Acanthopanax divaricatus, a member of the Araliaceae family, has been used as an invigorant in traditional Korean medicine. During disease monitoring, a stem with small, irregular, brown lesions was sampled at a farm in Cheonan in 2011. The symptoms seen were sunken cankers and reddish-brown needles on the infected twig. The isolated fungal colonies were whitish, having crenated edges and aerial mycelium on the surface, and with black gregarious fruiting bodies. The reverse plate was creamy white. Conidia were 17~22 x 3.5~4.2 microm, fusiform, 4-septate, and straight to slightly curved. The nucleotide sequence of the partial translation elongation factor 1 alpha gene of the fungal isolate, shares 99% sequence identity with that of known Pestalotiopsis ellipsospora. Based on the results of the morphological and molecular analyses, the fungal isolate was identified as P. ellipsospora. In Korea, this is the first report of canker on A. divaricatus.
Eleutherococcus* ; Araliaceae ; Base Sequence ; Chungcheongnam-do ; Fruit ; Humans ; Korea ; Mycelium ; Needles ; Peptide Elongation Factor 1 ; Spores, Fungal

Fungal contamination of built-in furniture is a frequent problem in Korea when new apartment is built. However, domestic information on the contaminating fungi is very limited. This study was conducted to isolate, identify and characterize the fungi of the problem in one of the apartment houses where the fungi were claimed in the built-in furniture before the house owner moves in. Fungi present in the furniture installed in a main room, dress room, and kitchen side were visually and microscopically confirmed and purely isolated on PDA. The isolated fungi were identified by analyzing the morphological characteristics and nucleotide sequence of the ITS, calmodulin gene, and TEF-1α gene. Aspergillus creber, A. niger, A. pseudoglacus, A. ruber, Cladosporium perangustum and Penicillium commune were identified. Four out of the six fungal species were positive for at least one enzyme in six kinds of extracellular enzyme assays. When these four species (A. creber, A. niger, C. perangustum and P. commune) were inoculated onto four kinds of wood chips of furniture materials, they were able to colonize all of the wood chips. Their settlement was better at 95% humidity condition than at 30% humidity condition. Among the four species, C. perangustum caused the darkest discoloration and secreted the most number of extracellular enzymes. The four species were re-isolated from the colonized wood chips and confirmed as the problematic fungi in the built-in furniture.

Fungi are the known sources of irritation associated with atopic diseases (e.g., asthma, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, and atopic eczema). To quantitatively estimate their presence in the indoor environment of atopic dermatitis-inflicted child patient's houses (ADCPHs), the high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters installed inside the air cleaners of three different ADCPHs were investigated for the presence of mold. The air cleaner HEPA filters obtained from the three different ADCPHs were coded as HEPA-A, -B, and -C, respectively, and tested for the presence of mold. The colony forming units (CFUs) corresponding to the HEPA-A, -B, and -C filters were estimated to be 6.51 x 10(2) +/- 1.50 x 10(2) CFU/cm2, 8.72 x 10(2) +/- 1.69 x 10(2) CFU/cm2, and 9.71 x 10(2) +/- 1.35 x 10(2) CFU/cm2, respectively. Aspergillus, Penicillium, Alternaria, Cladosporium, Trichoderma, and other fungal groups were detected in the 2,494 isolates. The distribution of these fungal groups differed among the three filters. Cladosporium was the major fungal group in filters HEPA-A and -C, whereas Penicillium was the major fungal group in the filter HEPA-B. Nine fungal species, including some of the known allergenic species, were identified in these isolates. Cladosporium cladosporioides was the most common mold among all the three filters. This is the first report on the presence of fungi in the air cleaner HEPA filters from ADCPHs in Korea.
Air Filters* ; Alternaria ; Aspergillus ; Asthma ; Child* ; Cladosporium ; Dermatitis, Atopic* ; Fungi* ; Humans ; Korea ; Penicillium ; Stem Cells ; Trichoderma

During the growing season of 2015, leaf specimens with yellow rust spots were collected from Salix koreensis Andersson, known as Korean willow, in riverine areas in Cheonan, Korea. The fungus on S. koreensis was identified as the rust species, Melampsora yezoensis, based on the morphology of urediniospores observed by light and scanning electron microscopy, and the molecular properties of the internal transcribed spacer rDNA region. Pathogenicity tests confirmed that the urediniospores are the causal agent of the rust symptoms on the leaves and young stems of S. koreensis. Here, we report a new rust disease of S. koreensis caused by the rust fungus, M. yezoensis, a previously unrecorded rust pathogen in Korea.
Chungcheongnam-do ; DNA, Ribosomal ; Fungi ; Korea* ; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning ; Salix* ; Seasons ; Virulence

In the present study we first report in Korea the identification and characterization of Fusarium oxysporum isolated from rotten stems and roots of paprika (Capsicum annuum var. grossum) at Masan, Kyungsangnamdo in 2006. The fungal species produced white aerial mycelia accompanying with dark violet pigment on PDA. The optimal temperature and pH for the growth of the species was 25degrees C and pH 7, respectively. Microscopic observation of one of isolates of the species shows that its conidiophores are unbranched and monophialides, its microconidia have oval-ellipsoidal shape with no septate and are of 3.0~11 x 1.5~3.5 microm sizes, its macroconidia are of 15~20 x 2.0~3.5 microm sizes and have slightly curved or slender shape with 2~3 septate. The results of molecular analysis show that the ITS rDNA of F. oxysporum from paprika shares 100% sequence identity with that of known F. oxysporum isolates. The identified species proved it's pathogenicity by causing rotting symptom when it was inoculated on paprika fruits. The growth of F. oxysporum from paprika was suppressed on PDA by agrochemicals such as benomyl, tebuconazole and azoxystrobin. The identified species has the ability of producing extracelluar enzymes that degrade cellobiose and pectin.
Agrochemicals ; Benomyl ; Capsicum* ; Cellobiose ; DNA, Ribosomal ; Fruit ; Fusarium* ; Gyeongsangnam-do ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Korea* ; Viola ; Virulence

Gastric cancer is one of the most common cancers in Korea and the world. Since 2004, this is the 4th gastric cancer guideline published in Korea which is the revised version of previous evidence-based approach in 2018. Current guideline is a collaborative work of the interdisciplinary working group including experts in the field of gastric surgery, gastroenterology, endoscopy, medical oncology, abdominal radiology, pathology, nuclear medicine, radiation oncology and guideline development methodology. Total of 33 key questions were updated or proposed after a collaborative review by the working group and 40 statements were developed according to the systematic review using the MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library and KoreaMed database. The level of evidence and the grading of recommendations were categorized according to the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation proposition. Evidence level, benefit, harm, and clinical applicability was considered as the significant factors for recommendation. The working group reviewed recommendations and discussed for consensus. In the earlier part, general consideration discusses screening, diagnosis and staging of endoscopy, pathology, radiology, and nuclear medicine. Flowchart is depicted with statements which is supported by meta-analysis and references. Since clinical trial and systematic review was not suitable for postoperative oncologic and nutritional follow-up, working group agreed to conduct a nationwide survey investigating the clinical practice of all tertiary or general hospitals in Korea. The purpose of this survey was to provide baseline information on follow up. Herein we present a multidisciplinary-evidence based gastric cancer guideline.