Grapevine l eaf rust (GLR) c aused b y Phakopsora euvitis diminishes fruit quality and reduces yield in viticulture, making it one of the world’s most significant fruit crop threats. To develop GLR-resistant grape varieties, substantial efforts have been made to select rust-resistant genes and determine effective strategies f or achieving durab le resistance in grapevines. This study aims to identify genetic resources resistant to GLR by investigating disease incidence in vineyards and symptom development in grapevines inoculated with pathogens. Fifty-seven genotypes from Ampelopsis brevipedunculata, Vitis acerifolia, V. aestivalis, V. amurensis, V. cinerea, V. coignetiae, V. flexuosa, V. labrusca, V. labruscana, V. rotundifolia, and V. vinifera were evaluated for rust disease incidence over four years (2021 –2024) at Yeunganm University. Three plants per genotype were potted and sprayed with a pathogen suspension to assess disease incidence on their adaxial leaf surfaces in a greenhouse. Variation in resistance to GLR was observed among genotypes within each species. Resistant genotypes of V. coignetiae exhibited no symptoms on their leaves, while severe infections were noted in the leaves of susceptible genotypes of A. brevipedunculata, V. amurensis, V. flexuosa, V. labruscana, and V. vinifera. None of the tested V. rotundifolia genotypes displayed yellow pustules and remained unaffected for three weeks after artificial inoculation. These findings highlight the potential of V. rotundifolia and V. coignetiae as valuable genetic resources for breeding rust-resistant grapevines. Chlorophyll content was comparable across all uninfected genotypes. While resistant genotypes maintained relatively stable chlorophyll levels, the average chlorophyll content in the majority of susceptible genotypes was significantly lower following inoculation than before. This negative relationship indicates a general decline in photosynthetic capacity due to disease development in grapevines. Identifying resistant genotypes among both resistant and susceptible genotypes across different Vitis species provides crucial insights for developing new grape varieties with improved resistance to GLR.

This study aimed to confirm the species identity and characterize two Selenomonas sputigena strains (KCOM 1787 and KCOM 2046) isolated from the oral cavities of Korean individuals using genomic and chemotaxonomic approaches. Whole-genome sequencing was performed with PacBio RSII and Illumina platforms. Species-level classification was assessed using 16S rDNA similarity, average nucleotide identity (OrthoANI), and genome-togenome distance calculation (GGDC). Chemotaxonomic analysis included cellular fatty acid profiling using gas chromatography and polar lipid analysis using two-dimensional thin-layer chromatography. The two strains showed 16S rDNA similarities of 98.85% and 99.53% with the S. sputigena type strain ATCC 35185T. OrthoANI values exceeded the species threshold (95.34% and 95.69%), whereas GGDC values were below the conventional cutoff (61.6% and 63.7%). Despite the low GGDC values, classification as S. sputigena was supported by the combined evidence of high 16S similarity, OrthoANI values above the species demarcation threshold, and minimal differences in genomic GC content (< 1 mol%). Chemotaxonomic analysis revealed that the major fatty acids were C14:0 DMA and C16:1 cis -7, while the polar lipids included phosphatidylethanolamine and several unidentified aminolipids. Although GGDC values were below the 70% species threshold, the high OrthoANI values, 16S rDNA similarity, and genomic GC content supported the classification of KCOM 1787 and KCOM 2046 as S. sputigena. These strains may serve as valuable resources for future studies on intraspecies variation and the pathogenesis of oral Selenomonas species.

Atmospheric characterization has become a crucial area of study for exoplanets. The exoplanets known as ultra-hot Jupiters (UHJs) offer a natural laboratory for studying extreme atmospheric physics that cannot be observed in the solar system. One way to analyze their atmospheres is by transmission spectroscopy. However, it can be challenging to obtain such information because a planet’s signal is too weak compared to that of its host star, resulting in the planetary contribution to the observed spectrum being negligible. Therefore, the minimum observational requirements must be assessed first to distinguish the planetary signal from the stellar one to study these planets. In this context, we obtained the transmission spectra of UHJs TOI-1431 b and WASP-189 b by observing each exoplanet for one night with BOAO Echelle Spectrograph (BOES) on the 1.8 m telescope at Bohyunsan Optical Astronomy Observatory (BOAO). We searched for various chemical species by cross-correlating the exoplanetary spectra with model synthetic spectra. Our search for atmospheric signal returned a detection confidence level less than 3 σ for both targets. Therefore, we applied model injection to recover the atmospheric signals of the planets and assessed the minimum signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) to achieve 5 σ detection. During our search, we successfully recovered the planet signals with detection significances of 5.11 σ after a 750% injection of the model signal for TOI-1431 b and 5.02 σ for a 90% injection forWASP-189 b. These signal injection exercises suggest that a higher S/N of the transmission spectra is required to detect the planetary absorption features, and this can be done by stacking data from the observations of more than three cycles of the transit of a planet with a small-scale height such as WASP-189 b at BOAO facilities.

In recent years, there has been growing interest in the potential applications of carbon-based non-metallic catalysts in various fields, such as electrochemical energy storage, electrocatalysis, thermal catalysis, and photocatalysis, owing to their unique physical and chemical properties. Modifying carbon catalyst surfaces or incorporating non-metallic heteroatoms, such as nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), boron (B), and sulfur (S), into the carbon structure has emerged as a promising approach to improve the catalytic performance. This method enables the adjustment of the electronic structure of the carbon catalyst's surface, leading to the formation of new active sites or the reduction of side reactions, ultimately enhancing the catalyst's performance. Here, the preparation methods for doped non-metallic heteroatom carbon catalysts have been systematically explored, encompassing techniques, such as impregnation, pyrolysis, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), and templating. Finally, the existing challenges in the application of non-metallic atomic catalysts have been discussed, insights into potential future development opportunities and new preparation methods of carbon catalysts in the future have been offered.

Fabry disease is an X-linked lysosomal storage disorder caused by GLA mutations, leading to a deficiency in α-Galactosidase A activity and subsequent accumulation of globotriaosylceramide (Gb3). This accumulation contributes to progressive multiorgan dysfunction, with cardiovascular complications, particularly endothelial dysfunction and left ventricular hypertrophy being major drivers of disease morbidity and mortality. Although enzyme replacement therapy is currently the standard treatment, its effectiveness is limited in addressing advanced cardiovascular pathology. To better understand Fabry-associated vascular and cardiac phenotypes, an isogenic human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) model in which GLA was knocked out was developed using CRISPR/ Cas9. GLA-knockout (GLA-KO) hiPSCs were differentiated into endothelial cells (ECs) and cardiomyocytes (CMs) to evaluate disease-relevant phenotypes in vitro . GLA-KO ECs exhibited normal morphology and differentiation capacity but showed markedly impaired tube formation, high expression of inflammatory genes ICAM1, VCAM1, and SELE, and increased mitochondrial and cytoplasmic reactive oxygen species levels. GLA-KO CMs demonstrated enlarged cell size and nuclear translocation of NFATC4, consistent with hypertrophic remodeling. Together, these findings recapitulate key features of Fabry vasculopathy and cardiomyopathy in a genetically defined, human-derived system. This platform enables direct investigation of Gb3-induced oxidative and inflammatory mechanisms and provides a valuable model for the preclinical evaluation of therapeutic strategies targeting the cardiovascular manifestations of Fabry disease.

Three strains (KCOM 2191, KCOM 2668, and KCOM 2812) of Capnocytophaga sp. isolated from a Korean population were initially classified by 16S rDNA sequence comparison. This study aimed to resolve their species-level identity using whole genome sequencing and to assess their taxonomic characteristics. Genomes of the three strains were sequenced using PacBio RS II and Illumina platforms. Average nucleotide identity (ANI) analysis was employed for species-level identification. Cellular fatty acid (CFA) compositions were determined using the MIDI/Hewlett Packard Microbial Identification System. ANI values for KCOM 2191, KCOM 2668, and KCOM 2812 were 96.43%, 96.33%, and 96.33%, respectively, compared with the type strain Capnocytophaga ochracea DSM 7271T. CFA profiling showed a predominance of iso-C15:0 (57.9%, 67.2%, and 64.9%, respectively), consistent with DSM 7271T (51.5%). These findings confirm that KCOM 2191, KCOM 2668, and KCOM 2812 are strains of C. ochracea . These strains may serve as valuable models for investigating the role of C. ochracea in oral and systemic pathogenesis.