The purpose of this study was to investigate the toxic effects of zinc in collembolan Paronychiurus kimi at the individual (survival and juvenile production) and population (population growth and age structure) levels after 28 days of exposure in artificially spiked soil. These toxic effects were interpreted in conjunction with the internal zinc concentrations in P. kimi. The EC50 value for juvenile production based on the total zinc concentration was 457 mg Zn kg-1 dry soil, while the LC50 value for adult survival and ri=0 value for population growth were within the same order of magnitude (2,623 and 1,637 mg Zn kg-1 dry soil, respectively). Significant differences in adult survival, juvenile production, and population growth compared with the control group were found at concentrations of 1,500, 375, and 375 mg Zn kg-1 dry or higher, respectively, whereas significant differences in the age structure, determined by the proportion of each age group in the population, were observed in all treatment groups. It appeared that the internal zinc level in P. kimi was regulated to some extent at soil zinc concentrations of ≤375 mg Zn kg-1 dry soil, but not at high soil zinc concentrations. These results indicate that, despite zinc being regulated by P. kimi, excess zinc exceeding the regulatory capacity of P. kimi can trigger changes in the responses at the individual and population levels. Given that population dynamics are affected not only by individual level but also by population level endpoints, it is concluded that the toxic effects of pollutants should be assessed at various levels.

The bean bug, Riptortus pedestris, is one of major hemipteran pests against the soybean, Glycine max in Korea. In previous study, it was suggested that water-taking in the first instar nymphal stage of R. pedestris is certainly necessary for successful ecdysis and their survival. To investigate water-taking behavior of the first instar nymphs of R. pedestris on plant, electrical penetration graphic patterns were analysed while R. pedestris fed on the napa cabbage leaf, Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensis by using EPG system. In the result, a X-waveform was dominantly observed for average 42.0 min out of total recording time (120 min). There was significant positive correlation (r = 0.457, P = 0.000452, n = 55) between body weight increase and cumulative durations of X-waveform. In addition, histological observation of cross-sections indicated that stylet tip in the plant tissue during X-waveform period is located nearby xylem cells, suggesting that X-waveform is closely related to xylem sap feeding behavior of R. pedestris in plant.

With the recent development of manufacturing technology and the diversification of consumer needs, not only the process and quality control of production have become more complicated but also the kinds of information that manufacturing facilities provide the user about process have been diversified. Therefore the importance of big data analysis also has been raised. However, most small and medium enterprises (SMEs) lack the systematic infrastructure of big data management and analysis. In particular, due to the nature of domestic manufacturing companies that rely on foreign manufacturers for most of their manufacturing facilities, the need for their own data analysis and manufacturing support applications is increasing and research has been conducted in Korea. This study proposes integrated analysis platform for process and quality analysis, considering manufacturing big data database (DB) and data characteristics. The platform is implemented in two versions, Web and C/S, to enhance accessibility which perform template based quality analysis and real-time monitoring. The user can upload data from their local PC or DB and run analysis by combining single analysis module in template in a way they want since the platform is not optimized for a particular manufacturing process. Also Java and R are used as the development language for ease of system supplementation. It is expected that the platform will be available at a low price and evolve the ability of quality analysis in SMEs.

In this study, Folsomia octoculata and Folsomia quadrioculata which is common and representative Collembola species in temperate forests of Korea, were selected as potential bioindicator species. Through three years of survey of the density of the two Folsomia species and environmental factors of the sampling sites, the distribution and habitat preference of the two Folsomia species was investigated. The habitats of the two species were highly distinguished, mainly due to differences in preference for temperature, organic matter content, pH, available phosphorus. In addition, these two-species showed different preferences for vegetation. F. quadrioculata and F. octoculata were mainly found in habitat which Quercus and Pinus sp. live, respectively. This is because the distributions of two tree species are the result of interaction with temperature, available phosphoric acid, and soil organic matter content.

The bean bug is one of major hemipteran pests against the soybean, Glycine max in Korea. Gene expression regulation technologies such as RNA interference and gene editing have emerged as a next generation pest control strategy in agriculture. To search genes effective to feeding inhibition with exogenous dsRNA, a total of 26,761 transcripts were obtained from salivary glands of the bean bug and several target gene candidates such as GPCR, OBP, and CSP were profiled in this study. On the other hand, 1st instar nymphs of the bean bug after hatching were highly attracted to water and absorbed about 701.5 ± 137.72 ㎍/individual/day, suggesting that it could be a practical way for RNA interference by feeding exogenous dsRNA dissolved in water. These preliminary results are expected to be helpful to investigate novel pest control strategy of R. pedestris in the future.

From simple niche models to machine learning methods, there have been intensive efforts to understand the potentialdistribution of species in last two decades. Especially in the agricultural sector, recent SDM, Species Distribution Models,studies highly enthused to predict the potential distribution of invasive species under Climate Change. Beyond the distribution,efforts are needed to assess potential risk caused by the target pest. The Shared Socio-Economic Pathways (SSPs) are scenariosfor climate change impacts and adaptation measures. We used MaxEnt model to predict potential distribution of melonthrips with two RCPs (4.5, 8.5) and three SSPs (SSP1, SSP2, SSP3) scenarios. In agricultural land, the potential distributionof melon thrips increases under climate change, but the impact is reduced with the development-oriented scenario, SSP3.

Alterations affecting the status of robustness and health can bring about physiological changes including hematological parameters in pigs. To identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with 8 hematological phenotypes (one leukocyte trait, six erythrocyte traits, and one platelet trait), we performed a genome-wide association study using the Porcine SNP 60K BeadChip in an intercross population between Landrace and Korean native pigs. A total of 36,740 SNPs from 816 F2 offspring were analysed for each blood related traits after filtering by quality control. Data were analysed genome-wide rapid association using the mixed model and regression (GRAMMAR) approach. A total of 257 significant SNPs (P<1.36x10-6) on SSC3, 6, 8, 13, and 17 were detected for blood related traits in this study. Interestingly, the genomic region between 17.9 and 130 Mb on SSC8 was found to be significantly associated with RBC, MCV, and MCH. Our results include 5 significant SNPs within five candidate genes (KIT, IL15, TXK, ARAP2, and ERG) for hematopoiesis. Further validation of these identified SNPs could give valuable information for understanding the variation of hematological traits in swine.

Previously, we reported a quantitative trait locus (QTL) that affect total teat number (TTN) on pig chromosome 7 (SSC7) in a large F2 intercross population between Landrace and Korean native pigs. The aim of this study was to refine the QTL associated with TTN and to identify positional candidate gene(s) within the refined genomic region. TTN was recorded in 1,105 F2 progeny. All experimental animals were genotyped using 998 informative single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers located on SSC7. A haplotype-based linkage and association analysis using the PHASEBOOK programme was applied to perform high-resolution QTL analysis. Additionally, linear mixed-effect models were used to assess the effect of a positional candidate gene on TTN and other economically important traits [i.e., thoracic vertebrae number (THO), carcass body length (CBL) and weight (CW), back fat thickness (BFT) and intramuscular fat content (IMF) in loin muscles]. Joint linkage and association analysis refined the critical region to a 1.07 Mb region that included a novel positional candidate gene, BRMS1L, that encodes the breast cancer metastasis-suppressor 1-like protein, which could possibly be implicated in normal mammary gland development. Significant association of an SNP marker (g.-1087 G>A) in the 5’-flanking region of BRMS1L with TTN (P=1.10x10-8), THO (P=5.80x10-4), and CBL (P=0.038) was observed. Based on these data, we propose BRMS1L as a positional candidate gene for TTN in pigs. After validation of the association in other independent populations and further functional studies, these results could be useful in optimizing breeding programmes that improve TTN and other economically important traits in swine