In 2020, a total of 12 bacterial strains were isolated from soil after a comprehensive investigation of indigenous prokaryotic species in Korea. It was determined that each strain belonged to independent and predefined bacterial species, with high 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity (>98. %) and formation of a robust phylogenetic clade with the closest species. This study identified four families in the phylum Actinobacteria, two families in the phylum Proteobacteria, one family in the phylum Bacteroidetes one family in the phylum Firmicutes; and four species in the family Nocardiaceae, two species in the family Nocardioidaceae, one species in the family Cellulomonadaceae, one species in the family Hymenobacter, one species in the family Methylobacteriaceae, one species in the family Microbacteriaceae, one species in the family Bacillaceae and one species in the family Sphingomonadaceae. There is no official report of these 12 species in Korea, so they are described as unreported bacterial species in Korea in this study. Gram reaction, basic biochemical characteristics, colony, and cell morphology are included in the species description section.
In 2020, as a subset study to discover indigenous yeast species in Korea, a total of 22 yeast species were isolated from soil samples collected in Gwangju-si, Gyeonggi-do. Among them, 10 strains were unreported species. From the high 26S rRNA gene sequence similarity and formation of a robust phylogenetic clade with the closest species, it was determined that each strain belonged independent and predefined yeast species. The 22 strains were assigned to the genera Dothiora (1 strain), Sarocladium (1 strain), Tetrapisispora (1 strain) and Torulaspora (2 strains) of the phylum Ascomycota; the genera Erythrobasidium (1 strain), Leucosporidium (4 strains), Ustilentyloma (2 strains), Fellozyma (1 strain), Sampaiozyma (2 strains), Filobasidium (1 strain), Solicoccozyma (2 strains) and Vishniacozyma (4 strains) of the phylum Basidiomycota. This is the first official report of the following species in Korea: Dothiora cannabinae (1 strain), Sarocladium strictum (1 strain), Fellozyma inositophila (1 strain), Filobasidium magnum (1 strain), Solicoccozyma phenolicus (1 strain), Solicoccozyma terreus (1 strain), Vishniacozyma tephrensis (1 strain) and Vishniacozyma victoriae (3 strains). Cell morphology, phenotypic features and biochemical features are described in the Species Description section.
The purpose of this study was to isolate and identify wild yeasts from soil of Gyeongju city, and Haemadipsa rjukjuana of Gageodo Island, characterizing unrecorded yeast strains from Korea. The molecular analysis of the D1/D2 domain of 26S rDNA of yeast was performed using the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST). No official report exists describing these three species: one species in the genus Candida, one species in the genus Debaryomyces, and one species in the genus Solicoccozyma. Candida saitoana YL9, Debaryomyces fabryi YL1, and Solicoccozyma terrea 20g9-1 are recorded for the first time from Korea. All three strains were oval shaped and polar binding, while positive for glucose, d-xylose, and d-cellobiose. Morphological, physiological, and biochemical properties are described in the species descriptions
In 2020, 11 Basidiomycetous yeast strains were isolated from soil samples collected from the forests of Namhansanseong in Korea. Among them, seven species were reported, but four species were unreported in Korea. To identify wild yeasts, pairwise sequence comparisons of D1/D2 domain of the 26S rRNA were performed using Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST). The cell morphologies and assimilation test are observed by phase contrast microscope and API 20C AUX kit, respectively. The 11 strains were assigned to the genera Rhodotorula (4 strains) of the order Sporidiobolales of the class Microbotryomycetes; and Cryptococcus (2 strains), Goffeauzyma (1 strains), Naganishia (2 strains) of the order Filobasidiales and Saitozyma (2 strains) of the order Tremellales of the class Tremellomycetes in the phylum Basidiomycota. The unreported yeast strains Cryptococcus gastricus 20n5-2, Goffeauzyma gilvescens 20n2-7, Naganishia adeliensis 20n8-1, and Naganishia friedmannii 20n24-1 belong to the family Filobasidiaceae. All strains had oval shaped cells and cream-colored colonies cultured on on YM agar for 3 days. In this study, we focus on the description of four unreported yeast species in Korea.
Heterotrophic nanoflagellates (HNFs, 2-20 μm in size) are substantially capable of controlling bacterial abundance in aquatic environments, and microbial taxonomists have studied ecologically important and abundant HNFs for a long time. However, the classifications of HNFs have rarely been reported in Korea on the basis of morphology and 18S rDNA sequencing. Here, previously reported five HNFs from non-Korean habitats were isolated from Korean coastal seawater or intertidal sediments for the first time. Light microscopic observations and 18S rDNA phylogenetic trees revealed that the five isolated species were Cafeteria burkhardae strain PH003, Cafeteria graefeae strain UL001, Aplanochytrium minuta (formerly Labyrinthuloides minuta) strain PH004, Neobodo curvifilus strain KM017 (formerly Procryptobia sorokini), and Ancyromonas micra (formerly Planomonas micra) strain IG005. Being morphologically and phylogenetically indistinct from its closest species, all isolates from Korea were therefore regarded as identical species detected in other countries. Thus, this result indicates an expansion of known habitats that range from those of the five isolates in natural ecosystems on Earth.
Six species of the family Kelleriidae, including four new species, are recorded from tropical waters of the Asia-Pacific, two of them from Phuket Island, Thailand, one each from Bohol Island, Philippines and Phu Quoc Island, Vietnam, and two from Kosrae Island, Micronesia. A new genus Kelleriella is proposed to accomodate one of these new species (Kelleriella quadridens n. sp.). There are three diagnostic features of the new genus: the terminal segment of antenna is armed with one strong claw and six setae, the armature of the maxilliped endopod is reduced, and the third exopodal segment of leg 4 is armed with four spines and five setae. The other three new species are Kelleria latipes n. sp., Kelleria phuketensis n. sp., and Kelleria robusta n. sp. As diagnostic features of these new species, their caudal rami are about 2.5, 3.2, and 1.72 times longer than wide, respectively, the exopod of leg 5 of them is smooth, without any process, about 1.9, 3.7, and 2.9 times longer than wide, respectively, and armed with one spine plus one seta in Kelleria latipes and Kelleria phuketensis or with 2 setae in Kelleria robusta. Additionally, Kelleria javaensis Mulyadi, 2009 is synonymized with Kelleria regalis Gurney, 1927 and Kelleria grandisetiger Kim, 2006 is synonymized with Kelleria andamanensis Sewell, 1949, and both species are redescribed.
Araneidae Clerck, 1757 is one of the largest families within the order Araneae Clerck, 1757, comprising 3,065 species in 177 genera. To date, two species of the genus Mengora O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1889 and four species of the genus Araniella Chamberlin & Ivie, 1942 have been recorded in Korea. During a seasonal survey of the spider fauna in mountainous terrain conducted from 2018 to 2019, females of Mangora foliosa Zhu & Yin, 1998 and a male of Araniella robusta sp. nov. were collected with a sweep net between shrubs in mixed forests from Mt. Juwangsan National Park. In this paper, we provide a diagnosis of the new species and descriptions including measurements and morphological illustrations. The new species, Araniella robusta sp. nov., can be easily distinguished from other species in the genus Araniella Chamberlin & Ivie, 1942 by a branched conductor with two blunt tips and conjugation of the embolus tip and terminal apophysis.
Rotifers collected from mosses, leaf litter, soil, and wetland at six different locations in Korea were investigated. Ten species belonging to six genera in four families of monogonont and bdelloid rotifers were new to Korea: Habrotrocha scepanotrochoides De Koning, 1947, H. tripus (Murray, 1907), Lecane opias (Harring and Myers, 1926), L. perpusilla (Hauer, 1929), Macrotrachela decora (Bryce, 1912), Otostephanos auriculatus auriculatus (Murray, 1911), O. torquatus amoenus Milne, 1916, Scepanotrocha corniculata Bryce, 1910, S. simplex De Koning, 1947, and Testudinella brevicaudata Yamamoto, 1951. Among these 10 Korean new records, Habrotrocha scepanotrochoides, H. tripus, Macrotrachela decora, Otostephanos auriculatus auriculatus, O. torquatus amoenus, Scepanotrocha corniculata, and S. simplex were new to Asia as well. The present study is the first report of the genus Scepanotrocha Bryce, 1910 from Korea. Here, diagnostic characteristics and photomicrographs are provided for each Korean new record. In addition, a partial sequence of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene (mtCOX1) for S. simplex is presented.
The genus Acrobeloides (Cobb, 1924) Thorne, 1937 are bacterial feeders and are one of the most abundant and widely distributed nematode groups in various terrestrial environments. Based on morphological and morphometric analyses, we found two Acrobeloides species reported in Korea for the first time: A. bodenheimeri (Steiner, 1936) Thorne, 1937 and A. tricornis (Throne, 1925) Thorne, 1937. These species exhibit morphological characters concordant with typical features of the genus Acrobeloides, such as a fusiform pharyngeal corpus with swollen metacorpus and lateral incisures extending to the tail terminus. However, A. bodenheimeri is distinguished from other acrobeloids by having its low and rounded labial probolae, distinct post-uterine sac and five lateral incisures. Acrobeloides tricornis is distinguished from its congeners by the following characteristics: its high labial probolae with acuate termini, inconspicuous postuterine sac and five lateral incisures. Morphological characters and their measurements, and illustrations of A. bodenheimeri and A. tricornis are described in this study.
Four species of the genus Exochus belonging to the subfamily Metopiinae, family Ichneumonidae, are reported in South Korea for the first time. The subfamily Metopiinae was recorded by Förster in 1869 based on genus Metopius and more than 870 described species have been reported worldwide. Among the genera Metopiinae, genus Exochus is the largest, which is cosmopolitan and comprises more than 290 described species worldwide (Choi et al., 2016; Yu et al., 2016). A taxonomic study of South Korean Exochus was initiated by Choi et al. (2014), who reported four species. Until now, 10 species have been described as new species and 25 species were recorded as new records of this genus from South Korea (Choi et al., 2014, 2016). In the present study, the following four species are reported in South Korea: Exochus latiareolus Tolkanitz, 2003, E. ornatus Momoi & Kusigemati, 1970, E. pictus Holmgren, 1858, and E. yasumatsui Momoi, Kusigemati & Nakanishi, 1968. In addition, we provide the diagnoses of these four species along with diagnostic photographs.
The genus Mesyatsia Ricker & Ross, 1975 is a small genus of the family Taeniopterygidae with only six species worldwide. This genus is mainly distributed in Asia, but has never been reported in Korea. In this paper, we report Mesyatsia makartchenkoi Teslenko & Zhiltzova, 1992 for the first time from the Korean Peninsula. The specimens were collected from Odaesan National Park, Bangtaesan Natural Recreation Forest, and Gariwangsan Natural Recreation Forest in Gangwon-do, South Korea by mainly Malaise traps and a few by sweep net. Some pharate larvae and adults crawling on the snow were also collected by handpicking. This species is characterized by the following features: pterostigma with dark spots; abdominal sternum 9 with vesicle; abdominal tergum 10 medially divided into two; subgenital plate strongly elongated, scoop-shaped, upcurved with tongue-shaped apex; cercus blunt. We provide materials, diagnosis for newly recorded species, and distributions. Additionally, we include a provisional key to the genera of Taeniopterygidae from Korea based on males.