Voltinism could be used as an index assessing the global warming effects on insect phenology. In many cases, however, the voltinism could not be defined explicitly as a numerical scale especially when it should be calculated over the various climatic conditions. In addition, calculation of insect voltinism is much difficult when only a small portion of its population emerge as adults in the late season. In this study, a degreeday model, a simplified phenology model and a population model for the peach fruit moth, Carposina sasakii, were used to predict their voltinism. To evaluate the model performance, we assumed a continuously host providing system. Daily maximum and minimum temperatures in Suwon in 2015, and 2℃ increase in the daily maximum and minimum temperatures were used to describe current and future climate conditions, respectively. The merits and limits for three models for evaluating insect voltinism are discussed.

The cabbage whitefly Aleyrodes proletella L. (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) is a specialized insect that uses its mouthparts(stylets) to feed from the phloem of its host plants, which are found among the Brassicaceae and Asteraceae. Female whiteflies lay their eggs in circular patterns embedded in wax on the underside of the leaves. These were collected from the leaf of triangular lettuce, Crepidiastrum sonchifolium throughout the whole Chungnam province, 2013. We reared the cabbage whitefly on the egg-plant. The elongate-oval eggs are laid upright in a semicircle on the underside of Brassica leaves but didn’t in lab. Initially pale and translucent, the eggs become darker. Nymphs are scale-like and covered with wax; their color is white with two yellow spots on the abdomen. On the dorsal surface of the last abdomial segment is the vasiform orifice charactersitic of the group. The fourth instar is called the “pupa”. The pupa is thicker, immobile, and pale in color with red eyes. The adults are tiny, about 1.5 mm long, and moth-like. The head and thorax are dark. The abdomen is yellow and covered by a conspicuous white waxy layer. The forewings have a faint, dark bar. If disturbed, the adults fly readily. The duration of development of immature stages of Aleyrodes proletella decreased with increase in temperature, the mortality was higher below 16 ℃ and above 28 ℃.

Insect chitinases (CHTs) belong to family 18 glycosylhydrolases and hydrolyze chitin by an endo-type manner. One of the functions of CHTs is in the turnover of chitin-containing extracellular matrices such as the cuticle and peritrophic matrix of the midgut. There are a large number of genes encoding CHT-like proteins in insects, and they have been classified into eleven groups based on phylogenetic analysis. We have investigated functions of a group III chitinase in Tribolium castaneum (TcCHT7) containing a predicted transmembrane segment in N-terminal region. Recombinant TcCHT7 exhibits chitinolytic activity against CM-Chitin-RBV. Immunohistochemical analysis shows that TcCHT7 is localized in newly formed procuticle in elytral cuticles, suggesting that TcCHT7 is released from the plasma membrane of underlying epidermal cells. TcCHT7-deficient pupae and adults fail to undergo wing-expansion and abdominal contraction. In addition, cuticular chitin accumulates in the inner region of the procuticle where disorganized horizontal laminae and pore canals are evident. These results demonstrate that TcCHT7 plays a critical role in the formation of the rigid and soft cuticles of the beetle. This work was supported by NRFs (NRF-2015 R1A2A2A01006614).

Oxalic acid has a nematicidal activity against the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita. High producer of oxalic acid was isolated, and then named as Aspergillus niger F22. Oxalic acid production was investigated under various temperatures from 20 – 33oC and rotational speeds in 5 L jar fermenters. Yield of oxalic acid increased with decreasing temperature. The highest yield was obtained at 23oC, showing the yield of oxalic acid of 8.7 g/L, whereas oxalic acid production was least at 33oC. At 20oC, the yield was lower than that of 23oC. At a rotational speed of 300 rpm, serious oxygen depletion was present from 48 - 72 h, resulting in low productivity of 26.2 mg /L·h. When a rotational speed was set at 600 rpm, dissolved oxygen tension was over 40% and oxalic acid production increased up to approximately 55%. Viscosity during the culture differed with temperatures. Viscosity increased with the increment of temperatures. When A. niger F22 was cultured at 23oC, viscosity was 810 cP, which was favorable for oxalic acid production.

Exportation of sweet persimmon has been grown up recently, but the growth was accumulated because of quarantine and shelf life issues. Herein, we've investigated the concurrent processing of ethyl formate (EtF), a MeBr alternative quarantine fumigant, and 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP), an anti-ethylene compound, on sweet persimmon and suggested proper fumigation methods. An important quarantine pest, Tetranychus urticae, was inoculated on sweet persimmon, and then 70 g m-3 of ethyl formate has been fumigated for 6 h before and after 1 ppm of 1-MCP treatment for 24 h at 5°C condition. These concurrent processing showed the promise that efficacy of EtF was enough to meet quarantine guideline and shelf life of fruits was extended in terms of the hardness, surface color and sugar contents when treated fruits were stored for four weeks at 5°C.

Electrolysis techniques(electrokinetic) generally have been used mainly to remove the inorganic salts like Cu, Pb etc. in the soil. In the organic living, the effects of electrolysis has a direct impact on survival by dissociation of the ions inside the cell and accumulation of energy within cells. In this study, It was evaluated for susceptibility to nematodes(Meloidgyne javanica, Pratylenchus coffeae) in accordance with the voltage, current and electrolyte concentration. Using the electrolytic bath and electrolyte material(TAE buffer, Nacl), the susceptibility of nematodes was evaluated in the range of 30 ~ 60V, 0.02 ~ 0.77A. Unusually, the high voltage and amperage did not increase the death rate of nematodes and the most resistant stage was not clear because sensitivity of each stage could not be distinguished. In 30V 0.52A, 0.70A, 0.72A, M. javanica eggs processed for 10 minutes did not hatch at all. In 30V 0.58A, M. javanica juveniles processed for 5 minutes were showed 100% mortality and in 30V 0.77A, P. coffeae juveniles processed for 5 minutes were showed highest sensitivity compared to other treatment range.

In Korea, two sawyer beetle species belonging to genus Monochamus are vectors that transmits the pine wood nematode. In this study, we surveyed the seasonal change of spatiotemporal distribution of Monochamus alternatus and Monochamus saltuarius. A total of 360 multi-funnel traps were placed in three different regions, such as Gapyeong, Yeongdeok, and Jeju. In M. saltuarius, we collected 1,496 individuals and 709 individuals in Gapyeong and Yeongdeok, respectively, and in M. alternatus 348 individuals and 113 individuals were collected in Jeju and Yeongdeok, respectively. We analysed their patterns in spatiotemporal distribution using by global spatial autocorrelation. In M. alternatus, spatially clustering on Jeju was observed in July and August, and M. saltuarius in a site of Gapyeong was clustered. These spatiotemporal distributions of two Monochamus species may be probably related to their behavior, such as maturation feeding and dead tree searching.

The acaricidal activity of Asarum heterotropoides root-derived principles, methyleugenol, safrole, 3-carene, α-asarone, pentadecane and A. heterotropoides root steam distillate constituents was tested against poultry red mites Dermanyssus gallinae (De Geer). All active principles were identified by spectroscopic analysis. Results were compared with those of two conventional acaricides, benzyl benzoate and N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide (DEET). Methyleugenol (24 h LC50 = 0.57 μg/cm2) and safrole (24 h LC50 = 8.54 μg/cm2) were the most toxic compounds toward D. gallinae, followed by 3,4,5-trimethoxytoluene, 3,5-dimethoxytoluene, estragole, α-terpineol, verbenone, eucarvone, linalool, and terpinen-4-ol (LC50 = 15.65–27.88 μg/cm2). Methyleugenol was 16.7× and 11.0× more toxic than benzyl benzoate (LC50 = 9.52 μg/cm2) and DEET (LC50 = 6.28 μg/cm2), respectively; safrole was 1.1× and 0.73× more toxic. Asarum heterotropoides root-derived materials, particularly methyleugenol and safrole, merit further study as potential acaricides. Global efforts to reduce the level of highly toxic synthetic acaricides in indoor environments justify further studies on A. heterotropoides root extract and steam distillate preparations containing the active constituents described as potential contact-action fumigants for the control of mites.

The lesser paper wasp, Parapolybia varia, belongs to large subfamily Polistinae and is distributed in Middle East, the Indo-Papuan region and East Asia. P. varia is known to become aggressive when disturbed for defending their colonies, resulting in fatal envenomation. Vespid chemotactic peptide (VCP) and vespakinin have recently been determined to be the top two genes most abundantly transcribed in venom glands of P. varia. To investigate the pharmacological and toxicological properties of VCP and vespakinin, their antitumor, antimicrobial, and cytotoxic activities were evaluated. VCP exhibited a significantly high antitumor activity against ovarian tumor cell SK-OV-3 at 100 M. VCP also showed higher hemolytic activity than vespakinin. Antimicrobial activity was only observed with VCP against yeast Candida albicans at 1 mM. Since VCP showed a relatively low hemolytic activity but a considerable level of antitumor activity, it has further merits to be exploited as a potential antitumor agent with reduced side effects on normal cells.

Repetitive applications of drugs to tumor tissues and animals induced resistance and/or tolerances which caused severe problem in agriculture and medicine. However, we still do not clearly understand the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying development of resistance and tolerance to chemicals. Drosophila is one of the most widely used model for studying fundamental phenomena in sciences using its available genetic and genomic resources. To investigate unknown molecular and cellular basis of drug resistance development, we applied Drosophila with two different concentrations of a chemical after treating them with Ethyl methanesulfonate mutatgenesis. We found that flies treating with two different concentration of chemicals showed different susceptibility to a chemical. We have established two different lines showing different susceptibility to a chemical. We will use these lines to compare any differences in mRNA expression profiling and enzyme activities. (This work was supported by project title: Investigation on cross drug resistance mechanisms using Drosophila as a model (PJ010821032016) from Rural Development Administration).

We investigated unknown in vivo functions of Torsin by using Drosophila as a model. Downregulation of Drosophila Torsin (DTor) by DTor specific inhibitory double-stranded RNA (RNAi) induced abnormal locomotor behavior and increased susceptibility to H2O2. In addition, altered expression of DTor significantly increased the numbers of synaptic boutons. One of important biochemical consequence of DTor-RNAi expression in fly brains was up-regulation of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH). Altered expression of ADH has also been reported in Drosophila Fragile-X mental retardation protein (DFMRP) mutant flies. Interestingly, expression of DFMRP was altered in DTor mutant flies, and DTor and DFMRP were present in the same protein complexes. In addition, DTor and DFMRP immunoreactivities were partially colocalized in several cellular organelles in larval muscles. Furthermore, there were no significant differences between synaptic morphologies of dfmrp null mutants and dfmrp mutants expressing DTor-RNAi. Taken together, our evidences suggested that DTor and DFMRP might be present in the same signaling pathway regulating synaptic plasticity. (This work was supported bythe basic science research program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (No. 2015R1D1A3A01018497)

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an age-related neurodegenerative disease characterized by extensive loss of synaptic connections, neuronal death, and the presence of extracellular amyloid plaques and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles (iNFTs). The extracellular amlyoid plaques are mainly composed of the amyloid beta (Aβ) peptide which formed by proteolytic processing of the amyloid precursor protein (APP). Aβ42peptide oligomerizes, is neurotoxic and readily forms aggregates that accumulate in the brain to form plaques. These oligomers are thought to cause inflammation, oxidative stress and apoptosis, thereby resulting in synaptic and neuronal loss. Although AD is neurodegenerative disorder, current therapies designed to treat it still demonstrate limited efficacy. Silkworm (Bombyx mori) has long been used as food and medicine in Asian countries which is reputed for the treatment of numerous neurological disorders including AD. In this study, we use Drosophila melanogaster which is expressed the human AD-associated protein APP695, BACE and MAPT as the model and initially investigate whether silkworm powder food has positive effect on flies expressing Alzheimer’s status as well as makes the improvement in disease condition by using this AD fly model (This work was carried out with the support of the Cooperative Research Program for Agriculture Science & Technology Development (Project title: Elucidation the health improvement effects of boiled silk worm larvae, Project No: PJ01082801) Rural Development Administration)

Exposure to several common acting through oxidation stress environmental toxins has been shown to be associated with Parkinson’s disease (PD). One recently identified inherited Parkinson’s disease (PD) gene, DJ-1, may have a role in protection from oxidative stress, thus potentially linking a genetic cause with critical environmental risk factors [1]. In the present study, initially we assessed the antioxidant activity of Silk Worm Powder (SWP) in selected chemical systems and further explored the efficacy of SWP in Drosophila lacking DJ-1 function (This work was carried out with the support of the Cooperative Research Program for Agriculture Science & Technology Development (Project title: Elucidation the health improvement effects of boiled silk worm larvae, Project No: PJ01082801) Rural Development Administration).

In this study, a genus Bruandella Tutt with B. niphonica (Hori, 1926) is reported for the first time from Korea. This study is aimed to report a newly recorded genus and species. All available information for the species including the distributional ranges and host plants were presented in this study. Also the larval characteristics and DNA barcode analysis for the species are provided.

Chitin deacetylases (CDAs) are chitin-modifying enzymes that deacetylate chitin to form chitosan. In insects, this modification may contribute to the affinity and/or cross-linking of chitin/chitosan-like polysaccharides for a variety of structural proteins that may lead to diverse mechanical properties of the cuticle. DmCDA1 (serpentine) and DmCDA2 (vermiform) from Drosophila melanogaster play roles in development and morphology of embryonic tracheal tubes. We previously reported the functional importance of TcCDA1 and TcCDA2 orthologs to DmCDA1 and DmCDA2 from Tribolium castaneum, in molting, morphology of cuticle, and movement of legs. In this study, we further analyze ultrastructural defects of the cuticles and leg joints in TcCDA1- and TcCDA2-deficient insects. Loss of function of TcCDA1 and TcCDA2 causes disorganized chitinous horizontal laminae and vertical pore canals of rigid adult cuticle (e.g. elytron). Both proteins are also required for laminal organization in soft cuticle (e.g. hindwing). Morphological analysis of TcCDA1- and TcCDA2A-deficient adult revealed that ruptured tendons between femur and tibia cause the defects in movement of the leg joint. This work was supported by NRF (NRF-2015R1A2A2A01006614).

Pigmentation or melanization is an important physiological event in insects and is involved in cuticle tanning, wound healing and encapsulation as a defensive response. Dopachrome-conversion enzyme (DCE, Yellow) significantly accelerates the melanization of the chorion in mosquito eggs. In this study, we demonstrated functional importance of two ovary-specific yellow genes, AalY-g and AalY-g2, in the Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus. The transcripts of both genes were detected in the ovary of adult females only 48-72 h after blood feeding. RNAi for AalY-g or AalY-g2 had no effect on fecundity. However, the outermost colorless exochorion of the eggs was fragile and partially peeled off, and initial melanization of the endochorion was significantly delayed. Eggs from control females exhibited high desiccation resistance, whereas those from dsAalY-g- or dsAalY-g2-treated females were collapsed (50-80%) under the air-dry condition. Ultrastructural analysis revealed abnormal morphology of the endochorion and vitelline membrane in the AalY-g and AalY-g2-deficient eggshell. These results indicate that AalY-g and AalY-g2 are critical for integrity and desiccation resistance of the Ae. albopictus eggs. This work was supported by NRFs (NRF-2015R1A6A3A04060323).

The genus Macrolygus Yasunaga, 1992 is the genus includes two Asian species. This genus described by Yasunaga at 1992, with a single type species, M. viridulus. Thereafter, Zheng and Lu (2002) reported the second species, M. torreyae from China. In this poster, We report M. viridulus for the first time from Korea.

In every summer, cicadas emerge and become numerically and ecologically dominant in Korean penninsula. Especially, cicada emergence is affected by the environmental factors. In order to evaluate the effect of environmental factors in cicada species, we analyzed the temporal changes in cicada exuviae based on meteorological and non-meteorological factors such as artificial light intensity and habitat characters on urban park area surrounded by residential houses. Combined multivariate analyses with a cluster analysis and a principal component analysis (PCA) were conducted. Samples were classified into 3 different cluster based on differences of meteorological factors such as temperature and humidity. Moreover, Random Forest model (RF) showed a high predictability of daily mean temperature on species peak abundance. These results provide a strong evidence that meteorological factors have significant effects on cicada emergences. Regarding the non-meteorological factors, we found no relationship in cicada emergence.

The brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), Halyomorpha halys (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), is an invasive insect pest from Eastern Asia. Since its invasion into North America during the late 1990s, frequent outbreaks of BMSB have caused considerable economic damage to orchards, field crops, and vegetables. Currently, management practices in the United States rely on insecticides to control BMSB. Therefore, identification of potential natural enemies of BMSB is crucial to justify integrated pest management (IPM). We investigated the viability of using the spined soldier bug, Podisus maculiventris (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), as a potential biological control agent for BMSB. In this study, we used choice and non-choice tests to determine which life stages of the spined soldier bug can effectively kill specific stages of BMSB using videography. Prey searching and feeding behavior of the spined soldier bug and defensive behavior of BMSB were analyzed. Our study showed that BMSB eggs and nymphs attacked by the spined soldier bug had a mortality rate of 100%. We also observed that all first instar BMSB remained on the egg cluster allowing the spined soldier bug to attack and kill many BMSB during one feeding session. The results indicate that the spined soldier bug has the potential for killing BMSB

Recently, many habitat corridors have been constructed in Korea, but the effect of corridor types, i.e. overpasses and underpasses, on arthropods was poorly examined. Therefore, we compared the effect of habitat corridor types in terms of abundance, species richness, and composition of carabid beetles. As a result, 3,737 ground beetles belonging to 60 species were collected by pitfall trapping across the northwestern forest–habitat corridor–southeastern forest transects in 2015. Abundance and species richness of total carabid beetles in underpasses were significantly lower than overpasses. And species composition of underpasses corridors was significantly different compared to other habitats, such as overpasses and forests. Although more samples are needed to understand the effect of corridor types, the current underpasses may be unfriendly structures to movement of ground dwelling arthropods as well as carabid beetles.