독도는 대한민국 최동단에 위치한 화산섬으로서 독특한 기후와 생태계를 이룬다. 독도에 대한 생물다양성 연구가 진행되어 왔지만, 토양의 절지동물은 거의 조사된 바가 없다. 본 연구에서는 2023-2024년도에 독도에서 토양을 채취하여 Berlese-Tullgren 방법으로 토양응애를 분리하였 다. 종 동정을 위하여 형태학적 특징과 미토콘드리아 cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) 유전자 염기서열 분석한 결과 국내 미기록종인 Macrocheles penicilliger (Berlese, 1904)으로 나타났다. 독도의 M. penicilliger의 흉판모 3쌍은 기존 문헌의 묘사된 것과 달리 첫째쌍은 말단이 깃털 형태이지만, 둘째 및 셋째쌍은 단순한 형태이었다. 또한, 동도와 서도에서 채집한 개체들의 COI 서열은 2.43% 차이가 있었으며 특히 서도 개체의 COI 염기서열은 벨기에 샘플과 100% 일치했다. 본 연구결과는 M. penicilliger의 유전적 다양성을 밝혔으며 독도에 분포한 원인으로서 철새의 둥 지에 서식하는 곤충들에 편승하여 이동하는 행동과 관계 있을 것이라고 추측한다.

The Dokdo islands are volcanic islands with a unique climate and ecosystem and represent the easternmost land area of the Republic of Korea. Although biodiversity studies have been conducted in Dokdo, soil arthropods have rarely been investigated. In this study, we collected soil from both of the main islands of Dokdo in 2023 and 2024 and isolated soil mites using the Berlese–Tullgren method. For species identification, morphological features and mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene sequences were analyzed, revealing the presence of Macrocheles penicilliger (Berlese, 1904), a previously unrecorded species in Korea. Morphological comparisons showed that three pairs of the sternal setae of M. penicilliger from Dokdo differed from those in the described literature in that the first pair was plumose distally, while the second and third pairs were simple. In addition, the COI sequences of individuals collected from Dongdo (East island) and Seodo (West island) of Dokdo differed by 2.43%, and the sequence of the Seodo individual was 100% identical to those from Belgian samples. These findings reveal the genetic diversity of M. penicilliger in Dokdo and suggest that its distribution on the islands may be related to its phoretic behavior, which is associated with insects inhabiting the nests of migratory birds.

ABSTRACT
초록
Materials and Methods
    Sample collection
    Morphological identification
    DNA extraction and PCR amplification
    DNA sequence assembly and phylogenetic analyses
Results
    Systematic accounts
    Description of the Korean specimens
    Molecular analyses
Discussion
Acknowledgments
Supplementary Information
Statements for Authorship Position & Contrition
Literature Cited

• Sehyeon Lim(Department of Plant Medicine, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Korea) | 임세현 (경북대학교 식물의학과)
• Kyeong-Yeoll Lee(Department of Plant Medicine, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Korea, Research Institute for Dok-do and Ulleung-do Island, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Korea, Institute of Plant Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Korea) | 이경열 (경북대학교 식물의학과, 경북대학교 울릉도독도연구소, 경북대학교 식물의학연구소) Corresponding author
• Hwalsu Hwang(Research Institute for Dok-do and Ulleung-do Island, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Korea) | 황활수 (경북대학교 울릉도독도연구소)
• Seoyoung Keum(Silkworm and Insect Management Center, Agricultural Resource Management Institute, Sangju 37110, Korea) | 금서영 (경상북도농업자원관리원 잠사곤충사업장)