Daechung Reservoir has been suffering from severe cyanobacterial blooming periodically due to the water pollutants from the watershed, especially nutrients from nonpoint sources. As a countermeasure, an artificial wetland was constructed to mitigate the pollutant load from the watershed by utilizing the vegetation. We investigated the water quality of the influent and outflow of the wetland during years 2014~2020 to evaluate the performance of pollutant removal through the wetland. Major pollutants (e.g. BOD, COD, SS, T-N, and T-P) were largely reduced during the retention in the wetland while nutrients removal was more efficient than that of organic matters. Pollutant removal efficiency for different inflow concentrations was also investigated to estimate the wetland’s capability as a way of managing nonpoint sources. The efficiency of water treatment was significantly higher when inflow concentrations were above 75th percentile for all pollutant, implying the wetland can be applied to the pre-treatment of high pollution load including initial rainfall runoff. Furthermore, the yearly variation of removal efficiency for seven years was analyzed to better understand long-term trends in water treatment of the wetland. The annual treatment efficiency of T-P was very high in the early stages of vegetation growth with high concentration of inflow water. However, it was confirmed that the concentration of inflow water decreased, vegetation stabilized, and the treatment efficiency gradually decreased as the soil was saturated. The findings of the study suggest that artificial wetlands can be an effective method for controlling harmful algal blooms by alleviating pollutant load from the tributaries of Daechung Reservoir.

Microcystins (MCs) are cyano-toxins mainly produced by cyanobacteria in the genera of Microcystis, Anabaena, and Oscillatoria. The concentrations of MCs in the water bodies and fish tissues taken from the four weirs (Ipo, Gangjeong-goryeong, Baekje, and Juksan) in the four main rivers in Korea, and the health risk of human due to consumption of toxin-detected fish was examined. The maximum values of MCs concentration in the water samples were as follows: Juksan (3.261 μg L-1), Gangjeong-goryeong (1.014 μg L-1), Baekje (0.759 μg L-1), and Ipo (0.266 μg L-1) weirs. The MC-RR concentration was the highest among the MCs, and MC-YR was not detected. MCs of 0.222~9.808 μg g-1 dry weight were detected in the liver of 3 out of 215 fishes of 16 species, and below the detection limit in muscle. As a result of comparing the feeding characteristics of the collected fishes and toxin concentrations in water and fish tissue, it was concluded that the biomagnification of MCs through the food chain did not occur. It was judged that there was no health risk due to the consumption of the fish detected the toxin, based on the amount of the fish intake of the Korean people and the allowable daily intake of MCs. However, in order to reduce the health risk due to MCs, further studies should be conducted to analyze the concentration of MCs contained in fish tissues collected at various times in the area dominated by harmful cyanobacteria to obtain data on the exposure of MCs due to fish consumption. In addition, it is necessary to establish the management guidelines for MCs in fish tissues.

The occurrence of cyanobacterial blooming and the contaminant sources were analyzed in the downstream of Jecheon Stream, a tributary of Chungju Reservoir. The concentrations of chlorophyll a at the Myungseo Fishing Point (GPS; 37°03′25.5″N, 128°03′13.6″E) were 399.2 and 184.8 mg m-3 on October 18, 2015 and September 25, 2016, respectively, and the concentrations of total microcystins, a cyanobacterial toxin mainly produced by Microcystis, were 124.09 and 79.71 μg L-1, respectively. The occurrence of cyanobacterial blooming at the downstream of Jecheon Stream was closely related to the water level of Chungju Reservoir. The cyanobacterial blooming occurred after the increase of water level in Chungju Reservoir, when the water body stagnated. As a result of analyzing National Water Quality Monitoring Data of the upper region of Jecheon Stream, the main source of pollutant was Jangpyeong Stream, the tributary of Jecheon Stream, and the discharge water from Jecheon Wastewater Treatment Plant located in Jangpyeong Stream was considered to be the most important source of contaminant.

본 연구는 농업용 호소의 녹조발생을 간편하고, 효율적으로 진단할 수 있는 도구를 개발하고자 하였다. 2018년 4월~10월 동안 15개 농업용 호소에서 채취된 182개의 시료를 이용하여 식물플랑크톤 현존량을 반영할 수 있는 수질 이화학적 항목을 살펴보고자 식물플랑크톤과 TN, TP, Chl-a, SD 등의 상관계수 (r)를 분석한 결과, 총 식물플랑크톤 현존량은 Chl-a (r=0.666), SD (r= -0.351)와 높은 상관관계, 남조류와 유해 남조류 현존량 역시 Chl-a과 각각 r=0.664, r=0.353, SD와 각각 r= - 0.340, r= -0.338로 유의성 있는 상관관계를 보여주었으나 TN, TP의 항목과는 유의한 상관관계가 나타나지 않았다. Chl-a 농도는 SD와 r= -0.434의 상관관계를 보여주어 식물플랑크톤 현존량 보다 높은 유사성을 나타냈으므로, 조류경보제에서 사용하는 유해 남조류 현존량 분석을 대신하여 녹조예찰을 위한 진단 요소항목으로 Chl-a와 SD를 선정하고 실시간 SD 실측 값을 이용하여 진단을 할 경우 그 결과에 대한 유의성이 있는 것으로 판단되었다. 녹조진단 도구는 SD와 탁도 측정 방법을 변형한 역원뿔 모양의 용기와 녹조판단조견표로 구성되어 있으며, 현장수를 채취하여 녹조발생 정도에 따라 용기 내에 보이는 원형환의 개수 또는 각 원형환에 표시 된 숫자를 관찰하고, 조류의 색도를 녹조판단조견표와 비교하여 최종 녹조단계를 판별할 수 있도록 하였다. 또한, 정확한 진단을 위해 Chl-a 농도와 원형환의 수에 근거한 4단계 진단 기준과 Hexa 코드명이 표기된 부채모양의 조견표를 제시하여 한가지 방법에 따른 변수와 오차를 보완하고 판단의 편리성을 함께 제공하였다. 이를 통해 농업용 호소의 녹조진단을 용이하게 할 수 있을 것으로 기대되며, 녹조 관리방안 수립을 효율화하여 녹조로부터 안전하고 건강한 농업용수 확보가 가능할 것으로 판단된다.

We previously demonstrated that root colonization of the rhizobacterium, Pseudomonas chlororaphis O6, induced expression of a galactinol synthase gene (CsGolS1), and resulting galactinol conferred induced systemic resistance (ISR) against fungal and bacterial pathogens in cucumber leaves. To examine the role of galactinol on ISR, drought or high salt stress, we obtained T-DNA insertion Arabidopsis mutants at the AtGolS1 gene, an ortholog of the CsGolS1 gene. The T-DNA insertion mutant compromised resistance induced by the O6 colonization against Erwinia carotovora. Pharmaceutical application of 0.5 - 5 mM galactinol on roots was sufficient to elicit ISR in wild-type Arabidopsis against infection with E. carotovora. The involvement of jasmonic acid (JA) signaling on the ISR was validated to detect increased expression of the indicator gene PDF1.2. The T-DNA insertion mutant also compromised tolerance by increasing galactinol content in the O6-colonized plant against drought or high salt stresses. Taken together, our results indicate that primed expression of the galactinol synthase gene AtGolS1in the O6-colonized plants can play a critical role in the ISR against infection with E. carotovora, and in the tolerance to drought or high salt stresses.

Root colonization by a rhizobacterium, Pseudomonas chlororaphis O6, elicited induced systemic resistance (ISR) in the leaves of cucumber plants against fungal and bacterial pathogens. To understand the role of unique genes during strain O6-mediated ISR, a suppressive subtractive hybridization method was undertaken and led to isolation of twenty-five distinct genes. The transcriptional levels of all the genes showed an increase much earlier under O6 treatment than in water control plants only after challenge with pathogen, while no difference detected on the plants without pathogen challenge. This suggests that O6-mediated ISR is associated with the priming phenomenon, an enhanced capacity for the rapid and effective activation of cellular defense responses after challenge inoculation.