Rhizospheric bacteria as potential biocontrol agents against Fusarium wilt and crown and root rot diseases in tomato

The discovery of novel biocontrol agents requires the continuous scrutiny of native microorganisms to ensure that they will be useful on a regional scale. The goal of the present work was to discover novel antagonistic bacteria against Fusarium oxysporum ff. spp. lycopersici race 3 (Fol R3) and radicis-lycopersici (Forl) causing Fusarium wilt disease and Fusarium crown and root rot of tomatoes, respectively. High-throughput liquid antagonism screening of 1,875 rhizospheric bacterial strains followed by dual confrontation assays in 96-well plates was used to select bacteria exhibiting > 50% fungal growth inhibition. In a second dual confrontation assay in 10-cm Petri dishes, bacteria showing > 20% Fol R3 or Forl growth inhibition were further screened using a blood hemolysis test. After discarding β-hemolytic bacteria, a seedling antagonistic assay was performed to select five potential antagonists. A phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA identified one strain as Acinetobacter calcoaceticus (AcDB3) and four strains as members of the genus Bacillus (B. amyloliquefaciens BaMA26, Bacillus siamensis BsiDA2, B. subtilis BsTA16 and B. thuringiensis BtMB9). Greenhouse assays demonstrated that BsTA16 and AcDB3 were the most promising antagonists against Fol R3 and Forl, respectively. Pathogen biocontrol and growth promotion mechanisms used by these bacteria include the production of siderophores, biofilm, proteases, endoglucanases and indole acetic acid, and phosphate solubilization. These five bacteria exerted differential responses on pathogen control depending on the tomato hybrid, and on the growth stage of tomatoes. We report for the first time the use of an Acinetobacter calcoaceticus isolate (AcDB3) to control Forl in tomato under greenhouse conditions.     

The Role of Polygalacturonase (PG) in Tomato Fruit Ripening and Effects of Divalent Metal Ions and Ethylene on PG Activity

It has been reported that PG is a key enzyme related to the tomato fruit ripening. In this study tomato fruits were harvested at the mature-green stage and stored at room temperature. The cell ultrastructure of pericarp tissue was observed at different ripening stages, and the effects of treatments with ethylene and calcium on PG activity and fruit ripening were examined. The object of this study is to elucidate the role of PG in regulation of tomato fruit ripening by ethylene and calcium. PG activity, was undetectable at mature-green stage, but it rose rapidly as fruif ripening. The rise in PG activity was coincided with the dechnmg of fruit firmness during ripening of tomato fruits. The observation of cell ultrastructure showed that the most of grana in chloroplast were lost and the mitochondrial cristae decreased as fruit ripening. Striking changes of cell wall structure was most noted, beginning with dissolution of the middle lamella and eventual disruption of primary cell wall. A similar pattern of changes of cell wall and chloroplast have been observed in pericarp tissue treated with PG extract. In fruits treated with calcium and other divalent metal ions atmature-green stage, the lycopene content and PG activity decreased dramatically. Ethylene application enhanced the formation of lycopene and PG activity. The inhibition of Ca2+ on PG ac ivity was removed by ethylene. Based on the above results, it was demonstrated that PG played a major role in ripening of tomato fruits, and suggested that the regulation of fruit ripening by ethylene and Ca2+ was all mediated by PG. PG induced the hydrolysis of cell wall and released the other hydrolytic enzymes, then effected the ripening processes follow up.     

Effect of the Calcium on Polygalacturonase (PG) Activity and Synthesis at Different Ripening Stages of Tomato Fruits

It has been reported that PG is a key enzyme related to the tomato fruit ripening and that the application of calcium can dramatically decrease the PG activity and delay the ripening of fruits. In this paper the effects of calcium treament at various ripening stages on the transformation of absorbed calcium, PG activity and PG synthesis in tomato fruits were studicd. According to the analysis of calcium by atomic absorption spectroscopy, it was shown that the soluble and total calcium contents in pericarp of fruits treated with calcium at mature-green stage were increased significantly, and that more soluble calcium was transformed into bound calcium. Both the absorption and transformation of calcium decreased in fruits treated with calcium at later stage of ripening. The inhibition of calcium on PG activity was most effective by treatment at mature-green stage, but less effective at later stage of ripening. One reason for the decrease of calcium inhibition was probably due to the decline of calcium absorption as fruit ripening. The polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of PG showed that PG with a molecular weight of 46.7 kD was absent in mature-green fruits, and PG synthesis occurred only at the later stage of ripening. It seems that the earlier the treatment was done the more effective of the calcium inhibition of PG synthesis. Based on the above results, it was concluded that the PG plays a major role in ripening and senescence of tomato fruits, and both PG synthesis and its activity were inhibited by calcium. In order to delay the ripening and senescence of tomato fruits, the treatment with calcium should be done at mature-green stage.     

番茄ACC合酶反义基因对河套蜜瓜的转化

河套蜜瓜（CucumismeloLcvHetau）的子叶经预培养。芽诱导和生根培养,获得再生小植株,诱导率达58％。取带有番茄ACC合酶反义基因的双元载体pMQ6／JM109与农杆菌（Agrobacteriumtumefaciens）LBA4404经三亲融合后,与在MS0上萌发5d、并在MS＋1mg／LNAA培养基上预培养3d的子叶共培养48h,然后转入含50mg／L卡那霉素的MS＋6mg／LZT的芽诱导培养基中,1l个月后诱导生芽,待芽长1．5－2cm时转入生根培养基中,1－2周后可诱导产生大量的根,形成完整的转基因小植株。经PCR和分子杂交检测证明,目的基因已整合入河套蜜瓜的基因组中。     

Recovery of transgenic orchid plants with hygromycin selection by particle bombardment to protocorms

Protocorms of orchid (Dendrobium hybrid) were transformed by microprojectile bombardment with a helium-pressured PDS 1000 particle gun. Gold particles coated with plasmid DNA containing ß-glucuronidase (GUS) and hygromycin phosphotransferase (Hpt) marker genes were used. Potentially transformed tissues were identified by active growth on MS medium supplemented with 50mg l^-1 hygromycin. After 4–6 months of continuous selection, 15 hygromycin-resistant lines were recovered. Integration of transgenes into the genome of the transformed protocorms and plantlets were confirmed by GUS histochemical assay and Southern blot hybridization. The transgenic protocorms have gone through propagation for more than 8 months and maintained their transgenic characters. These results indicate that we have established a system for orchid transformation in a relatively high frequency and the transgenes are stably expressed in the transgenic plants.     

磷酸饥饿时番茄幼苗酸性磷酸酶活性的变化与Pi吸收的关系

磷酸饥饿时,番茄幼苗根部及地上部酸性磷酸酶活性均显著增强,根部细胞表面酸性磷酸酶及根部外泌的酸性磷酸酶活性亦明显提高。动力学分析表明,磷酸饥饿提高了番茄幼苗根部的酸性磷酸酶对其底物的亲和力。另外,磷酸饥饿对番茄幼苗根部酸性磷酸酶活性的最适ｐＨ值没有影响。钼酸对番茄幼苗根部酸性磷酸酶活性有强烈的抑制作用,对番茄幼苗Ｐｉ吸收速率也有十分明显的抑制效果。以上结果表明,磷酸饥饿时,番茄幼苗Ｐｉ吸收的适应性变化可能与根部酸性磷酸酶特别是根部细胞表面酸性磷酸酶及其外泌酸性磷酸酶的参与密切关联。     

Somatic embryogenic tissue establishment from mature Pinus nigra Arn. ssp. salzmannii embryos

Summary Somatic embryogenesis from mature zygotic embryos of salgare?o pine (Pinus nigra Arn. ssp. salzmannii) was induced after 2 wk of culture in L₁ medium [Murashige and Skoog mineral solution with 10.7 μM naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) and 8.8 μM 6-benzyladenine (BA)] or L₂ medium [Gupta and Durzan mineral solution (DCR)] supplemented with the phytohormone combination as above. Four different combinations of growth regulators, NAA (2.6–10.7 μM) and BA (6.6–8.8 μM), were tried for subsequent passage. The best percentage of embryo induction and manifestation was obtained on DCR medium with 2.6 μM NAA and 6.6–8.8 μM BA. Transfer of isolated somatic embryos from the basal media to L₃ medium (Quoirin and Le Poivre modified mineral solution without hormones and supplemented with 0.3% activated charcoal), facilitated random embryo maturation and some development into plantlets.     

Kanamycin resistance of germinating pollen of transgenic plants

The influence of kanamycin on the percentage of pollen germination and on tube growth of pollen from non-transformed and transformed plants of various species containing a chimaeric kanamycin resistance gene (NPTII) was investigated. Pollen grains isolated from kanamycin resistant plants expressed resistance when germinating in vitro, whereas kanamycin impaired tube growth of pollen from non-transformed plants. Pollen grains from transgenic plants were less sensitive and produced significantly longer tubes. mRNAs of the chimaeric gene are probably presynthesized concurrently with the other mRNAs during microsporogenesis, and kanamycin resistance is expressed by mRNA translation during pollen tube elongation. Received: 24 August 1999 / Revision accepted: 20 October 1999     

Nonspecific intercellular protein trafficking probed by green-fluorescent protein in plants

Summary Plasmodesmata mediate intercellular transport of proteins, nucleic acids, and small molecules in plants. We show that transiently produced green-fluorescent protein (GFP) trafficked intercellularly in the epidermis of sink leaves, but not of source leaves, in tobacco and cucumber. In contrast, the protein did not traffic in either sink or source leaves of tomato. On the other hand, the protein spread extensively from cell to cell in the epidermis of all leaves and stems ofArabidopsis thaliana as well as in young hypocotyls and cotyledons of tomato and cucumber. GFP could traffic from epidermis to ground tissues in hypocotyls but not in cotyledons of cucumber. GFP fused to a number of mutant forms of the cucumber mosaic virus 3a movement protein (CMV 3a MP) failed to traffic from cell to cell, suggesting that GFP does not have a specific motif for plasmodesmal trafficking. Our data, together with previous findings, indicate that plasmodesmata can mediate both specific and nonspecific intercellular trafficking of proteins. Furthermore, our data suggest that nonspecific protein trafficking is controlled by species-, development-, organ-, and tissue-specific factors. Since GFP can readily traffic from cell to cell, it raises the questions of how metabolites are compartmentalized intercellularly in a plant and of whether some endogenous plant proteins traffic nonspecifically from cell to cell to perform physiological functions yet to be elucidated.Abbreviations CMV cucumber mosaic virus - GFP green-fluorescent protein - MP movement protein - SEL size exclusion limit