Cypripedium japonicum is known to be the indigenous plant to Korea, Japan, and China. However, C. japonicum represents the most critically endangered plant species in South Korea. The plant is esthetically pleasing due to its flower, which is larger than any other orchidaceous species. Disease symptoms relating to gray mold were observed on C. japonicum in May 2019. The suspected pathogen was successfully isolated from the symptomatic leaf tissue and conducted a pure culture of the fungi. The conidia formed consisted of a colorless or light brown single cell, which was either egg or oval-shaped with a size of 7.1 to 13.4 × 5.2 to 8.6 μm. Molecular phylogenetic relationship analysis was also confirmed that the pathogen concerned belonging to the family of Botrytis cinerea. Therefore, the findings confirmed that the pathogen isolated from C. japonicum was consistent with the unique properties of B. cinerea.In 2016, a cercosporoid fungus was found from leaf spot symptoms on melon in Korea. The fungus isolated from the plant was identified based on morphological characteristics and sequence analyses of five genes (ITS rDNA, translation elongation factor 1-α, actin, calmodulin, and histone H3). The fungal isolate was found to be pathogenic to melon. The results confirm that the fungus associated with leaf spot on melon was Cercospora cf.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/ly333531.html  flagellaris. This is the first report of Cercospora cf. flagellaris causing Cercospora leaf spot on melon in Korea.Fungal ecological interactions play a key role in structuring community assemblages. These associations may involve both antagonistic and synergistic relationships, which are commonly influenced by abiotic factors such as nutrient conditions. However, information for extreme, oligotrophic systems remain poor. Herein, interactions among key members of the aquatic transient fungal community (Aspergillus niger, Cladosporium sp., and Coprinellus micaceus) of a low-nutrient freshwater system in the Cuatro Ciénegas Basin, Mexico were studied. Pairwise interaction bioassays were explored in vitro under different nutrient conditions, including carbohydrates-rich, carbohydrates and amino peptides-rich, and low nutrients. Our results indicated that antagonistic patterns prevail among the studied taxa. However, nutrient-dependent changes were observed in Cladosporium sp. shifting to synergy under carbohydrates-rich conditions, suggesting changes in the fungal community composition as a result of nutrient enrichment. Remarkably, our findings contrast with previous work demonstrating mainly synergistic interactions between our tested fungal isolates and co-occurring autochthonous bacteria (Aeromonas spp. and Vibrio sp.) under low-nutrient conditions. This observation may indicate that bacteria and fungi exhibit distinct community-level responses, driven by nutrient conditions. This contributes to the knowledge of fungal community dynamics and interspecific interactions in an oligotrophic ecosystem, highlighting the relevance of nutrient-based shifts and antagonistic interactions in ecosystem dynamics.Many of the β-glucans are known to have antihypertensive activities, but, except for angiotensin-converting enzyme II inhibition, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Corin is an atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP)-converting enzyme. Activated corin cleaves pro-ANP to ANP, which regulates water-sodium balance and lowers blood pressure. Here, we reported a novel antihypertensive mechanism of β-glucans, involved with corin and ANP in mice. We showed that multiple oral administrations of β-glucan induced the expression of corin and ANP, and also increased natriuresis in mice. Microarray analysis showed that corin gene expression was only upregulated in mice liver by multiple, not single, oral administrations of the β-glucan fraction of Phellinus baumii (BGF). Corin was induced in liver and kidney tissues by the β-glucans from zymosan and barley, as well as by BGF. In addition to P. baumii, β-glucans from two other mushrooms, Phellinus linteus and Ganoderma lucidum, also induced corin mRNA expression in mouse liver. ELISA immunoassays showed that ANP production was increased in liver tissue by all the β-glucans tested, but not in the heart and kidney. Urinary sodium excretion was significantly increased by treatment with β-glucans in the order of BGF, zymosan, and barley, both in 1% normal and 10% high-sodium diets. In conclusion, we found that the oral administration of β-glucans could induce corin expression, ANP production, and sodium excretion in mice. Our findings will be helpful for investigations of β-glucans in corin and ANP-related fields, including blood pressure, salt-water balance, and circulation.This study was conducted to understand the dynamics of microbial communities of soil microorganisms, and their distribution and abundance in the indigenous microorganisms (IMOs) manipulated from humus collected from the forest near the crop field. The soil microorganisms originated from humus and artificially cultured microbial-based soil amendments were characterized by molecular and biochemical analyses. The bacterial population (2 × 106∼13 × 106 CFU/g sample) was approximately 100-fold abundant than the fungal population (2 × 104∼8 × 104 CFU/g sample). The 16S rDNA and ITS sequence analyses showed that the bacterial and fungal communities in humus and IMOs were mainly composed of Bacillus and Pseudomonas, and Trichoderma and Aspergillus species, respectively. Some of the bacterial isolates from the humus and IMOs showed strong inhibitory activity against soil-borne pathogenic fungi Fusarium oxysporum and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. These bacteria also showed the siderophore production activity as well as phosphate solubilizing activity, which are requisite traits for biological control of plant pathogenic fungi. These results suggest that humus and IMOs could be a useful resource for sustainable agriculture.Use of nanoparticles (NPs) in several commercial products has led to emergence of novel contaminants of air, soil and water bodies. The NPs may exhibit greater ecotoxicity due to nano-scale dependent properties over their bulk counterparts. The present investigation explores the effect of in vitro supplementation of TiO2, silica and silver NPs on radial growth and ultrastructural changes in the hyphae and spores of two mushroom genera, Ganoderma lucidum and Volvariella volvaceae. A concentration dependent decrease in radial growth on NP amended potato dextrose agar medium was recorded. However, in comparison to control, there was decrease in radial diameter on supplementation with TiO2 NPs while an increase was recorded for silica and silver NPs amendments as compared to their bulk salts at same concentrations after 48 h of incubation. Optical microscopy studies showed decrease in the number of spores while increase in spore diameter and thinning of hyphal diameter on NPs supplementation. Scanning electron microscopy analysis of fungal growth showed presence of deflated and oblong spores in two fruiting strains of Ganoderma while Volvariella exhibited decreased sporulation.