Entomopathogenic fungi serve as eco-friendly alternatives to chemical pesticides. In this study, we investigate the interactions between mosquitoes and Metarhizium anisopliae JEF-157, which showed high insecticidal activity against mosquitoes, by RNA-seq analysis. RNA from mosquitoes was extracted at the median lethal time to identify changes in gene expression. The results showed 580 genes were up-regulated, while 336 genes were down-regulated in fungal treated mosquitoes. Up-regulated genes were related to metabolic and cellular processes such as cytochrome P450, DNA replication, and apoptosis. Down-regulated genes were involved in metabolism pathways such as lysosome, starch and sucrose metabolism, and fatty acid biosynthesis. These results are crucial for elucidating the mechanisms of fungal invasion and interaction in insects, providing insights for future pest management strategies.

Entomopathogenic fungi have been studied to control insect pests as an alternative to chemical insecticides. However, all fungi haven't a high virulence against pests. In this study, we compared the biological characteristics of Metarhizium anisopliae strains. First, we selected four M. anisopliae strains and compared the thermotolerance, conidial productivity, and virulence. For the thermotolerance test, conidial suspensions were exposed to 0, 30, 60, and 90 min at 45 °C. As a result, the conidial germination rates were over 95% when exposed for 0 min but, were 64, 37.7, 6, and 3% when exposed for 30 min at 45°C, respectively. To compare conidial productivity, 200g of millet were used and inoculated with a conidial suspension of 1 ml (1×107 conidia/ml). Conidial productivity was investigated after 14 days. As a result of conducting a virulence test against mealworms using a spray method, differences in virulence between strains were confirmed.

Climate change has led to increased insect pests and pest distribution changes. Traditionally, chemical control using synthetic pesticides has been the main method for pest management, but the emergence of pesticide-resistant pests has become a problem. There is a need to develop new pest control agents to overcome these issues. Entomopathogenic fungi used in pest management have minimal environmental side effects and possess a mechanism of action distinct from that of synthetic pesticides. However, there is a need for the development of technologies to maximize the insecticidal effects of fungi against pests, and expressing and releasing dsRNA within the fungi can preemptively knock out the activation of the insect’s defense system, thereby enhancing the insecticidal effect. Controlling insect defense genes and using entomopathogenic fungi as bio-carriers forms a new pest management strategy. This approach, described as a “microbial insecticide agents development strategy of cassette concept, ” can versatilely modify genes and microbes. It is expected to overcome the limitations of synthetic pesticides.

Pheromone biosynthesis activating neuropeptide (PBAN) produced in the subesophageal ganglion is known to stimulate pheromone production in the pheromone gland. A cDNA isolated from female adult heads of Maruca vitrata encodes 197 amino acids including PBAN, designated as Mvi-PBAN, and four other neuropeptides (NPs): diapause hormone (DH) homologue, α-NP, β-NP and γ-NP. All of the peptides are amidated in their C-termini and shared a conserved motif, FXPR(or K)L-NH2 structure. Mvi-PBAN consists of 35 amino acids as previously reported (Chang and Ramasamy, 2014). RT-PCR analysis revealed that Mvi-PBAN cDNA was expressed in all examined body parts. Nucleotide sequence analysis of RT-PCR products indicated the Mvi-PBAN sequence was identical in all examined body parts of both sexes. These results suggest that Mvi-PBAN expression is maintained in examined stages or tissues.

A rapid cold hardening (RCH) and supercooling capacity usually play crucial roles in survival during the overwintering period in the tobacco budworm, Helicoverpa assulta, a freeze-susceptible species. Cryoprotectants such as polyol or sugar affect RCH and maintain fluid status of hemolymph. This study is performed to identify cryoprotectants as a RCH factor in H. assulta. Pre-exposure of H. assulta larvae to 4℃ significantly increased survival at -10℃ in all developmental stages from egg to adult. RCH was dependent on the duration of the pre-exposure period. RCH also significantly enhanced the supercooling capacity. Analysis of cryoprotectants from the hemolymph revealed that the pre-exposure treatment allowed the larvae to accumulate glycerol and trehalose among polyols examined. In addition, unknown materials from 2 peaks were also increased. TIC analysis revealed 3 predicted formulas for unknown materials, C26H24O20S or C3H4N6OS and C22H20O21. Glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH) and glycerol 3-phosphatase (G3P) that involving in glycerol biosynthesis were identified from the transcriptome of H. assulta 4th instar larvae. Based on the expression level of transcripts, the expressions of GPDH and G3P were relatively increased when compared to that of the control, suggesting that these genes contribute to overwintering and biosynthesis of glycerol.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the correlation between the stature and the muscle performance ratings and the subjective discomfort rations at performing lower arm's pronation and supination according to change sin the height of working table for more efficient performance at designing a working table and performing a work. For the purpose, this study conducted an experiment targeting 40 people in their 20s, who were classified into 4 groups each group composing 10 people at intervals of 5cm from the standard stature of 166.5cm. The experiment measured the maximum isometric pronation and the supination muscular power, and at measuring the factors, the heights of working tables were set as 800mm, 850mm, and 900mm. From the measurement results, it was found that the stature and the maximum muscular power was correlated. That is, as the experiment groups's average stature is higher, the maximum muscular power was higher. For the correlation between the motion patterns(pronation and supination) and the maximum muscular power, it was seen that the maximum muscular power was higher at performing the pronation than the supination. In the correlation between motion patterns and the subjective discomfort ratings, it was seen that the subjective discomfort rating was higher at performing the supination than the pronation. For the correlation between height adjustment and the subjective discomfort ratings, as the height of working table was lower, the subject discomfort rating was lower. Therefore there was no difference in the maximum muscular power according to the height changes of working table, but it was found that as the working table was higher, the user felt more comfortable.

Totally, 26 collections, 17 from Korea and 9 from China, were investigated for their sequences of 5S rDNA, especially the non-transcribed spacers (NTSs). Sequences of 5S rDNA were isolated by PCR using the primers, 5s-rRNA1 and 5s-rRNA2. Genomic DNA PCR produced single amplification of 300, 330, or 350 base pair fragments. Sequence analysis revealed that all inserts contained the part of 5S rDNA gene sequence and the full length of the NTS region. Three different sizes of the fragments were confirmed due to different size of NTS and their length were 300bp, 330bp and 350bp, respectively. Among 17 Korean foxtail millets tested, 14 collections showed single 300bp amplification. Longest fragment amplification, 350bp, was obtained only from the foxtail millet from China origin, even though 2 of them include 300bp fragment. CLUSTALW multiple alignments of 26 foxtail millets clearly revealed 4 areas with certain degree of sequence heterogeneity (region I, II, III, IV). Among 4 boxed areas, foxtail millet genotypes from China have distinct insertion especially in region III. Five of them have extra insertion of sequence and their additional sequences were either 45 or 48 base pair. Three Korean foxtail millets have 32 bp insertion. Other 8 Korean collections have short insert sequences (6 to 8 bp), 3 with 8 bp and 5 with 6 bp. In addition to insert, deletion sequences were also confirmed as major deletion was observed in region II of Chinese collection. The size of deletion was 7 bp long. According to phylogenic tree constructed using MEGA4 program, clear grouping was not revealed. To obtain more convincing results various collections from many countries should be obtained and analyzed to distinguish different germplasm from different origin.

Twenty two common millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) varieties collected from Korea, China and Russia were investigated for their phylogenetic relationship using 5S ribosomal DNA sequences with a hope to provide the basic information on their exact origin. Sequences of 5S rDNA were isolated by PCR. The primers, 5s-rRNA1 and 5s-rRNA2, were designed to isolate the complete NTS. Genomic DNA amplification produced two fragments with different length, 900 bp and 400 bp fragments, confirming the presence of two types of 5S rDNA repeats that differed from each other in the length of the NTS region. Amplified DNAs of 400 bp fragment were subcloned and used for further investigation. The obtained NTS sequences ranged from 200 to 300 bp and homology of sequences among plant materials was much higher than long repeat. CLUSTALW multiple aligment of 5S rDNA sequences from 22 different common millets revealed the clear difference by their origin. And critically different areas with insert or deletion were also confirmed. Those sequence difference seems to be used for discrimination of cultivars from different origin and use as molecular markers for origin identification. In phylogenic tree construction, the clear classification was shown where the genotypes from China and Russia is positioned together and stay away from domestic genotypes.