Entomopathogenic fungi are used to produce raw materials by applying solid culture technology using grains. But there are various problems such as low production efficiency and cross-contamination. Solvum Co., Ltd. conducted research on liquid culture technology to develop a method that can overcome these shortcomings of solid culture technology. We conducted research and development on using Beauveria bassiana 331R to observe the culture according to the seed inoculation amount in a 30 L fermenter, it was carried out at 1.0 % (v/v) and 10.0 % (v/v). Although there was a difference of 1 day, 1.0 %(v/v) seed inoculation was observed to be more than twice that, and active blastospores and yield were observed at over 95.0 %. As a results, it was determined that cost and efficient production would be possible during the culture process in mass production. Based on these experiments, a 300 L fermenter was cultured with 1.0 % (v/v) seed inoculation, resulting in a yield of 1.24E+09 CFU/mL on the 6th day of cultivation. As a result of freeze-drying using the final culture medium, it was confirmed that the production yield was improved by 113.0 % compared to the control.

Cryptotympana atrata belongs to the family Cicadidae, has long been recognized as a damaging plant-sucking pest, and is distributed in East Asian countries. In addition, their cries cause direct harm to us through noise pollution and also reported twig damage in the forest environments. In this study, we isolated strains of the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium that occurred from C. atrata collected this year. Here, we provide the morphological character and molecular phylogenetic relationship of this species. This is the first record of the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium viridulum isolated from C. atrata in Korea and provides a candidate strain with potential use for biological agents.

An outbreak of stick insects, Ramulus mikado, as forest pests in South Korea has become a topic of concern. While other countries have reported these insects being severely affected by the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium spp., comprehensive research in South Korea remains limited on this topic. In our two-year investigation, we investigated the infection rate and mortality of R. mikado caused by Metarhizium anisopliae. In 2022, specimens were collected from Cheonggyesan, and in 2023 from Geumamsan. Although no infections were confirmed in the specimens collected in June of both years. Beginning in July, mortality and infection rates were greatly increased. In conclusion, the summer monsoon appears to create hot and humid conditions in the forest, contributing to reduced survival rates for these insects due to infection by M. anisopliae.

Cordycepin (3'-deoxyadenosine) is a nucleoside analog known for its diverse range of biological activities. This study investigated the effect of different types of sawdust on the production of the bioactive compound cordycepin. The results of the study showed that different types of wood sawdust affected the biosynthesis of cordycepin and a significant increase was observed when the conventional SDB medium was replaced with 1% NaOH treated pine sawdust. To optimize cordycepin production from Paecilomyces tenuipes in a medium containing 1% NaOH-pretreated pine sawdust, we employed Response Surface Methodology (RSM) in its Box-Behnken design (BBD) canonical form. The optimal conditions were determined as follows: a particle size of 109.5111-mesh (140 m) for 1% NaOH-pretreated pine sawdust, an input weight of 21.1679 g/L, and an incubation time of 73.8423 hours. According to our model, this combination is expected to yield a maximum cordycepin content of 896.1428 g/mL. Experimental validation of this prediction was performed using the suggested optimal conditions, resulting in an average cordycepin content of 922.6771 g/mL across three replicates, thus confirming the model's accuracy.

White rot fungus Cerrena unicolor IUM 5400 produced ethanol from diverse sugars, including glucose, mannose, galactose, and cellobiose at 0.38, 0.28, 0.08, and 0.27 g of ethanol per g of sugar consumed, respectively. The fungus produced relatively high amounts of ethanol from xylose (0.28 g of ethanol per g of sugar consumed); however, the ethanol conversion rate of arabinose was relatively low (at 0.08 g of ethanol per g sugar consumed). When cultured in a basal medium containing 20 g/L rice straw or corn stalks, C. unicolor IUM 5400 produced 0.18 g and 0.18 g of ethanol per g of rice straw and corn stalks, respectively. The results suggest that C. unicolor IUM 5400 is a white rot fungus that can effectively hydrolyze cellulose or hemicellulose to sugars and simultaneously convert them to ethanol.

Fungi that infect mushrooms and cause diseases are called mycoparasitic fungi. Understanding the diversity of mycoparasitic fungi in wild mushrooms is important for the mushroom industry, as they can parasitize cultivated mushrooms. However, few studies have been conducted on the diversity of mycoparasitic fungi in wild mushrooms in South Korea. Upon surveying mushroom flora, we found a mycoparasitic fungus and analyzed its strain using molecular phylogeny and morphological examination. The strain was identified as Sepedonium laevigatum, which is an unrecorded species in South Korea. In this study, we described the cultural and microscopic characteristics of this strain of fungus.

Pleurotus eryngii, a white rot fungus, produces two extracellular lignin-degrading enzymes, laccase and manganese peroxidase (MnP). Owing to these enzymes, P. eryngii efficiently degrades synthetic chemicals such as azo, phthalocyanine, and triphenyl methane dyes. In this study, we investigated the degradation processes of four aromatic dyes, congo red (CR), methylene blue (MB), crystal violet (CV), and malachite green (MG), by P. eryngii under solid and liquid culture conditions. CR and MG were the most quickly degraded under solid and liquid culture conditions, respectively. However, compared to CR, CV, and MG, MB was not degraded well under both culture conditions. The activities of ligninolytic enzymes (laccase and MnP) were also investigated. Laccase was identified to be the major enzyme for dye degradation. A positive relationship between decolorization and enzyme activity was observed for CR, MB, and CV degradation. In contrast, decolorization of MG ensued after high enzyme activity. These results indicate that the degradation process differs between MG and the other aromatic dyes. Therefore, P. eryngii could be a potential tool for the bioremediation of synthetic aromatic dye effluent.

A novel brown rot fungus Phaeolus schweinitzii IUM 5048 was firstly used for ethanol production. It was found that this fungus produced ethanol with various sugars, such as glucose, mannose, galactose and cellobiose at 0.28, 0.22, 0.06, and 0.22 g of ethanol per g of sugar consumed, respectively. This fungus showed relatively good ethanol production from xylose at 0.23 g of ethanol per g of sugar consumed. However, the ethanol conversion rate of arabinose was relatively low (at 0.08 g of ethanol per g sugar). P. schweinitzii was capable of producing ethanol directly from rice straw and corn stalks at 0.11 g and 0.13 g of ethanol per g of substrates, respectively, when the fungus was cultured in a basal medium supplemented with 20 g/L rice straw or corn stalks. These results suggest that P. schweinitzii can hydrolyze cellulose or hemicellulose to fermentable sugars and convert them to ethanol simultaneously under oxygen limited condition