Occurrence of an invertase producing strain of Aspergillus niger LP5 isolated from longan pollen and its application in longan syrup production to feed honey bees (Apis mellifera L.)
pISSN 2287-8327
eISSN 2288-1220
pISSN 2287-8327
eISSN 2288-1220
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Research 2022-05-26 JEE 46:13
Occurrence of an invertase producing strain of Aspergillus niger LP5 isolated from longan pollen and its application in longan syrup production to feed honey bees (Apis mellifera L.)
Khanchai Danmek1,2
, Rawisara Ruenwai1 , Choke Sorachakula1 , Chuleui Jung3 and Bajaree Chuttong2* Abstract : Background: In northern Thailand, the longan flower is the principal nectar source for honey production. Microorganisms play a critical function in the agricultural ecology. The morphological characteristics of fungal species found in longan pollen were studied. Aspergillus spp. were found to be invertase-producing strains and were employed in the longan syrup production process. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of invertase-added longan syrup on the adult honey bee population numbers that were fed by this syrup for 16 weeks.Results: Different fungal species were found in longan pollen samples. Aspergillus was the main genus, with three predominant sections: Nigri, Flavi, and Terrei. Other isolated species were Trichoderma spp., Rhizopus spp., Neurospora spp., Chaetomium spp., Fusarium spp. and Penicillium spp. However, Aspergillus spp. is the only fungal species that produces the enzyme invertase. The invertase-producing strains belonging to the Aspergillus section Nigri were found to be A. niger LP5 with an optimum activity at pH 6.0 and 60°C. When A. niger LP5 invertase was used for longan syrup processing, the highest levels of glucose (3.45%) and fructose (2.08%) were found in invertase added longan syrup (C), while fresh (A) and boiled longan syrup (B) had lower contents of both sugars. The sucrose content was detected in (A) at 4.25%, while (B) and (C) were at 4.02% and 3.08%, respectively. An appropriate amount of sugar to feed and maintain the honey bee population was considered. The data showed no statistically significant differences between the two selected forms of longan syrup compared to the sugar syrup examined by the adult honey bee population.Conclusions: The main species of isolated fungi from longan pollen were Aspergillus spp. The discovery of an invertase-producing strain of A. niger LP5 has enabled its application for enzyme utilization in the invert sugar preparation process. The adult worker bee populations fed by longan syrup from both boiled and invertase-added sources showed an increasing trend. Artificial syrup made from longan fruit to feed honey bees when natural food sources are limited can be applied.
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Review 2022-04-22 JEE 46:12
Current methodologies in construction of plant-pollinator network with emphasize on the application of DNA metabarcoding approach
Saeed Mohamadzade Namin1,2* , Minwoong Son3 and Chuleui Jung1,3 Abstract : Background: Pollinators are important ecological elements due to their role in the maintenance of ecosystem health, wild plant reproduction, crop production and food security. The pollinator-plant interaction supports the preservation of plant and animal populations and it also improves the yield in pollination dependent crops. Having knowledge about the plant-pollinator interaction is necessary for development of pesticide risk assessment of pollinators and conservation of endangering species.Results: Traditional methods to discover the relatedness of insects and plants are based on tracing the visiting pollinators by field observations as well as palynology. These methods are time-consuming and needs expert taxonomists to identify different groups of pollinators such as insects or identify flowering plants through palynology. With pace of technology, using molecular methods become popular in identification and classification of organisms. DNA metabarcoding, which is the combination of DNA barcoding and high throughput sequencing, can be applied as an alternative method in identification of mixed origin environmental samples such as pollen loads attached to the body of insects and has been used in DNA-based discovery of plant-pollinator relationship.Conclusions: DNA metabarcoding is practical for plant-pollinator studies, however, lack of reference sequence in online databases, taxonomic resolution, universality of primers are the most crucial limitations. Using multiple molecular markers is preferable due to the limitations of developed universal primers, which improves taxa richness and taxonomic resolution of the studied community.
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Research 2022-04-18 JEE 46:11
Population structure and regeneration of Zanthoxylum armatum DC. in Salyan, Nepal
Nirmala Phuyal1,2* , Pramod Kumar Jha1 , Pankaj Prasad Raturi3 and Sangeeta Rajbhandary1 Abstract : Background: Zanthoxylum armatum is one of the 30 prioritized medicinal plants for economic development of Nepal with a high trade value. Understanding the ecology of individual species is important for conservation and cultivation purposes. However, relation of ecological factors on the distribution and populations of Z. armatum in Nepal remain unknown. To address this knowledge gap, an attempt has been made to study the population structure, distribution, and regeneration potentiality of Z. armatum. Vegetation sampling was conducted at six different localities of Salyan district along the elevation range of 1,000 m to 2,000 m.Results: Altogether 50 plant species belonging to 44 genera under 34 families were found to be associated with Z. armatum. Significantly higher species richness was found at Rim (1,400?1,700 m) and Chhatreshwori (1,800?2,000 m) and lower at Kupinde (1,600?1,800 m). The highest population density of Z. armatum was at Kupinde (1,600?1,800 m) with a total of 1,100 individuals/ha. and the lowest at Chhatreshwori (1,800?2,000 m) with 740 individuals/ha. Based on the A/F value (Whitford index), it can be said that Z. armatum has random distribution in the study area. The plants were categorized into seedlings, saplings and adults based on plant height and the status of natural regeneration category determined. The regeneration potentiality of Z. armatum in the study area was fair with the average seedlings and saplings densities of 150 and 100 individuals/ha. Respectively. A Shannon?Weinner index mean value of 2.8 was obtained suggesting high species diversity in the study area.Conclusions: The natural distribution and regeneration of Z. armatum is being affected in the recent years due to anthropogenic disturbances. Increasing market demand and unsustainable harvesting procedures are posing serious threat to Z. armatum. Thus, effective conservation and management initiatives are most important for conserving the natural population of Z. armatum in the study area.
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Research 2022-04-12 JEE 46:10
Diversity of phytoplankton from the Nakdong River, South Korea: Euglenophytes
Han Soon Kim*† and Jae Hak Lee †Abstract : Background: Many investigations on phytoplankton from the Nakdong River carried out. However, since the weirs were constructed, only changes in phytoplankton biomass and dominant species have been restrictively studied in phytoplankton investigations in the Nakdong River. Added to this, any investigation on the phytoplankton flora has not been done in the Nakdong River. The aim of this study is to elucidate the characteristics of phytoplankton communities in the Nakdong River with the weirs built in it.Results: We observed a total of 103 taxa of Euglenophytes belonging to 8 genera from middle-lower part of the Nakdong River. The genus Trachelomonas was the most abundant group making up 40 taxa, followed Lepocinclis (20), Phacus (17), Strombomonas (14), Euglena (5), Colacium (3), Monomorphina (3) and Menoideum (1). Among them, a total of 22 taxa including Colacium (1), Lepocinclis (8), Phacus (4), Strombomonas (4) and Trachelomonas (5) were reported for the first time in Korea, and 86 taxa including those new to Korea were first recorded in the Nakdong River. All the species are illustrated with photomicrographs, and new to Korean species briefly discussed with regard to their taxonomy together with photomicrographs.Conclusions: The present study, a total of 22 taxa including one species of Colacium, 8 taxa of Lepocinclis, 4 taxa of Phacus, 4 taxa of Strombomonas and 5 taxa of Trachelomonas were reported for the first time in Korea, and 86 taxa including those new to Korea were first recorded in the Nakdong River.
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Research 2022-03-21 JEE 46:09
Comparison of stand structure and growth characteristics between Korean white pine plantation and oak-dominated natural deciduous forest by thinning treatment
Daesung Lee1 and Jungkee Choi2* Abstract : Background: Korean white pine (Pinus koraiensis) is a major commercial species, and the importance of the oak trees (Quercus spp.) is increasing due to various factors such as environmental and ecological values. However, more information is required to clearly understand the growth characteristics of these species especially regarding thinning intensity. This study was performed to provide the basic information to develop the silvicultural guideline and field manual by analyzing tree and stand characteristics in line with thinning intensity in the Korean white pine plantation and oak-dominated natural deciduous forest.Results: Diameter at breast height (DBH) and volume changes by the thinning intensity in the Korean white pine plantation were significantly different from those in the oak-dominated deciduous natural forest. In particular, DBH distribution in the pine stand appeared that there were more large diameter trees as the thinning intensity was higher. DBH periodic annual increment (PAI) of the pine stand was higher as the thinning intensity was stronger and the growth period was shorter. This trend was similarly shown in the natural deciduous forest, but the amount of PAI was smaller than in pine stand. The volume PAI after thinning was not decreased over time. In each stand type, the PAI tended to be lower as stand density was higher. The volume PAI in the pine stand was significantly higher than that in the oak-dominated natural deciduous forest. Dead trees occurred the most in the unthinned plots of each stand type, and those were higher in the natural deciduous forest. Ingrowth trees were observed only in the natural deciduous forest, and its distribution was the lowest in unthinned plots; Korean white pine as ingrowth occurred the most frequently among many tree species.Conclusions: Different effects of thinning treatment on DBH and volume PAI, mortality, and ingrowth were observed for each stand. With respect to forest growth, Korean white pine plantation was superior to the oak-dominated natural deciduous forest. The results of this study offer fundamental information for the development of silvicultural guidelines for Korean white pine plantations and oak-dominated natural deciduous forests in Korea.
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Research 2022-03-18 JEE 46:08
Local and regional steppe vegetation palatability at grazing hotspot areas in Mongolia
Narantsetsegiin Amartuvshin1 , Jaebeom Kim2 , Nanghyun Cho2 , Bumsuk Seo3 and Sinkyu Kang2* Abstract : Background: Climate and livestock grazing are key agents in determining current Mongolian steppe vegetation communities. Together with plant coverage or biomass, palatability of steppe community is regarded as a useful indicator of grassland degradation, in particular, at grazing hotspots in arid and semi-arid grasslands. This study analyzed relationships between livestock grazing pressure and steppe vegetation palatability at three summer pastures with different aridity (dry, xeric, and mesic) and livestock numbers (1,100, 1,800, and 4,100 sheep units, respectively). At each site, it was surveyed coverage, biomass, and species composition of different palatability groups (i.e., palatable [P], impalatable [IP], and trampling-tolerant [TT]) along a 1-km transect from grazing hotspots (i.e., well) in every July from 2015 to 2018.Results: In results, total vegetation coverage increased with wetness, 7 times greater at mesic site than dry one in averages (33.1% vs. 4.5%); biomass was 3 times higher (47.1 g m-2 vs. 15.7 g m-2). Though P was the dominant palatability group, the importance of IP in total coverage increased with aridity from mesic (0.6%) to dry (40.2%) sites. Whereas, TT increased with livestock numbers across sites. Locally, IP was observed more frequently near the wells and its spatial range of occurrence becomes farther along the transects with aridity across sites from mesic (< 100 m) to dry (< 700 m from the well).Conclusions: Our results showed that the importance of IP and its spatial distribution are different at both local and regional scales, indicating that the palatability parameters are sensitive to discern balance between selective-grazing demand and climate-driven foraging supply in Mongolian rangelands.
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Research 2022-03-14 JEE 46:07
Comparative analysis of volatile organic compounds from flowers attractive to honey bees and bumblebees
Aman Dekebo1,2* , Min-Jung Kim1 , Minwoong Son3 and Chuleui Jung1,3* Abstract : Background: Pollinators help plants to reproduce and support economically valuable food for humans and entire ecosystems. However, declines of pollinators along with population growth and increasing agricultural activities hamper this mutual interaction. Nectar and pollen are the major reward for pollinators and flower morphology and volatiles mediate the specialized plant?pollinator interactions. Limited information is available on the volatile profiles attractive to honey bees and bumblebees. In this study we analyzed the volatile organic compounds of the flowers of 9 different plant species that are predominantly visited by honey bees and bumblebees. The chemical compositions of the volatiles were determined using a head space gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method, designed to understand the plant-pollinator chemical interaction. Results: Results showed the monoterpene 1,3,6-octatriene, 3,7-dimethyl-, (E) (E-β-ocimene) was the dominating compound in most flowers analyzed, e.g., in proportion of 60.3% in Lonicera japonica, 48.8% in Diospyros lotus, 38.4% Amorpha fruticosa and 23.7% in Robinia pseudoacacia. Ailanthus altissima exhibited other monoterpenes such as 3,7-dimethyl-1,6-octadien-3-ol (β-linalool) (39.1%) and (5E)-3,5-dimethylocta-1,5,7-trien-3-ol (hotrienol) (32.1%) as predominant compounds. Nitrogen containing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were occurring principally in Corydalis speciosa; 1H-pyrrole, 2,3-dimethyl- (50.0%) and pyrimidine, 2-methyl- (40.2%), and in Diospyros kaki; 1-triazene, 3,3-dimethyl-1-phenyl (40.5%). Ligustrum obtusifolium flower scent contains isopropoxycarbamic acid, ethyl ester (21.1%) and n-octane (13.4%) as major compounds. In Castanea crenata the preeminent compound is 1-phenylethanone (acetophenone) (46.7%). Conclusions: Olfactory cues are important for pollinators to locate their floral resources. Based on our results we conclude monoterpenes might be used as major chemical mediators attractive to both honey bees and bumblebees to their host flowers. However, the mode of action of these chemicals and possible synergistic effects for olfaction need further investigation.
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Research 2022-03-03 JEE 46:06
Prediction of potential spread areas of African swine fever virus through wild boars using Maxent model
Sang Jin Lim1 , Hun Namgung2 , Nam Hyung Kim2 , Yeonsu Oh3* and Yung Chul Park2* Abstract : Background: In South Korea, African swine fever virus (ASFV) has spread among wild boars through Gangwon-do to Dangyang-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do on the southern border of Gangwon-do. To prevent the spread of ASFV to African swine fever (ASF)-free areas, it is necessary to identify areas with a high probability of finding ASFV-infected carcasses and to reduce the density of wild boars in those areas. In this study, we described the propagation trend of ASFV among wild boars, constructed the habitat suitability maps for ASFV-infected carcasses, and suggested areas with a high probability of finding ASFV- infected carcasses and an important route of ASFV transmission.Results: Despite the active quarantine policies in Korea to prevent the spread of ASFV through wild boars, there was no significant difference in the monthly average of number of ASFV-infected carcasses observed between 2020 and 2021. The ASFV-infected carcasses were found more in winter and spring (January to April). Since the first ASF outbreak in wild boars on October 2, 2019, the maximum width of ASFV-infected carcass distribution area was 222.7 km for about 26 months till November 20, 2021. The habitat suitability map, based on GPS coordinates of ASFV-infected wild boar carcasses, shows that highly detectable areas of ASFV-infected carcasses were sporadically dispersed in western and southwestern parts of Gangwon-do, and ranged from north to south of the province along the Baekdudaegan Mountains, whereas poorly detectable areas ranged along the north to the south in the middle parts of the province.Conclusions: Our suitability model, based on the GPS coordinates of ASFV-infected carcasses, identifies potential habitats where ASFV-infected carcasses are likely to be found and ponential routes where ASFV is likely to spread. Among ASF-free areas, the areas with high suitability predicted in this study should be given priority as survey areas to find ASFV- infected carcasses and hunting areas to reduce wild boar populations.
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Review 2022-02-16 JEE 46:05
Potential risky exotic fish species, their ecological impacts and potential reasons for invasion in Korean aquatic ecosystems
Usman Atique and Kwang-Guk An* Abstract : Background: Due to the rapidly changing climatic conditions, South Korea faces the grand challenge of exotic species. With the increasing human movement, the influx of alien species to novel regions is prevalent across the globe. The latest research suggests that it is easy to prevent the introduction and establishment of alien species rather than controlling their spread and eradication. Like other countries, the Korean Ministry of Environment released a list (in 2018) of 45 potential risky exotic fish species considered likely to be invasive candidate fish species if they ever succeed in entering the Korean aquatic ecosystems.Results: The investigation into the invasion suitability traits showed that potential risky fish species could utilize those features in becoming invasive once they arrive in the Korean aquatic ecosystems. If the novel species establish viable populations, they are likely to incur higher economic costs, damage the native aquatic fauna and flora, and jeopardize the already perilled species. Furthermore, they can damage the installed infrastructure, decline overall abundance and biodiversity, and disturb the ecosystem services. Here we reviewed the list of fish species concerning their family, native origin, preferred aquatic biomes, main food items, current status in Korea, and potential threats to humans and the ecosystems. Data shows that most species are either already designated as invasive in the neighboring counties, including Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, and China, or originate from these countries. Such species have a higher climate match with the Korean territories.Conclusions: Therefore, it is exceptionally essential to study their most critical features and take regulatory measures to restrict their entry. The incoming fish species must be screened before letting them in the country in the future. The regulatory authorities must highlight the threatening traits of such species and strictly monitor their entrance. Detailed research is required to explore the other species, especially targeting the neighboring countries fish biodiversity, having demonstrated invasive features and matching the Korean climate.
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Research 2022-02-10 JEE 46:04
Biological soil crusts impress vegetation patches and fertile islands over an arid pediment, Iran
Adel Sepehr1*, Asma Hosseini1, Kamal Naseri2 and Atoosa Gholamhosseinian1 Abstract : Background: Plant vegetation appears in heterogeneous and patchy forms in arid and semi-arid regions. In these regions, underneath the plant patches and the empty spaces between them are covered by biological soil crusts (moss, lichen, cyanobacteria, and fungi). Biological soil crusts lead to the formation and development of fertile islands in between vegetation patches via nitrogen and carbon fixation and the permeation of runoff water and nutrients in the soil.Results: The present study has investigated the association of biological soil crusts, the development of fertile islands, and the formation of plant patches in part of the Takht-e Soltan protected area, located in Khorasan Razavi Province, Iran. Three sites were randomly selected as the working units and differentiated based on their geomorphological characteristics to the alluvial fan, hillslope, and fluvial terrace landforms. Two-step systematic random sampling was conducted along a 100-meter transect using a 5 m2 plot at a 0?5 cm depth in three repetitions. Fifteen samplings were carried out at each site with a total of 45 samples taken. The results showed that the difference in altitude has a significant relationship with species diversity and decreases with decreasing altitude. Results have revealed that the moisture content of the site, with biocrust has had a considerable increase compared to the other sites, helping to form vegetation patterns and fertile islands.Conclusions: The findings indicated that biological crusts had impacted the allocation of soil parameters. They affect the formation of plant patches by increasing the soil’s organic carbon, nitrogen, moisture and nutrient content provide a suitable space for plant growth by increasing the soil fertility in the inter-patch space.
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Review 2022-01-21 JEE 46:03
Roles of flower scent in bee–flower mediations: a review
Daniel Bisrat1,2* and Chuleui Jung1,3 Abstract : Background: Bees and flowering plants associations were initially began during the early Cretaceous, 120 million years ago. This coexistence has led to a mutual relationship where the plant serves as food and in return, the bee help them their reproduction. Animals pollinate about 75% of food crops worldwide, with bees as the world’s primary pollinator. In general, bees rely on flower scents to locate blooming flowers as visual clue is limited and also their host plants from a distance. In this review, an attempt is made to collect some relevant 107 published papers from three scientific databases, Google Scholar, Scopus, and Web of Science database, covering the period from 1959 to 2021.Results: Flowering plants are well documented to actively emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs). However, only a few of them are important for eliciting behavioral responses in bees. In this review, fifty-three volatile organic compounds belonging to different class of compounds, mainly terpenoids, benzenoids, and volatile fatty acid derivatives, is compiled here from floral scents that are responsible for eliciting behavioral responses in bees. Bees generally use honest floral signals to locate their host plants with nectar and pollen-rich flowers. Thus, honest signaling mechanism plays a key role in maintaining mutualistic plant?pollinator associations.Conclusions: Considering the fact that floral scents are the primary attractants, understanding and identification of VOCs from floral scent in plant-pollinator networks are crucial to improve crop pollination. Interestingly, current advances in both VOCs scent gene identification and their biosynthetic pathways make it possible to manipulate particular VOCs in plant, and this eventually may lead to increase in crop productivity.
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Research 2022-01-14 JEE 46:02
Impact of parthenium weed invasion on plants and their soil seedbank in a subtropical grassland, central Nepal
Jyoti Khatri-Chettri1 , Maan Bahadur Rokaya2,3 and Bharat Babu Shrestha1* Abstract : Background: Parthenium hysterophorus L. (Asteraceae; hereafter Parthenium) is an invasive alien species of global significance because of its’ negative ecological and socioeconomic impacts. This species is spreading rapidly from lowland Tarai to Middle Mountain regions in Nepal. In the present study, we analyzed the impacts of Parthenium on plant community composition including their soil seedbank in subtropical grasslands located in central Nepal. Data was collected in a 10 m long transects passing through areas of high (> 90% cover), medium (40%-60%) and low (< 10%) levels of Parthenium cover using a plot of 1 m2. Altogether, we sampled 90 plots in 30 transects. Seedling emergence method was used to estimate soil seedbank density in the soil samples (0-10 cm depth) collected from the plots with high Parthenium cover.Results: There was no significant difference in the plant species richness at different levels of Parthenium invasion whereas there was a significant change in the species composition of above ground flora due to Parthenium invasion. There was also a significant difference in species composition between soil seedbank and aboveground flora in the highly invaded plots. Parthenium was the most dominant in soil seedbank, contributing 65% to the total soil seedbank.Conclusions: Our study suggests that Parthenium has considerable negative impact on the native grassland flora, and the dominance of Parthenium in the soil seedbank means there is a challenge for its management. It also suggests the need of monitoring the soil seedbank dynamics while managing Parthenium weed.
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Impact of parthenium weed invasion on plants and their soil seedbank in a subtropical grassland, central Nepal
Jyoti Khatri-Chettri1 , Maan Bahadur Rokaya2,3 and Bharat Babu Shrestha1*
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Population dynamics of the red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) with changes in the population dependent carrying capacity in Republic of Korea
Yunju Wi1, Gyujin Oh1, Hee-Jin Kang2, Ha-Cheol Sung3, Seung-ju Cheon2 and Hong-Sung Jin1*
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Roles of flower scent in bee–flower mediations: a review
Daniel Bisrat1,2* and Chuleui Jung1,3
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Impact of parthenium weed invasion on plants and their soil seedbank in a subtropical grassland, central Nepal
Jyoti Khatri-Chettri1 , Maan Bahadur Rokaya2,3 and Bharat Babu Shrestha1*
