Unarmored dinoflagellates, in the family Kareniaceae, include harmful or toxic bloom-forming species, which are associated with massive fish kills and mortalities of marine organisms worldwide. The occurrence and distribution of the toxigenic species in the family Kareniaceae were investigated in the brackish and coastal waters of Korea between July 2018 and October 2020. During the survey, we collected seven newly recorded species; Karenia papilionacea, Karlodinium digitatum, Karl. veneficum, Karl. zhouanum, Takayama acrotrocha, T. helix, and T. tasmanica. A total of fifteen strains of the seven taxa were successfully established as clonal cultures and examined using LM, SEM, and molecular phylogeny inferred from LSU rDNA sequences. Herein, we present the taxonomic information, morphological features, and molecular phylogenetic positions of the unrecorded dinoflagellate species collected from Korean coastal waters.

A single specimen of Chaetodon vagabundus Linnaeus, 1758 belonging to the family Chaetodontidae was collected on September 8, 2013 in Yerae-dong, Seogwipo-si, Jeju Island, Korea. The morphological characteristics of C. vagabundus are similar to C. auriga and C. auripes in having dark vertical stripes cross the eye, but differs from C. auriga, which has high dorsal fin extended between spine and soft rays without concavity and has blotch of circle in dorsal fin, and from C. auripes which has yellow body, big of eye proportion and a black stripe along the caudal peduncle during the immature stage. C. vagabundus has eye-like black spots on dorsal fin and black vertical stripe extended from the anterior dorsal soft ray to the middle of the anal fin along the caudal peduncle. Molecular analysis results showed that our specimen perfectly matched C. vagabundus in the mitochondrial DNA COI sequences. Therefore, we use the Korean name, “Hwang-jul-na-bi-go-gi” for C. vagabundus proposed by Kim et al. (2020).

A eukaryotic marine microalga was isolated from Jungmun Saekdal Beach, Jeju Island, Korea and an integrated approach, including molecular phylogeny and morphology, was used to determine its taxonomical status. Molecular phylogenetic evidence inferred from the small subunit (SSU) 18S rRNA sequence and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) secondary structure analysis clearly showed that the isolate belonged to the recently described species, Jaagichlorella roystonensis. Distinctive morphological keys of the species were also observed by light microscopy and scanning/ transmission electron microscopy (S/TEM). In this study, a Korean marine J. roystonensis species was described for the first time and was subsequently added to the national culture collections in Korea.

본 연구를 통해 Macrobathra속이 우리나라에서는 처음으로 기록되며, 본 속에 속하는 1종(M. quercea Moriuti, 1973)을 우리나라에서는 처음으로 보고한다. 본 종의 정확한 분류 동정을 위해 외부형태학적 특징을 검경 및 도해하고, 성충 및 생식기 사진, 분포정보 및 기주식물 등의 정보를 제시하였다.

한국산 개미과 배굽은침개미아과의 미기록종인 Discothyrea sauteri Forel을 보고한다. 종에 대한 형질과 사진, 한국산 배굽은침개미아과 속 검색표를 제공한다.

A eukaryotic microalga was isolated from seawater in Janghang Harbor, Korea and its morphological, molecular, and physiological characteristics were investigated. Due to its simple morphology, no distinctive characters were found by morphological observation, such as light microscope or scanning/transmission electron microscopy (S/ TEM). However, molecular phylogenetic evidence inferred from the concatenated small subunit (SSU) 18S rRNA and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence data indicated that the isolate belonged to the newly described Micractinium singularis. Furthermore, it was clustered with Antarctic Micractinium strains and it also showed a psychrotolerant property, surviving at temperatures as low as 5°C. However, its optimal growth temperatures range from 15°C to 25°C, indicating that this microalga is a mesophile. Additionally, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis showed that the isolate was rich in nutritionally important omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid, and high-performance liquid chromatography analysis (HPLC) revealed that the high-value antioxidant lutein was biosynthesized as an accessory pigment by this microalga, with glucose as the major monosaccharide. Therefore, in this study, a Korean marine M. singularis species was discovered, characterized, and described. It was subsequently added to the national culture collections.

Chlorella gloriosa (Chlorellaceae, Trebouxiophyceae) was isolated from seawater off the coast of the Dokdo Islands in Korea. An axenic culture was established using the streak-plate method on f/2 agar media supplemented with antibiotics, allowing identification of the isolate by morphological, molecular, and physiological analyses. The morphological characteristics observed by light and electron microscopy revealed typical morphologies of C. gloriosa species. The molecular phylogenetic inference drawn from the small-subunit 18S rRNA sequence verified that the microalgal strain belongs to C. gloriosa. Additionally, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis showed that the isolate was rich in nutritionally important omega-3 and -6 polyunsaturated fatty acids and high-performance liquid chromatography analysis revealed that the high-value antioxidants lutein and violaxanthin were biosynthesized as accessory pigments by this microalga, with arabinose, galactose, and glucose as the major monosaccharides. Therefore, in this study, a Korean marine C. gloriosa species was discovered, characterized, and described, and subsequently added to the national culture collection.