Species trees, temporal divergence and historical biogeography of coastal rove beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) reveal their early Miocene origin and show that most divergence events occurred in the early Pliocene along the Pacific coasts.

We investigated the species trees, temporal divergence and historical biogeography of Emplenota Casey and Triochara Bernhauer (ET clade hereafter), subgenera of the Aleochara coastal staphylinid beetles, to determine their place of origin. We explored a multilocus dataset to infer gene trees and species trees based on traditional concatenated and multispecies coalescent-based approaches using both model- (maximum likelihood and Bayesian) and parsimony-based methods. The multilocus dataset comprised DNA sequences from five nuclear genes (ArgK, CAD, EF1-α, wg and 28S) and three mitochondrial genes (COI, COII and 16S). *BEAST analysis according to a coalescent-based approach resolved the following phylogenetic relationships: ((A. trisulcata (A. nubis + A. zerchei)) (A. obscurella ((A. pacifica (A. curtidens + A. litoralis)) (A. hayamai (A. yamato (A. fucicola (A. segregata + A. puetzi))))))). Using a relaxed molecular clock, we reconstructed a time-calibrated phylogeny for this group. Furthermore, to account for the historical biogeography of the ET clade at the ages of major divergences, we investigated the ancestral area based on a time-calibrated phylogeny. Biogeographical analyses suggested that the ancestor of the ET clade was widely distributed along the eastern and western Palearctic and the western Nearctic coasts in the early Miocene. According to reconstruction of the ancestral area, one dispersal and three vicariance events were required, and the analyses indicated that vicariance events were important in shaping its current distribution patterns. Most of the divergence events occurred in the late Miocene and early Pliocene along the Pacific coasts, and the East Asian seacoasts harboured the most species-rich fauna, including eight of the 13 species in the ET clade.

Molecular characterisation and expression analysis of a fish-egg lectin in rock bream, and its response to bacterial or viral infection.

A fish-egg lectin, RbFEL, was identified from rock bream (Oplegnathus fasciatus) and its expression analysed. In both vertebrates and invertebrates, carbohydrate-binding proteins (lectins) play an important role in innate immunity against microbial invasion. Here, we report the cloning of a fish-egg lectin from rock bream using a combination of expression sequence tag (EST) analyses. The full-length cDNA of RbFEL is composed of 1512-bp with a 780-bp ORF that encodes 259 amino acid residues. The deduced polypeptide exhibits six conserved residues of the FEL family. All cysteine positions in each domain were completely conserved. Reverse transcription quantitative real-time PCR analysis of the tissues revealed that RbFEL mRNA was abundantly expressed in liver, moderately expressed in head kidney and rarely expressed in other tissues. Expression analyses of time series sampled fertilised eggs showed that expression gradually increased 1, 3, 12, 24 and 36 h after fertilisation. In addition, RbFEL expression was significantly up-regulated in rock bream challenged with Edwardsiella tarda, Streptococcus iniae and red sea bream iridovirus (RSIV). These results suggest that RbFEL is a member of the egg-lectin family and is involved in the innate immune response in rock bream.

A taxonomic review of the coastal genus Iotarphia Cameron (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae) with a description of new species based on morphological and molecular characters.

A taxonomic review of the marine littoral genus Iotarphia Cameron is presented. Three species are recognized, one of which is described as a new species (I. magna Song Ahn, sp. n.) based on morphological and molecular characters. Genetic divergence of COI using uncorrected p-distance among Iotarphia species ranged from 10% to 11.6%, while intraspecific divergence ranged from 0% to 1.3%. All three species were strongly supported as a single lineage on both neighbor-joining and parsimony trees. The genus Iotarphia and I. australis Cameron are redescribed with illustrations of diagnostic characters. The female of I. rufobrunnea is characterized for the first time. A key and comparison table for similarities and differences among the species are presented.

Species delimitation of the praying mantis emHierodula/em empatellifera/em (Audinet-Serville) based on morphological and molecular characters (Mantodea: Mantidae).

An integrative taxonomic analysis of Hierodula patellifera (Audinet-Serville) is presented based on morphological and molecular characters (COI, 28S rDNA). During repeated trips to the Korean peninsula, we collected unusual specimens from Wanju-gun. They were similar to H. patellifera, but can be distinguished by a larger body size, the number and shape of spines on foreleg, and the shape of male genitalia. To examine the phenotypes and delimit H. patellifera from fourteen sampled populations, we used forecoxal spines and male genitalia as key morphological characters, as well as molecular data including gene tree monophyly and genetic divergence data. The molecular analyses (p-distance, neighbor-joining, and parsimony analyses) did not separate the specimens as two distinct species. The diagnostic characters of H. patellifera are illustrated with habitus images.

A new species of Galleria Fabricius (Lepidoptera, Pyralidae) from Korea based on molecular and morphological characters.

The greater wax moth, Galleria mellonella Linnaeus, is well known as a pest of honey bees and for the biodegradation of wax and polyethylene by their larvae. The genus Galleria has long been considered monotypic and found worldwide. A taxonomic study of the genus Galleria is presented based on morphological and molecular characters (COI, CAD, wg). A new species (Galleria similis Roh & Song, sp. nov.) is recognized on the Korean peninsula. The new species is superficially similar to G. mellonella but they can be separated by the structures of hindwing venation and male genitalia. Habitus photographs and illustrations of diagnostic characters are provided.

The first discovery of the genus Haploglossa Kraatz species (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae) in Korea, with a description of new species.

The genus Haploglossa Kraatz is recorded for the first time in Korea with a description of Haploglossa koreana Song Ahn, sp. nov. and a redescription of H. villosula (Stephens). A key, habitus photographs and illustrations of the diagnostic characters of the known Korean species are provided.

Gadd45gamma expression is reduced in anaplastic thyroid cancer and its reexpression results in apoptosis.

Anaplastic thyroid carcinomas are a highly aggressive and extremely lethal form of human cancer, but the biological characteristics related to their aggressive nature are not understood. Moreover, Gadd45 family proteins have been implicated in a variety of growth-regulatory mechanisms, including DNA replication and repair, G(2)/M checkpoint control, and apoptosis. In this study we found that Gadd45gamma RNA was present at significantly lower levels in anaplastic cancer cells, compared with normal primary cultured thyrocytes. In addition, the adenovirus-mediated reexpression of Gadd45gamma significantly inhibited the proliferation of anaplastic thyroid carcinoma cells, ARO, FRO, and NPA cells, which was attributed to apoptosis. Furthermore, the adenovirus-mediated delivery of Gadd45gamma gene in anaplastic thyroid cancer resulted in the inhibition of tumor growth in vivo. This in vitro and in vivo activity of the adenovirus-mediated transduction of CR6/Gadd45gamma, on anaplastic thyroid cancer cell growth suppression, was reminiscent of the effects of p53. This study demonstrates that the Gadd45gamma gene has potential use as a candidate gene for gene therapy in anaplastic thyroid cancer.

Molecular cloning and characterisation of the rock bream, Oplegnathus fasciatus, Fas (CD95/APO-1), and its expression analysis in response to bacterial or viral infection.

Fas belongs to the tumour necrosis factor (TNF) receptor superfamily and can transmit a death signal leading to apoptosis. In the present study, we isolated the full-length cDNA for rock bream (Oplegnathus fasciatus) Fas (RbFas). The full-length RbFas cDNA was 1770 bp long and contained an open reading frame of 957 bp that encoded 319 amino acid residues with a predicted molecular mass of 35.1 kDa. The 319 amino-acid predicted RbFas sequence is homologous to other Fas sequences, contains three cysteine-rich domains and a death domain (DD) and two potential N-glycosylation sites. Expression of RbFas mRNA was detected in nine different tissues from healthy rock bream and was the highest in red blood cells. In analyses of mitogen-stimulated RbFas expression in peripheral blood leucocytes, expression of RbFas mRNA was observed between 1 and 36 h after stimulation with LPS, and 1 and 3 h stimulation with poly I:C. In the case of bacterial injection, the RbFas transcript peaked 6 h after injection in both the kidney and the spleen. Otherwise, the RbFas transcript peaked after 1 h in spleen and 6 h in kidney following injection with RSIV.