Insect community structures along elevation gradients on Mt.Seongak-san, South Korea

Insect communities along three elevation gra- dients on Mt. Seongak-san, South Korea, were investigated from May to September 2013 using traps in order to collect basic data for distributional monitoring of species in a forest ecosystem. A total of 2698 individuals of 309 moth species of 18 families were collected in bucket-light traps, along with 196 individuals of 26 ground-beetle species and 11,276 individuals of 14 ant species in pit-fall traps. The insect community at each site was analyzed using analysisof variance and non-metric multidimensional scaling （NMS）. The ground-beetle and ant abundances varied with elevation. The NMS showed distinct clusters of moths between the ground-beetle and ant distributions with ele- vation and month. The community-level responses of these insect groups to those gradients were analyzed.

Indigenous parasitoids as effective natural enemies of Phyllocnistis citrella(Lepidoptera:Gracillariidae)in Korea

This study is aimed to investigate the occurrence of Phyllocnistis citrella Stainton （citrus leafminer; CLM）, which has recently caused increasing damage to citrus farms in southern South Korea, and its natural enemies, which can act as biological control agents. In the present study, CLM monitoring using sex pheromone traps were conducted in the major citrus farms in the Jeju region in South Korea. Also a survey of parasites was carried out to detect the effective control agent for CLM. During the investigation from 2011 to 2015, a relatively large number of adult CLM （2,386,990） were observed in the sex pheromone traps. The mean annual occurrence of CLM was 477,398, which showed an increasing trend with the increase in temperature. A survey of parasites was conducted in November 2015. Six parasites were found, of which, Quadrastichus sp. and Sympiesis sp. showed the highest rates of parasitism. The mean rate of parasitism during the survey period was 3.97 %. We discovered four new species of parasites of CLM in South Korea.

A novel cytokine consisting of the p40 and EBI3 subunits suppresses experimental autoimmune arthritis via reciprocal regulation of Th17 and Treg cells

OBJECTIVE:The interleukin(IL)-12 cytokine family is closely related to the development of T helper cells,which are responsible for autoimmune disease enhancement or suppression.IL-12 family members are generally heterodimers and share threeα-subunits(p35,p19,and p28)and twoβ-subunits(p40 and EBI3).However,aβ-sheet p40 homodimer has been shown to exist and antagonize IL-12 and IL-23 signaling 1.Therefore,we assumed the existence of a p40-EBI3 heterodimer in nature and sought to investigate its role in immune regulation.METHODS:The presence of the p40-EBI3 heterodimer was confirmed by ELISA,immunoprecipitation,and western blotting.A p40-EBI3 vector and p40-EBI3-Fc protein were synthesized to confirm the immunological role of this protein in mice with collageninduced arthritis(CIA).The anti-inflammatory effects of p40-EBI3 were analyzed with regard to clinical,histological,and immune cell-regulating features in mice with CIA.RESULTS:Clinical arthritis scores and the expression levels of proinflammatory cytokines(e.g.,IL-17,IL-1β,IL-6,and TNF-α)were significantly attenuated in p40-EBI3-overexpressing and p40-EBI3-Fc-treated mice with CIA compared to vehicle-treated mice with CIA.Structural joint damage and vessel formation-related gene expression were also reduced by p40-EBI3 heterodimer treatment.In vitro,the p40-EBI3-Fc protein significantly suppressed the differentiation of Th17 cells and reciprocally induced CD4+CD25+Foxp3+(regulatory T)cells.p40-EBI3 also inhibited osteoclast formation in a concentrationdependent manner.CONCLUSION:In this study,p40-EBI3 ameliorated proinflammatory conditions both in vivo and in vitro.We propose that p40-EBI3 is a novel anti-inflammatory cytokine involved in suppressing the immune response through the expansion of Treg cells and suppression of Th17 cells and osteoclastogenesis.