Seung-Chul Kim

• PhD
• Professor at Sungkyunkwan University

The genus Pentactina (Rosaceae) has long been recognized as a rare monotypic genus endemic to Korea. The type species, Pentactina rupicola , is confined to small populations in the Kumgangsan Mountains of North Korea. However, a recent taxonomic study suggested a new status of Pentactina schlothauerae in the Russian Far East, which was formerly cla...

Rosa lucieae (syn. Rosa wichurana or R. wichuraiana ; Rosaceae) is one of the major wild progenitors of modern rose cultivars. In breeding roses, R. lucieae has contributed not only to white blooms and shiny leaves, but most of all, to succeed in various harsh conditions and high resistance to diseases and pests. The wild R. lucieae inhabits littor...

Hosta species are abundant in northeastern Asia, offering significant ornamental and horticultural value due to their diverse foliage colors and textures, as well as their showy, fragrant flowers. Among the eight taxa naturally distributed in Korea, H. clausa is found in central and northern Korea, as well as northeastern China, providing valuable...

A new species, Potentilla rhizoma H.T. Im, was found in the eastern area of central Korea. Potentilla rhizoma has similar morphological characters on its aerial parts to P. fragarioides but differs due to its thick vigorously growing rhizomes.

Unraveling species boundaries is pivotal for evolutionary biology and conservation endeavors. However, it proves challenging in instances where recent speciation is intertwined with complex demographic histories and natural selection processes. The Rhododendron keiskei complex, an evergreen rhododendron distributed in East Asia, consists of a wides...

Background The genus Robinsonia DC. (tribe Senecioneae, Asteraceae) endemic to the Juan Fernández Islands in Chile is one of the most conspicuous insular plant groups in the world. Unlike typical herbaceous Asteraceae plants, these plants demonstrate spectacular and unusual rosette tree growth forms as shown by the alpine giant senecios (genus Dend...

Background and Aims The section Synstylae in genus Rosa (Rosaceae) comprises 25–36 species and includes several major progenitors of modern rose cultivars. East Asian Synstylae species have recently diverged and are closely related, and their phylogenetic relationships remain unclear. In the present study, we employed a conserved ortholog set (COS)...

Premise Island plants have long interested biologists because of their distinctive morphological features and their isolation on small land areas in vast oceans. Studies of insular endemics may include identifying their ancestors, tracing their dispersal to islands, and describing their evolution on islands, including characters adaptive to island...

Phedimus latiovalifolius (Y.N.Lee) D.C.Son & H.J.Kim is exclusively distributed in the high mountains in the Korean Peninsula, mainly along the Baekdudaegan mountain range. Despite its morphological and distributional distinction from other Phedimus Raf. species, its taxonomic identity and phylogenetic relationship with congeneric species remain un...

Korean wasabi occurs naturally on the young oceanic, volcanic Ulleung Island off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula. Although the Ulleung Island wasabi is reported as Eutrema japonicum and has been suggested to be morphologically identical to cultivars in Korea, very little is known about its taxonomic identity and relationship with other culti...

Erigeron represents the third largest genus on the Juan Fernández Islands, with six endemic species, five of which occur exclusively on the younger Alejandro Selkirk Island with one species on both islands. While its continental sister species is unknown, Erigeron on the Juan Fernández Islands appears to be monophyletic and most likely evolved from...

i>Saussurea daeganensis , a new endemic species to Korea, is reported in this study. Among Korean Saussurea , S. daeganensis resembles S. macrolepis (Nakai) Kitam. S. grandifolia Maxim. and S. tanakae Franch. & Sav. ex Maxim. morphologically, i.e., in terms of the leaf shape, loose synflorescences, and tubular heads. Saussurea daeganensis , however...

The woody Sonchus alliance, a spectacular example of adaptive radiation with six genera and approximately 31 species, is found exclusively on three Macaronesian Islands (Madeira, Canaries, and Cape Verdes) in the Atlantic Ocean. Four of the Sonchus taxa are restricted to Madeira, including shrubs and small trees at higher elevations (S. fruticosus...

The genus Allium, with over 900 species, is one of the largest monocotyledonous genera and is widely accepted with 15 recognized subgenera and 72 sections. The robust subgeneric and sectional relationships within Allium have long been not resolved. Based on 76 species of Allium (a total of 84 accessions), we developed a highly resolved plastome phy...

Although the monophyly of Phedimus has been strongly demonstrated, the species relationships among approximately 20 species of Phedimus have been difficult to determine because of the uniformity of their floral characteristics and extreme variation of their vegetative characters, often accompanied by high polyploid and aneuploid series and diverse...

Background: Saussurea is one of the most species-rich genera in the Cardueae, Asteraceae. There are approximately 40 Saussurea species distributed in Korea, with nearly 40% of them endemics. Infrageneric relationships remain uncertain due to insufficient resolutions and low statistical support. In this study, we sequenced the plastid genomes of fi...

Reichardia Roth is a small Mediterranean genus comprising ten homogeneous species with basic chromosome numbers of 7, 8, and 9. To assess the plastid genome evolution and differentiation of Reichardia species, we assembled the complete plastome sequences of seven Reichardia and two Launaea species and conducted various phylogenomic analyses compara...

Saussurea namhaedoana, a new endemic species narrowly restricted to Namhaedo Island of Korea, is reported in this study. It can be distinguished from other congeneric species of Saussurea in Korea by having persistent radical leaves until flowering, hastate or sagittate leaves with mucronate toothed to undulate-lobulate margins, grayish cobwebby ha...

Cotoneaster is a taxonomically and ornamentally important genus in the family Rosaceae; however, phylogenetic relationships among its species are complicated owing to insufficient morphological diagnostic characteristics and hybridization associated with polyploidy and apomixis. In this study, we sequenced the complete plastomes of seven Cotoneaste...

This study reports the complete chloroplast genome sequence of a continental island endemic, Potentilla gageodoensis. The total plastome size was 156,397 bp, comprising one large single-copy (LSC; 85,768 bp), one small single-copy (SSC; 18,589 bp), and two inverted repeat (IR) regions (IRa and IRb, each with 26,020 bp). The overall GC content was 3...

Background: Saussurea is one of the most species-rich genera in the Cardueae, Asteraceae. There are approximately 40 Saussurea species distributed in Korea, with nearly 40% of them endemics. Infrageneric relationships remain uncertain due to insufficient resolutions and low statistical support. In this study, we sequenced the plastid genomes of fiv...

Saussurea taquetii reported from Jejudo Island is either treated as a synonym of S. japonica or is recognized as a distinct taxon. Saussurea japonica and S. pulchella belong to the sect. Theodorea by having peculiar outer phyllaries with pale purplish scarious apical appendages; they are closely related to each other morphologically and are known t...

The genus Hosta, which has a native distribution in temperate East Asia and a number of species ranging from 23 to 40, represents a taxonomically important and ornamentally popular plant. Despite its taxonomic and horticultural importance, the genus Hosta has remained taxonomically challenging owing to insufficient diagnostic features, continuous m...

Of the two major speciation modes of endemic plants on oceanic islands, cladogenesis and anagenesis, the latter has been recently emphasized as an effective mechanism for increasing plant diversity in isolated, ecologically homogeneous insular settings. As the only flowering cherry occurring on Ulleung Island in the East Sea (concurrently known as...

Functional gene transfer from organelles to the nucleus, known as intracellular gene transfer (IGT), is an ongoing process in flowering plants. The complete plastid genomes (plastomes) of two Ulleung island endemic violets, Viola ulleungdoensis and V. woosanensis, were characterized, revealing a lack of the plastid-encoded infA, rpl32, and rps16 ge...

Malus baccata (L.) Borkh. and Malus toringo (Siebold) Siebold ex de Vriese of the genus Malus Mill. (Rosaceae) are wild crabapples occurring in temperate East Asia. Despite their horticultural importance as ornamental trees and the natural resources in apple breeding, their phylogenetic relationships have never been determined clearly owing to lack...

Saussurea albifolia, a new species, is reported from the Baekdudaegan Mountains. It has distinctive morphological characteristics that distinguish it from other congeneric species of Saussurea in Korea; radical leaves persist or withered till flowering, white tomentose leaf beneath, campanulate involucre with brown-cobwebby hairs, and dark purplish...

Saussurea polylepis Nakai is an herbaceous perennial endemic to Korea and is highly restricted to several continental islands in the southwestern part of the Korean Peninsula. Given its very narrow geographical distribution, it is more vulnerable to anthropogenic activities and global climate changes than more widely distributed species. Despite th...

The first complete chloroplast genome sequence of Jeju Island endemic diploid dandelion, Taraxacum hallaisanense, is reported in this study. The plastome size is 151,554 bp in total length, with one large single copy (LSC; 84,066 bp), one small single copy (SSC; 18,524 bp), and two inverted repeat (IR) regions (IRa and IRb, each with 24,482 bp). Th...

We report the first complete chloroplast genome sequence of psammophyte, Ixeris repens, on the coastal dunes in Korea. The complete plastid genome is 153,017 bp in total length, with one large single copy (LSC; 84,242 bp), one small single copy (SSC; 18,495 bp), and two inverted repeat (IR) regions (IRa and IRb, each with 25,140 bp). The overall GC...

Rhododendron brachycarpum is an ecologically important tree species with a narrow, fragmented geographic range in East Asia. R. brachycarpum is distributed primarily in Korea and Japan, with two small isolated populations in the Russian Far East. We obtained 124 samples from seven populations of R. brachycarpum, representing all geographical region...

Genus Rubus represents the second largest genus of the family Rosaceae in Taiwan, with 41 currently recognized species across three subgenera ( Chamaebatus , Idaoeobatus , and Malochobatus ). Despite previous morphological and cytological studies, little is known regarding the overall phylogenetic relationships among the Rubus species in Taiwan, an...

The purplish bifurcate mussel Mytilisepta virgata is widely distributed and represents one of the major components of the intertidal community in the northwestern Pacific (NWP). Here, we characterized population genetic structure of NWP populations throughout nearly their whole distribution range using both mitochondrial (mtDNA cox1) and nuclear (I...

Beech trees of the genus Fagus (Fagaceae) are monoecious and distributed in the Northern Hemisphere. They represent an important component of mixed broad-leaved evergreen–deciduous forests and are an economically important source of timber. Despite their ecological and economical importance, however, little is known regarding the overall plastome e...

Dendroseris D. Don comprises 11 species endemic to the Juan Fernández islands in Chile. They demonstrate spectacular and unusual growth forms of rosette trees with extremely variable morphology and occupy wide ecological ranges on the islands. These unique plants are now highly threatened with extinction with very small population sizes, typically...

Phedimus takesimensis (Ulleungdo flat-leaved stonecrop) is endemic to Ulleung and Dokdo Islands off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula. It was suggested that P. takesimensis originated via anagenetic speciation from the continental progenitor species P. kamtchaticus or P. aizoon. However, little is known of the phylogenetic relationships and po...

Of the nearly 40 endemics present on Ulleung Island, Campanula takesimana Nakai represents an anagenetically derived lineage of a continental progenitor, C. punctata Lam. Other than its low morphological divergence, little is known about the genetic diversity and population structure of the species pair or the geographical origin of C. takesimana....

Scrophularia takesimensis is a critically endangered endemic species of Ulleung Island, Korea. A previous molecular phylogenetic study based on nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA) internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences with very limited sampling suggested that it is most closely related to the clade comprising S. alata and S. grayanoides. To determi...

Due to substantial population decline, the Korean orchid P. scolopendrifolia is considered endangered and highly threatened. Like many endangered species, it is vulnerable to biological and anthropogenic threats that can lead to the loss of genetic diversity and, ultimately, extinction. Therefore, the assessment of genetic diversity and population...

Potentilla dickinsii var. glabrata and Spiraea insularis in the family Rosaceae are species endemic to Ulleung Island, Korea, the latter of which is listed as endangered. In this study, we characterized the complete plastomes of these two species and compared these with previously reported plastomes of other Ulleung Island endemic species of Rosace...

The first complete chloroplast genome sequence of Sonchus arvensis, a herbaceous perennial, and its phylogenetic position relative to a member of the annual weedy and woody perennial species of Sonchus were reported in this study. Here, we assembled the complete plastome sequence of 151,967 base pairs (bp) in length, comprising 84,251 bp of a large...

The first complete chloroplast genome sequence of Hylotelephium verticillatum, was reported in this study. The plastome size was 151,398 bp in total length, with one large single copy (LSC; 82,951 bp), one small single copy (SSC; 16,839 bp), and two inverted repeat (IR) regions (IRa and IRb, each with 25,804 bp). The overall GC content was 37.8% an...

The subtribe Saussureinae is a highly speciose group with more than 600 species distributed in the Northern Hemisphere and is particularly species‐rich at the high mountains of central and eastern Asia. Saussurea and Jurinea are the two main genera described within the subtribe. However, up to 15 satellite genera are recognized in some recent taxon...

The first complete chloroplast genome sequence of Korean limestone endemic, Zabelia tyaihyoni, was reported in this study. The plastome size was 156,449 bp in total length, with one large single copy (LSC; 89,242 bp), one small single copy (SSC; 17,331 bp), and two inverted repeat (IR) regions (IRa and IRb, each with 24,938 bp). The overall GC cont...

Premise: The common sowthistle, Sonchus oleraceus (Asteraceae), is a globally invasive weedy species. In order to investigate its genetic diversity, population genetic structure, and evolutionary history, we developed and characterized nuclear simple sequence repeat markers (SSRs or microsatellites). Methods and results: Seventeen microsatellite...

As with many other ornamental and cultivated plants that have been under human selection and cultivation for a long time, it has been a major challenge to trace back the complex evolutionary history of flowering cherry, Prunus yedoensis. This challenge has been further amplified by great morphological similarities, little molecular divergence, freq...

The first complete chloroplast genome sequence of Korean insular endemic to Ulleung-do Island, Zabelia insularis, was reported in this study. The plastome size was 158,100 bp in total length, with one large single copy (90,529 bp), one small single copy (17,235 bp), and two inverted repeat (IR) regions (IRa and IRb, each with 25,168 bp). The overal...

Cotoneaster wilsonii Nakai is an endangered species endemic to Ulleung Island, Korea. Here we reported the first complete chloroplast gnome sequences of C. wilsonii, which is 159,999 bp in total length with the large single copy (LSC) region of 87,868 bp, the small single copy (SSC) region of 19,335 bp, and two inverted repeat (IR) regions of 26,39...

Prickly sow thistle, Sonchus asper (L.) Hill, and common sow thistle, Sonchus oleraceus L., are noxious weeds. Probably originating from the Mediterranean region, they have become widespread species. They share similar morphology and are closely related. However, they differ in their chromosome numbers and the precise relationship between them rema...

Sonchus leptocephalus belongs to a core member of the woody Sonchus alliance endemic to the Macaronesian Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. The alliance has been subject to intensive investigations of adaptive radiation on oceanic islands. As an attempt to fully understand the patterns and processes of evolution in this group, we determined the complet...

Rubus boninensis is a rare endemic species found on the Bonin Islands with a very restricted distribution. It is morphologically most closely related to Rubus trifidus, occurring widely in the southern Korean peninsula and Japan. This species pair provides a good example of anagenetic speciation on an oceanic island in the northwestern Pacific Ocea...

Symplocarpus, a skunk cabbage genus, includes two sister groups, which are drastically different in life history traits and thermogenesis, as follows: The nonthermogenic summer flowering S. nipponicus and thermogenic early spring flowering S. renifolius. Although the molecular basis of thermogenesis and complete chloroplast genome (plastome) of the...

To determine the origin and genetic consequences of anagenesis in Rubus takesimensis on Ulleung Island, Korea, we compared the genetic diversity and population structure of R. takesimensis with those of its continental progenitor R. crataegifolius. We broadly sampled a total of 315 accessions in 35 populations and sequenced five noncoding regions o...

We reported the complete chloroplast genome sequence of Rumex japonicus in Dok-do Island, Korea. The genome size was 159,223 bp in total length with one large single-copy (LSC; 84,962 bp), one small single-copy (SSC; 12,999 bp), and 2 inverted repeat (IR) regions (IRa and IRb, each with 30,631 bp). The overall GC content was 37.5% and the genome co...

Proto‐Araceae, the earliest diverged lineage within the family Araceae, includes two subfamilies, Gymnostachydoideae (one species) and Orontioideae (eight species). Based on an extensive sampling (a total of 198 accessions) of six chloroplast non‐coding regions (5799 aligned sites), we assessed phylogenetic relationships among the genera and specie...

Pyrus ussuriensis Maxim. is one of the most important pear species cultivated in Asia, grown in northern China, far-east Russia, Korea, and Japan. Here we completed the chloroplast genome of wild P. ussuriensis collected in Bonghwa-gun, Korea, which was 159,986 bp in length consisting of four subregions: 87,947 bp of large single copy (LSC) and 19,...

Premise: Nuclear microsatellite markers were developed for Saussurea polylepis (Asteraceae), a vulnerable species with very limited distribution in a few southwestern continental islands of the Korean peninsula, in order to facilitate future population genetic studies. Methods and results: Based on the Illumina sequence data, a total of 21 micro...

The woody Sonchus alliance consists primarily of woody species of the genus Sonchus (subgenus Dendrosonchus; family Asteraceae). Most members of the alliance are endemic to the oceanic archipelagos in the phytogeographic region of Macaronesia. They display extensive morphological, ecological, and anatomical diversity, likely caused by the diverse h...

Pyrus ussuriensis Maxim. is an oriental domesticated pear which have been used as a traditional medicine as well as dominant contributor of many Asian origin pear breeds. Here, we presented complete chloroplast genome of P. ussuriensis which is 160,157 bp long and has four subregions: 88,148 bp of large single-copy (LSC) and 19,227 bp of small sing...

The complete chloroplast genome sequences of newly discovered cliff-dwelling species of Sonchus, S. boulosii, were reported in this study. The S. boulosii plastome was 152,016 bp long, with the large single copy (LSC) region of 83,988 bp, the small single copy (SSC) region of 18,566 bp, and two inverted repeat (IR) regions of 24,731 bp. The plastom...

Species belonging to Rosa section Synstylae (Rosaceae) are mainly distributed in East Asia, and represent recently diverged lineages within the genus. Over decades, inferring phylogenetic relationships within section Synstylae have been exceptional challenges, due to short branch lengths and low support values. Of approximately 36 species in the se...

The first complete chloroplast genome sequences of Korean endemic pokeweed in Ulleung Island, Phytolacca insularis, were reported in this study. The P. insularis plastome was 156,419 bp long, with the large single copy (LSC) region of 86,106 bp, the small single copy (SSC) region of 18,335 bp, and two inverted repeat (IR) regions of 25,989 bp. The...

We describe a new cliff-dwelling species within Sonchus (Asteraceae): Sonchus boulosii and analyze its systematic position and evolutionary significance; in addition, we provide a key to the species of Sonchus in Morocco. Both morphological and ecological characteristics suggest a close relationship of S. boulosii with taxa of section Pustulati. Ho...

Prunus ×yedoensis Matsum. ‘Somei-yoshino’ is the most common and widespread cultivar of the ornamental flowering cherries. We hereby report its complete chloroplast (cp) genome sequences generated by whole-genome next-generation sequencing approach. The cp genome size was 157,792 bp in length consisting of four regions; large single-copy region (85...

Target enrichment is a cost-effective sequencing technique that holds promise for elucidating evolutionary relationships in fast-evolving lineages. However, potential biases and impact of bioinformatic sequence treatments in phylogenetic inference have not been thoroughly explored yet. Here, we investigate this issue with an ultimate goal to shed l...

The first complete chloroplast genome sequences of Korean endemic Epilobium in Ulleung Island, Epilobium ulleungensis, were reported in this study. The E. ulleungensis plastome was 160,912 bp long, with the large single copy (LSC) region of 88,915 bp, the small single copy (SSC) region of 17,327 bp, and two inverted repeat (IR) regions of 27,335 bp...

Alternating glacial and interglacial periods during the Quaternary have dramatically affected the distribution and population genetic structure of plant and animal species throughout the northern hemisphere. Surprisingly, little is known about the post-glacial recolonization history of wetland herbaceous perennials that are widely distributed in th...

The first complete chloroplast genome sequences of Korean endemic basswood in Ulleung Island, Tilia insularis, were reported in this study. The T. insularis plastome was 162,565 bp long, with the large single-copy (LSC) region of 91,100 bp, the small single-copy (SSC) region of 20,381 bp, and two inverted repeat (IR) regions of 25,542 bp. The plast...

Previous phylogenetic studies have suggested that Rubus takesimensis (Rosaceae), which is endemic to Ulleung Island, Korea, is closely related to R. crataegifolius, which is broadly distributed across East Asia. A recent phylogeographic study also suggested the possible polyphyletic origins of R. takesimensis from multiple source populations of its...

Mankyua chejuense is the only member of the monotypic genus Mankyua (Ophioglossaceae) and is endemic to Jejudo Island, Korea. To determine the precise phylogenetic position of M. chejuense, two cpDNA regions of 42 accessions representing major members of lycophytes are obtained from GenBank and analyzed using three phylogenetic analyses (maximum pa...

The complete chloroplast genome sequence of Sorbus ulleungensis, a recently described endemic species to Ulleung Island of Korea, was determined. The genome size was 159,632 bp in length with 36.5% GC content. It included a pair of inverted repeats (IRa and IRb) of 26,402 bp, which were separated by small single copy (SSC: 18,824 bp) and large sing...

Prunus takesimensis is an endemic flowering cherry on Ulleung Island, Korea. The complete chloroplast (cp) genome of P. takesimensis was generated by de novo assembly using whole-genome next-generation sequencing approach. The cp genome size was 157,948 bp in length consisting of four regions; large single copy region (85,959 bp), small single copy...

The complete chloroplast genome sequence of Phedimus kamtschaticus, which commonly occurs in northeastern Asia was determined. The genome size was 151,652 bp, composed of one pair of inverted repeats (IRs) of 25,977 bp, which were separated by one large single-copy (LSC; 83,010 bp) and one small single-copy (SSC; 16,688 bp) region. The chloroplast...

We determined the complete chloroplast genome sequence of two individuals of Pelatantheria scolopendrifolia, an endangered orchid species in Korea. The total chloroplast genome size of Mokpo (MG752972) and Naju (MG752973) population was 146,971 bp and 146,848 bp, respectively. The chloroplast genome contained 106 genes, including 72 protein-coding...