We report the structural, morphological and magnetic properties of the Ni70Mn30 alloy prepared by Planetary Ball Mill method. Keeping the milling time constant for 30 h, the effect of different ball milling speeds on the synthesis and magnetic properties of the samples was thoroughly investigated. A remarkable variation in the morphology and average particle size was observed with the increase in milling speed. For the samples ball milled at 200 and 300 rpm, the average particle size and hence magnetization were decreased due to the increased lattice strain, distortion and surface effects which became prominent due to the increase in the thickness of the outer magnetically dead layer. For the samples ball milled at 400, 500 and 600 rpm however, the average particle size and hence magnetization were increased. This increased magnetization was attributed to the reduced surface area to volume ratio that ultimately led to the enhanced ferromagnetic interactions. The maximum saturation magnetization (75 emu/g at 1 T applied field) observed for the sample ball milled at 600 rpm and the low value of coercivity makes this material useful as soft magnetic material.

Insect-killing fungi have high potential in pest management. A deeper insight into the fungal genes at the whole genome level is necessary to understand the inter-species or intra-species genetic diversity of fungal genes, and to select excellent isolates. In this work, we conducted a whole genome sequencing of Beauveria bassiana (Bb) JEF-007 and characterized pathogenesis-related features and compared with other isolates including Bb ARSEF2860. A large number of Bb JEF-007 genes showed high identity with Bb ARSEF2860, but some genes showed moderate or low identity. The two Bb isolates showed a significant difference in vegetative growth, antibiotic-susceptibility, and virulence against Tenebrio molitor larvae. When highly identical genes between the two Bb isolates were subjected to real-time PCR, their transcription levels were different, particularly in heat shock protein 30 (hsp30) gene which is related to conidial thermotolerance. In several B. bassiana isolates, chitinases and trypsin-like protease genes involved in pathogenesis were highly conserved, but other genes showed noticeable sequence variation within the same species. Given the transcriptional and genetic diversity in B. bassiana, a selection of virulent isolates with industrial advantages is a pre-requisite, and this genetic approach could support the development of excellent biopesticides with intellectual property protection.

Insect peptides have been extensively studied due to beneficial effects in the treatment of infectious diseases. Melittin, a fundamental component of honeybee venom produced by European honeybee Apis mellifera, has applied to prevent various inflammatory disease and bacterial infections in human. However, the therapeutic application of melittin is limited due to its low stability, hemolytic activity and expensive manufacturing costs. In this study, we aimed to discovery unknown peptides from the Apis mellifera and evaluate its antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli KACC 10005. A total 15,853 peptide sequences were diciphered using Illumina HiSeq 2500 next-generation sequencing (NGS) platform and analyzed based on the Apis mellifera official Gene Set Version 3.2 (amel_OGSv3.2) and the Collection of Anti-Microbial Peptides (CAMPR3) database. All the peptide sequences and annotation data sets were combined and sorted by physicochemical features of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), such as short peptide length <=50, positive charge, isoelectric point (8.0<=pl<=12), and aggregation propensity (in-vitro: <=500, in-vivo: –40<= Na4vSS <=60). Among the screened peptides, four unknown peptide candidates, named AMP1-4, were chemically synthesized and tested for antimicrobial activity in comparison with a reference peptide, melittin. Inhibition of bacterial growth was observed in the AMP4 treated group from 6 hours to 48 hours post-treatment against E. coli. These results suggest that honeybee-derived peptide sequences can be applied as natural resources to acquire novel AMPs and the peptide sequences derived parameters are enough to recognize antibacterial peptides. In addition, the selected novel peptide candidate, AMP4, has antibacterial activity.

Whitefly (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) pests, including the tobacco whitefly, Bemisia tabaci, and the greenhouse whitefly, Trialeurodes vaporariorum, are economically important in agriculture. With the annual growth of the domestic fresh fruit export market, various quarantine treatment methods are being used to export strawberries of better quality. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effects of gamma rays on the development and reproductive sterility of B. tabaci and T. vaporariorum. In both species, the eggs were completely inhibited from hatching at 50 Gy, and the emergence of 3rd instar nymphs was completely suppressed at 150 Gy. Some adult B. tabaci and T. vaporariorum spawning occurred at 100 Gy and 70 Gy, respectively; however, at these irradiation levels, F1 hatchability was completely inhibited. Dosimetry results showed that the penetrating power of gamma ray in the strawberry-filled box was the lowest at the mid-box position. Therefore, B. tabaci and T. vaporariorum were placed in the middle of the strawberry-filled box and irradiated. A gamma-ray irradiation of 100 Gy suppressed the development and reproduction of eggs and adults in both B. tabaci and T. vaporariorum. However, the development of 3rd instar nymphs was inhibited at 300 Gy for B. tabaci and 200 Gy for T. vaporariorum. Our data suggest that at least 300 Gy should be used for the control of these two types of whitefly for strawberry export.

Acaricidal activities of 63 commecial pesticides against the longhorned tick, H. logicornis were investigated. Twenty-two pesticides (4 cabamates, 5 organophophates, 9 pyrethroids, 1 octopamine receptor agonists, 1 diamides, and 1 unknown) against adults H. logicornis showed >80% mortalities after 72 h of treatment. The residual effect of 22 pesticides was investigated at 1, 2, 3, 7, and 10 day intervals on grass for H. logicornis adults and nymphs. Eight and twenty pesticides in H. logicornis adults and nymphs showed >80% acaricidal activity at 3 days after the treatment, respectively. 7 days after the treatment, H. logicornis adults showed <60% acaricidal activity in all pesticides, but 7 pesticides (benfuracarb, gamma cyhalothrin, cypermethrin, lammda cyhalothrin, fenvalerate, cyantraniliprole, fluxametamide) showed >80% acaricidal activity in nymphs. all pesticides exhibited <60% acaricidal activity after 10 days of treatment both adults and mymphs, except benfuracarb showed 96.7% mortality in H. logicornis nymph.

Heamaphysalis longicornis is a major vector for Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (SFTS) virus and the density of the vector has been increasing because of the climate change. The incidence of fatalities due to SFTS is increasing every year. In this study, to evaluate the SFTS transmission by ticks, the density of ticks mediating SFTS was monitored. Tick was collected every month from four different sites (Grass land, Mountain path, Grave, Copse) in Andong with the traps containing dry ice as CO2 attractants. Among 2,572 ticks of 3 species; H. longicornis, H. flava, and Ixodes nipponensis were most abundantly collected from April to August. H. longicornis is the richest species (92.8%), whereas Ixodes nipponensis was the least species (0.8%). The 54.5% of the sample were nymph stage and female/male ratio was 64.3%. According to the pathogene analysis, SFTS virus was detected from H. longicornis adult and larvae stages collected in July and August. In July samples, SFTS virus was detected only from grassland site, but the virus was observed in the sample from all four sites in August. For effective prevention of SFTS, the tick density should be continuously monitored based on the onset time of SFTS with the consideration of habitate, habit & life history of ticks.

형질전환작물(Living Genetically Modified Organism; LMO)은 작물을 소비하는 생물의 문제와 더불어 농업생태계에 어떠한 영향을 미치는 지가 주요 관심사로 부각되고 있다. 다년간 형질전환작물이 재배되었던 지역과 비변형 작물 재배지역의 곤충상을 조사하는 것은 각 재배지역의 환경변화를 간접적으로 알 수 있으며, 이를 통해 환경위해성을 평가할 수 있다. 본 연구에서는 2018년 7월부터 같은 해 9월까지 경상남도 사천에 위치한 벼 재배지에서 내충성유전자 변형벼와 일반벼의 발달시기별 곤충상을 조사하고 종다양도 지수, 종균등도 지수, 종풍부도 및 유사도 분석을 포함한 군집분석을 실시하여 유전자변형작물의 환경 및 생태계 위험도 평가를 위한 기초정보를 제공한다.

비래해충은 중국에서 제트기류를 타고 유입하여 피해를 일으키는 해충으로 애멸구를 제외한 나머지 것들의 월동은 불가능 한 것으로 알려져 있다. 기후변화는 이러한 비 월동개체군의 월동 가능성 및 토착화 가능성을 내포하고 있으므로, 이에 대비하여 비래해충의 피해가 있는 주 재배지별 비래해충의 발생과 유입특성 파악을 위한 실태조사가 절실하다. 본 연구에서는 전라북도 3개의 시군, 전라남도 4개의 시군을 선정하여 비래해충에 대한 실태조사를 진행하였다. 이 중 멸구류 (벼멸구(Nilaparvata lugens), 애멸구(Laodelphax striatellus), 흰등멸구(Sogatella furcifera))는 육안조사, 포충망조사, 끈끈이 트랩을 이용하였고, 나방 두 종류(멸강나방(Mythimna separata), 혹명나방(Cnaphalocrocis medinalis))는 종 특이적 페로몬을 설치하여 조사하였다.

The hypopharyngeal gland (HPG) of the honeybee worker produces royal jelly (RJ) and has a developmental cycle closely related to the division of labor. In this study, we investigated to compare the HPG acini diameter of differently aged worker bees with high royal jelly producing colony (HRC) or less producing colony (LRC). Additionally, we also evaluated whether the fresh weight of the head is a reliable indicator of the developmental status of HPG. The HRC showed a significantly higher RJ production about two-times as compared with those of the LRC. We measured the HG-diameters on days 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15. The microscopic analysis revealed that the acini size of the HRC was significantly larger than the LRC. In addition, the acini diameter of HRC was 15% longer than the LRC on the first day after emerging. It was shown that the fastest development during 3 days which is preparing for nurse the brood. The HPG acini diameters increased in both colonies in a similar fashion until day 12 and then decreased. We also compared the fresh head weight of the experimental colonies, differences were similar to the development of HPG. Therefore, high royal jelly production may have a positive correlation between HPG acini size and the fresh head weight.

The mandible character of the Lucanidae is vary by considering of developmental difference in male individual specimen. Especially, species of Genus Cyclommatus Parry, 1862 presents strong mandibular allometry. In this research, The species group which related to Cyclommatus montanellus Möllenkamp, 1904 has been evaluated for the first time in this research with inner teeth composition and positioning to establish clear taxonomic key to each species.

The continuous emergence of chemical-mediated residual toxicity and insect resistance have enforced the regulation of synthetic pesticides. Synthetic pesticides with novel mode of actions could be developed to overcome these issues, but as an alternative biopesticides with more efficacious control activity could be developed by the advanced technology. In pest management, entomopathogenic fungi have high potential in reducing pest population to an economic threshold, and some of isolates have been commercialized. However still a novel application strategy needs to be considered for successful industrialization. An insight on fungal genes in whole genome and transcriptome levels is necessary to understand the role of genes in pathogenesis and genetic diversity of fungal genes. Herein, we have identified the genetic differences of entomopathogenic fungi using whole genome sequencing of Beauveria bassiana (Bb) and tried to understand the interaction between fungus and insect using RNA-seq. We have obtained the whole genome sequence of Bb JEF-007 using PacBio sequencing technology and compared the transcriptomes of Bb JEF-007 and bean bug, Riptortus pedestris before and after the fungal infection using Hiseq 2000 system.

To identify the venom components and their expression patterns of some Aculeata bees/wasps, venom gland-specific transcriptome analysis was conducted. FPKM values were normalized with the average of the transcription level of reference gene (a-tubulin). Common components in both solitary and social wasp venoms include hyaluronidase, phospholipase A2, metalloendopeptidase, etc. Although it has been expected that more diverse bioactive components with the functions of prey inactivation and physiology manipulation are present in solitary wasps, the information on venom compositions of solitary wasps obtained in this study was not sufficient to generalizae this notion. Nevertheless, some neurotoxic peptides (e.g., pompilidotoxin and dendrotoxin-like peptide) and proteins (e.g., insuline-like peptide binding protein) appear to be specific to solitary wasp venom. In contrast, several proteins, such as venom allergen 5 protein, venom acid phosphatase, and various phospholipases, appear to be relatively more abundant in social wasp venom. In the venom gland trancsriptome of bumblebees, major allergens or pain producing factors were barely identified, implying that bumblebee venoms are relatively less toxic than those of social or solitary wasps.

Longhorned tick, Haemaphysalis longicornis (Ixodida: Ixodidae) is one of the vectors of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) in human. The tick occurs in mostly grass fields, and the use of pyrethroid insecticides induced pest resistance and environmental residual toxicity. Particularly the use of chemicals near residential areas where persons live become a big issue, so environmentally safe control agents need to be considered. Here in this work, our interest was given to the selection of highly virulent fungi against H. longicornis. A total of 101 fungal pathogens collected from mountainous areas were assayed by a dipping the nymph stage of ticks into a conidial suspension (1×107conidia/ml). Interestingly among several species, one species showed high virulence and mycosis were observed in 7-15 days. Most of the selected isolates produced a large amount of conidia in Italian millet, rice and millet with thermotolerance at 40-45°C. Based on these results, we selected a couple of isolates with high virulence against H. longicornis and they could be used for the control of the ticks after the set-up of a practical application strategy in fields by optimizing fungal colonization in soil and phyllosphere.

Thrips is one of the serious insect pests in many economic crops, in which general managements rely mainly on chemical insecticides. However, the overuse of chemicals led to the development of insect resistance and environmental residual issues. Therefore, thrips management requires the consideration of alternative strategies which are less harmful to the environment and working on different target points. In this work, we isolated entomopathogenic fungi from soil, and identified them with morphological and molecular biology methods, followed by a preliminary virulence assay against Tenebrio molitor larvae. Selected fungal isolates were adjusted to 1×107 conidia/ml for an indoor virulence assay against thrips adults, and highly virulent isolates were added to a thrip-pathogenic fungal library. Biological characteristics of efficacious isolates were investigated comparing to a previously commercialized fungal isolate. This entomopathogenic fungal library could be used as a valuable resource for developing effective strains to control thrips in agricultural fields.

Entomopathogenic fungi have been known as promising candidates for biological control of insect pests. Recently, researchers consider the fungal thermotolerance in formulations and field applications. In this study, we investigated the production of thermotolerant Isaria javanica and I.fumosorosea conidia through grain-based solid cultures and exposure to light stress. As results, of the ten grain substrates, Italian millet, rice, perilla seed and sesame, rice, sorghum produced highly thermotolerant conidia in the strains. The two strains were exposed to a light stress and showed enhanced thermal stability compared to control, when exposed to 45°C for 2 hours. This work suggests that heatresistant entomopathogenic fungal conidia can be produced by grainbased solid cultures and exposure to light stress.