Due to rapid increase of international trade, many invasive and exotic pests have been introduced in Korea. One of typical example is Solenopsis invicta found in harbor and nearby areas unexpectedly triggering alerts of invasive and exotic pests. Practically, critical limitation to identify these species based on morphology exists because of lack of experts, so that it is very important to develop fast and accurate methods to identify these species. Molecular marker is one of candidates for satisfying these requirements of invasive and exotic pests: usually COI gene has been used for identifying insect species efficiently. Here, we developed web-based integrated platform for identifying invasive and exotic pests. As a first step, we collected 71,146 COI sequences from 529 species which are potentially invasive and exotic pests in Korea. In addition, we are collecting their complete mitochondrial genome sequences for evaluating additional marker regions which can be more effective for identifying species. Web-based interfaces are under development to access these raw data as well as bioinformatic analysis function to identify species based on mitochondrial sequences. Our platform will be a fundamental resources not only to identify invasive and exotic pests effectively but also to understand ecology of these species to find anticipative policies to prevent invasion of these species.

In this study, we developed 11 microsatellite markers specific to A. crataegi using NGS to investigate the genetic relationships of A. crataegi populations from South Korea to circumferential Asian countries (China, Russia, Mongolia, and Japan). Further, two mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) gene segments (COI and CytB) were sequenced from the samples. The population- and individual-based Principal Coordinates and STRUCTURE analyses collectively suggested that the South Korean population of A. crataegi is most differentiated from the Japanese population, whereas it was closer to Mongolian and Chinese populations. These results collectively suggest that northern populations, in particular, Mongolian populations can be considered as the most genetically compatible one as donee population, when the reintroduction program is launched. †These authors contributed equally to this paper.

한국산 나문재속 식물에 대한 계통학적 유연관계를 밝히고, 분자계통학적 연구를 통해 나문재속 종간 유연관계를 확인할 수 있는 분자마커를 찾아내기 위해 연구를 수행하였다. 핵 리보솜 DNA ITS와 엽록체 DNA matK, psbA-trnH 그리고 trnL-trnF를 분자마커로 사용하였다. ITS 영역은 칠면초와 해홍나물 그리고 해홍나물과 방석나물을 구분하지 못하였다. psbA-trnH와 trnL-trnF 영역의 염기서열은 칠면초와 방석나물을 구분하지 못하였다. 그러나 4종의 분자마커 영역을 조합하여 분석한 결과 나문재속 식물 5종이 각각 독립적인 계통을 형성하는 것을 확인하였다. 따라서 나문재속 계통관계 분석을 위해서 여러 개의 분자마커 조합이 유용할 것으로 판단된다. 나문재속 내 분류군 간의 계통관계를 명확히 밝히기 위해 차후에 좀 더 많은 생태학적, 형태학적 자료를 조사해야 할 것으로 보인다.

The black-veined white, Aporia crataegi (Lepidoptera: Pieridae), which is distributed mainly in Eastern Asia is presumed to be extinct in South Korea, only with some numbers of dried specimens left, whereas the species is found casually in circumferential countries. One of the common conservation practices for such species is to launch introduction program, but prior population genetic analysis between donor and donee populations might be essential for long-term conservation. In this study, we developed 11 microsatellite markers specific to A. crataegi using Illumina paired-end sequencing to investigate the genetic relationships of A. crataegi populations from South Korea and circumferential Asian countries (China, Russia, Mongolia, and Japan). Further, two mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) gene segments (COI and CytB) were sequenced from the samples. The population- and individual-based Principal Coordinates and STRUCTURE analyses collectively suggested that the South Korean population of A. crataegi is most differentiated from the Japanese population, whereas it was closer to Mongolian and Chinese populations. The STRUCTURE analysis based on two concatenated mtDNA gene sequences also supported different genetic composition of Japanese population from the remaining populations including that of South Korea and rather similar genetic composition between the populations of South Korea and Mongolia. These results collectively suggest that northern populations, in particular, Mongolian populations can be considered as the most genetically compatible one as doner population, when reintroduction program is launched.

The yellow-legged hornet, Vespa velutina nigrithorax (Hymenoptera: Vespidae), invaded into South Korea in 2003. Currently, V. velutina is distributed throughout South Korean regions,. A genetic trait of invasive species provides important data for environmental risk assessment. In this study, we analysed the genetic variation of the V. velutina among the populations of South Korea and other foreign countries using partial sequences of mitochondrial COI, CytB and 16S rRNA. We further developed intergenic spacers (IGS2 and IGS3) to detect genetic variation among Korean populations. Each single haplotype was recovered from the domestic V. velutina from each coding gene sequence. Korean individuals shared the haplotype with that of Japan and China. Phylogenetic analysis (excluding 16S rRNA) using available sequences and ours showed the presence of two groups: the Indonesia and Malaysia group and another group (Korea, Japan, China, France, Vietnam and Thailand). The newly developed IGS2 and IGS3 markers resulted in each seven and four haplotypes, providing better resolution than coding gene sequences. Analysis of Molecular Variance using the combined sequences of IGS2 and IGS3 showed that the majority of variance was allocated to each population and only minority of variance is allocated to among-populations. This result may indicate that the V. v. nigrithorax invaded in Korea shows a single panmictic population and this possibly suggest that Korean population may have originated from small founder individuals.

Previously, a partial mitochondrial COI and CytB gene sequences have been used to infer genetic diversity and gene flow of the species. In this study, we additionally collected C. tripartitus from one previous and two new localities, sequenced the COI and CytB genes. Sequence divergence of current samples showed slightly lower values, but nearly equivalent to previous study. Haplotype diversity was still high and nucleotide diversity indicating that Seogwi-dong showed the highest estimates in both gene sequences. Gene flow among populations is high, but a significance difference was detected between Gulupdo and Anmado; and between Gulupdo and Seogwi-dong only in COI sequences (P < 0.05). Considering the high genetic diversity and gene flow in C. tripartitus populations, one of the major issues regarding conservation seems not to be the recovery of genetic diversity as has been suggested before.

The Japanese oak silkmoth, Antheraea yamamai Guérin-Méneville 1861 (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae), is one of the important natural resources possessing industrial value for silk fiber production. In this study, ten microsatellite markers and two mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) gene sequences (COI and ND4) were used to investigate the genetic variation and geographic structure of A. yamamai populations in South Korea. Two mtDNA gene sequences revealed very low total genetic variation and resultant low geographic variation, validating to use further variable molecular markers. Population-based FIS, FST, RST, and global Mantel test consistently support that A. yamamai populations are overall well interconnected with a relatively high gene flow. Nevertheless, STRUCTURE analysis using microsatellite data and mtDNA sequences coincidently indicate the presence of two genetic pools in many populations.

The spotted-wing drosophila (SWD), Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae), is an economically damaging pest that feeds on most thin-skinned fruits. In this study, we sequenced portions of the mitochondrial (mt) COI and ND4 genes from a total of 195 individuals collected mainly from Korea. A total of 139 haplotypes were obtained from the concatenated COI and ND4 sequences. A dataset combining GenBank sequences with our own data identified a total of 94 worldwide COI haplotypes with a maximum sequence divergence of 5.433% (32 bp). A rough estimate of genetic diversity in each country showed higher diversity in ancestral distributional ranges, but the invasion over Asian countries seems to have been substantial because haplotype diversity was only 2.35-3.97-fold lower in the USA, Canada, and Italy than that in the populations ancestral ranges.

The purpose of this stduy was to identify accurately and promptly the Microsporidia disease of bumble bees from Gangwon in Korea. Bumble bees are crucial pollinators of various crops and microsporidia are the critical infections of these hosts. Also, the various species of bumble bees have been used: Bombus terrestris, B. lucorum, B. occidentalis, B. ignites and B. impatiens etc. The symptoms of bumble bees infected microsporidia: their abdomens become distended, paralyzed and become sluggish and die early. We have identified the morphologies of the microsporidium by electron microscopy and found that the morphology of the microsporidium is rounded spore morph, with fairly small spores as described before in many other articles. For the specific and sensitive diagnosis of Nosema in bumble bees, we have developed the improved method of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) conditions for expeditious diagnosis. Two pairs of primers were tested on N. bombi and the related microsporidia; Nosema apis and Nosema sp., both of which infect bumble bees and honey bees and further we have verified and analyzed DNA sequence data of N. bombi in bumble bees by using the BLAST server at the National Center for Biotechnology Information.