, a transformation system has not yet been established for lichen fungi, severely limiting our ability to study their biology and mechanism underpinning symbiosis via gene manipulation. Here, we report the first successful transformation of the lichen fungus, Umbilicaria muehlenbergii, via the use of Agrobacterium tumefaciens. We generated a total of 918 transformants employing a binary vector that carries the hygromycin B phosphotransferase gene as a selection marker and the enhanced green fluorescent protein gene for labeling transformants. Randomly selected transformants appeared mitotically stable, based on their maintenance of hygromycin B resistance after five generations of growth without selection. Genomic Southern blot showed that 88% of 784 transformants contained a single T-DNA insert in their genome. A number of putative mutants affected in colony color, size, and/or morphology were found among these transformants, supporting the utility of Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation (ATMT) for random insertional mutagenesis of U. muehlenbergii. This ATMT approach potentially offers a systematic gene functional study with genome sequences of U. muehlenbergii that is currently underway.

Here we report a draft genome sequence of Caloplaca flavorubescens strain KoLRI002931, isolated from the bark of a gingko tree at Mt. Deogyu, Muju, South Korea. The genome sequence is 34,455,815 bp, with a GC content of 41.89%, consisting of 36 scaffolds.

Usnea Adans. is a somewhat rare lichen in South Korea, and, in nearly two decades, no detailed taxonomic or revisionary study has been conducted. This study was based on the specimens deposited in the lichen herbarium at the Korean Lichen Research Institute, and the samples were identified using information obtained from recent literature. In this study, a total of eight species of Usnea, including one new record, Usnea hakonensis Asahina, are documented. Detailed descriptions of each species with their morphological, anatomical, and chemical characteristics are provided. A key to all known Usnea species in South Korea is also presented.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive memory loss and cognitive impairment. It is the most common type of dementia in the aging population, affecting approximately 3% of the population between the ages of 65 and 74, and nearly 50% of those 85 years and older. AD has become one of the most costly diseases, which brings heavy social and financial burden to both society and families [20]. At present, acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors are the first group of drugs approved by the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) to treat mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease. AChE hydrolyzes acetylcholine at cholinergic synapses to terminate nerve impulse transmission. Inhibition of AChE increases the availability of acetylcholine to sustain nerve cell communications, and therefore chemical inhibitors as possible leads for nervous system disorders are being searched for [7]. Although beneficial in improving cognitive and behavioral symptoms, the effectiveness of AChE inhibitors has been questioned since they do not delay or prevent neurodegeneration [2, 16, 19]. Increasing evidence supports the role for oxidative damage in the pathogenesis of AD, and neuronal degeneration of AD patients is associated with oxidative damage to all biomacromolecule types [8, 14]. These implicated that the therapeutic strategies aimed at removal of free radicals or prevention of their formation might be a reasonable choice for the management of the disease, so antioxidants have been considered as a potential treatment of AD [15]. Lichens synthesize a great variety of secondary metabolites that are often structurally unique, with only a small number of them being found in other fungi and higher plants [17]. Recently, much attention has been paid to the biological roles of lichen secondary substances; many lichen substances have been found to have numerous bioactivities

Hypotrachyna (Vainio) Hale is a somewhat rare lichen genus found on the Korean Peninsula. Since it was first recorded more than two decades ago, no detailed taxonomic or revisionary study of the genus has been conducted. Thus, the present study was conducted to carry out a detailed taxonomic and revisionary study of Hypotrachyna in South Korea. This study was based on specimens deposited in the Korean Lichen Research Institute (KoLRI). Detailed taxonomic studies and a literature review confirmed the presence of seven species of Hypotrachyna from South Korea, including one new record, Hypotrachyna nodakensis (Asahina) Hale. Descriptions of each species with their morphological, anatomical and chemical characters together with a key to all known Hypotrachyna species are presented.

Lichen-forming fungi and extracts derived from them have been used as alternative medicine sources for millennia and recently there has been a renewed interest in their known bioactive properties for anticancer agents, cosmetics and antibiotics. Although lichen-forming fungus-derived compounds are biologically and commercially valuable, few studies have been performed to determine their modes of action. This study used chemical-genetic and chemogenomic high-throughput analyses to gain insight into the modes of action of Caloplaca flavoruscens extracts. High-throughput screening of 575 lichen extracts was performed and 39 extracts were identified which inhibited yeast growth. A C. flavoruscens extract was selected as a promising antifungal and was subjected to genome-wide haploinsufficiency profiling and homozygous profiling assays. These screens revealed that yeast deletion strains lacking Rsc8, Pro1 and Toa2 were sensitive to three concentrations (IC25.5, IC25 and IC50, respectively) of C. flavoruscens extract. Gene-enrichment analysis of the data showed that C. flavoruscens extracts appear to perturb transcription and chromatin remodeling.