Entomophthoralean and ascomycetous fungi are the two major groups known to parasitize arthropods in almost every terrestrial habitat of the earth. Within Ascomycota,Cordycepssensu lato is a large genus with more than 400 spp. described on numerous orders of Arthropoda. Among the hosts ofCordyceps, Coleoptera and Lepidoptera are the two major orders. Out of the estimated 200Cordycepsspp. recorded on coleopteran and lepidopteran hosts, we have documented 92 spp. based on the available information of their host species. Among coleopteran hosts, Scarabaeidae and Elateridae are the two major families. Similarly, among lepidopterans, Hepialidae is the largest host family.Cordyceps militarisshows the widest host range, extending to 2 orders, 13 families, and 32 spp. We hope such accumulative work will be useful as a quick reference for interested biologists, forest ecologists, biocontrol researchers, and fungal and insect taxonomists to apprehend host range and host specificities ofCordycepsfungi.

Sanghuang is a medicinal mushroom that has gained particular attention in Korea. It has been extensively studied for the past few decades as a natural immune booster and cancer suppressor. Although the scientific name, Phellinus linteus, has been commonly used to refer to the sanghuang mushroom, the species identity of sanghuang has been called into question due to the ambiguity of its circumscription and the inadequacy of morphological distinctions within allied species. Because the species concept of sanghuang has been elucidated by recent molecular phylogenetic studies, it has become necessary to clarify the taxonomic positions of sanghuang strains extensively utilized in Korea. We conducted a phylogenetic analysis of 74 strains belonging to the P. linteus-baumii complex based on ITS nrDNA sequences. Parental stains of sanghuang varieties formally registered in the Korea Seed & Variety Service, including ASI 26046 (Corea sanghuang), 26114 (Boolro), and 26115 (HK 1-ho) were grouped with Sanghuangporus sanghuang instead of P. linteus in the inferred phylogeny.

We conducted five times surveys, in June, September and October in 2012; June and September 2013, to catalog the mushroom flora in Ulleung-gun, Republic of Korea. More than 400 specimens were collected, and 317 of the specimens were successfully sequenced using the ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer barcode marker. We also surveyed the morphological characteristics of the sequenced specimens. The specimens were classified into 2 phyla, 7 classes, 21 orders, 59 families, 122 genera, and 221 species, and were deposited in the herbarium of Korea National Arboretum. Among the collected species, 72% were saprophytic, 25% were symbiotic, and 3% were parasitic. The most common order was Agaricales (189 specimens, 132 species), followed by Polyporales (47 specimens, 27 species), Russulales (31 specimens, 22 species), Boletales (10 specimens, 7 species), and so on. Herein, we also reported the first Bovista species in Korea, which was collected from Dokdo, the far-eastern island of Korea.

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium DT104 (Salmonella Typhimurium DT104 or DT104) has been emerging as a common pathogen for human in Korea since 1997. In order to compare the genomic relationship and to search for the dominant strains in Korea, we conducted pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and IS200 fingerprinting of 25 epidemiological unrelated isolates from human and animals from Korea and cattle from America. Two Salmonella Typhimurium DT104 isolates from human in Korea and all 8 isolates from American cattle had indistinguishable patterns from the PFGE and IS200 fingerprinting but multidrug-resistant Salmonella Typhimurium isolates, including DT104, from Korean animals had diverse genetic patterns. The data suggest that a dominant DT104 strain might have circulated between Korean and American cattle and that it had a high level of clonality.

Amanita Pers. is a well-known monophyletic mushroom genus with a broad distribution. However, the diversity of Korean Amanita species has been underestimated, and most taxonomic studies conducted in Korea have only investigated their morphological characteristics. This approach is frequently insufficient for correct identification in fungal classification; therefore, we constructed a phylogeny of Amanita subgen. Lepidella in order to understand the phylogenetic placements of 16 Amanita specimens collected in Korea in 2012. The phylogeny constructed using the sequence data of the internal transcribed spacers and the partial large subunit of ribosomal RNA identified nine Amanita species (A. citrina, A. excelsa var. spissa, A. flavipes, A. fritillaria, A. oberwinklerana, A. pallidorosea, A. rubescens, A. subjunquillea, and A. volvata); of these, A. fritillaria, A. oberwinklerana, and A. pallidorosea are new to Korea.