Effects of defoliation by horse chestnut leafminer (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cameraria ohridella</Emphasis>) on reproduction in<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Aesculus hippocastanum</Emphasis>

In large parts of Europe horse chestnut trees ( Aesculus hippocastanum) suffer from severe defoliation by an alien invasive species, the specialist leaf mining moth Cameraria ohridella (Lepidoptera; Gracillariidae). Heavily infested trees have a drastically shortened period for photosynthesis. We quantified the effect of moth infestation on reproduction of horse chestnut trees in two different cities in central Europe, Bern and Munich. C. ohridella negatively affected seed and fruit weight of A. hippocastanum at both locations. In Munich, seed weight of heavily damaged trees was reduced by almost half. However, the number of seeds per fruit, the number of fruits per inflorescence, and the number of inflorescences per tree did not change due to herbivory. We conclude that C. ohridella mining affects seed quality but not seed quantity. The reduced seed weight may severely impair growth and survival of horse chestnut seedlings and thus may endanger the long-term persistence of A. hippocastanum in its endemic forests in south-east Europe.     

Effects of defoliation caused by the leaf miner<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Cameraria ohridella</Emphasis> on wood production and efficiency in<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Aesculus hippocastanum</Emphasis> growing in north-eastern Italy

The leaf miner Cameraria ohridella causes premature defoliation of Aesculus hippocastanum trees. Repeated defoliation has been reported to cause decrease in radial growth of trees and a progressive decline due to reduced production and allocation of photosynthates. Our study represents an attempt to estimate the impact of C. ohridella on annual wood increments and the hydraulic properties of the wood as well as on the dry mass of seeds. Twenty-two adult horse chestnut trees were selected, four of which had been chemically treated to prevent attack (controls). All other trees were heavily infested. The ground cover (GC) of each tree, measured from monthly hemispherical photographs, revealed that infested trees were completely defoliated in September and the slope of the GC-to-measurement dates relationship (named GC decrease index) was positively related to the number of mines per leaf. Anatomical observations showed that infested trees produced more wood per year than controls through more false rings with wider xylem conduits and, hence, with higher conductive area and theoretical flow. In fact, the theoretical flow was positively related to the defoliation intensity. In contrast, the allocation of photosynthates to seeds was strongly reduced in infested trees with respect to controls (up to 50% less). The hypothesis was advanced that horse chestnut trees reacted to C. ohridella attacks by increasing the hydraulic efficiency of the wood, thus ameliorating the water and nutrient supply to leaves between the spring and mid-summer and, therefore, compensating, at least partly, the reduced leaf lifespan.     

Impact of the leaf miner<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Cameraria ohridella</Emphasis> on photosynthesis,water relations and hydraulics of<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Aesculus hippocastanum</Emphasis> leaves

The mining of leaves of Aesculus hippocastanum caused by the larvae of Cameraria ohridella leads to precocious defoliation of trees. Damage to plant productivity was estimated in terms of the photosynthetic performance as well as of leaf water relations and hydraulics of increasingly mined leaves from infested plants in comparison with the same variables measured in non-mined leaves (controls). Electron microscopy and photosynthesis measurements revealed that chloroplasts within the green portions of mined leaves were still intact and photosynthesis of these areas was close to that of non-mined leaves, i.e. damage to functional integrity of the photosynthetic system did not extend beyond the mines. Stomata below the mines were functional as they maintained their physiological kinetics but most chloroplasts in the spongy parenchyma below the mines were degraded so that a 1:1 relationship existed between photosynthesis loss and loss of leaf green areas. Leaf conductance to water vapour and transpiration rate were 60% lower in mined leaf areas but equal to controls in green portions of mined leaves. Leaf water potential was insensitive to the amount of mined leaf area and so was leaf hydraulic conductance. Anatomical observations of leaf minor veins revealed that they were structurally and functionally intact even in leaves with 90% mined surface area. Our conclusion was that the actual damage to A. hippocastanum plants in terms of loss of photosynthates and water and nutrient transport was less than that visually estimated in recent studies.     

Biocontrol of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cameraria ohridella</Emphasis> by insectivorous birds in different landscape contexts

The horse chestnut leaf miner (HCLM) Cameraria ohridella Deschka and Dimic (Lepidoptera, Gracillariidae) is a novel but significant pest in Europe. Current control measures are either inefficient or environmentally harmful. Tits (Parus spp.) open the mines and prey on HCLM, but the biocontrol efficiency of this behaviour has not yet been quantified. We installed bird nesting-boxes in a biennial field study on four sites close to Brunswick (Germany). On the same sites, we counted HCLM pupae, larvae, opened and closed mines, and parasitised larvae and pupae in leaves collected from horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum L., Hippocastanaceae) trees with and without bird exclusion. In both years, the HCLM number and the proportion of closed mines were higher in bird exclusion trees, particularly on sites with high abundance of tits. Hence, we suggest including the facilitation of birds, particularly tits, in future HCLM biocontrol strategies.     

Pre-treatment with salicylic acid induces phenolic responses of Norway spruce (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Picea abies</Emphasis>) bark to bark beetle (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Ips typographus</Emphasis>) attack

Keymessage

The temporal gradations of the investigated phenolics in Norway spruce bark after bark beetle (Ips typographus) attack followed the general eco-physiological concept. Treatment with salicylic acid inhibits bark beetle colonisation, alleviates the phenolic responses and activates the synthesis of condensed tannins on later sampling dates.

Abstract

Conifer bark is the target of numerous organisms due to its assimilated transport and nutrient storage functions. In the presented study, 100 mM salicylic acid (SA) was applied onto Norway spruce stems prior to being infested with bark beetles (Ips typographus L.), to study the temporal gradation of changes in condensed tannins (CT) and total phenolics (tPH) and their significance for mediating stress-tolerance. A significant accumulation of CT was monitored in untreated trees in response to progressive bark beetle infestation occurring from May onwards. In SA-treated infested trees, the CT values remained at control levels until May, but after the re-treatment of infested trees in June, the concentrations of CT rose significantly in comparison to the controls. The tPH values dropped 16 days after SA-treatment, independent of infestation, and later on remained at control level until July. In contrast, tPH contents accumulated in untreated infested trees in May, eased in June and increased again in July, when the trees were affected by the second generation of bark beetles. To sum up, in May and July when the highest beetle-flight activity was monitored the metabolic shift of phenolics within untreated infested trees differed significantly from the response of SA-treated trees. In addition, on SA-treated trees less entrance holes were monitored over the whole period of sampling when compared to untreated infested trees. These results provide evidence that SA-treatment alleviates the phenolic responses, activates the synthesis of condensed tannins and inhibits bark beetle colonisation.

     

Impact of the leaf miner Cameraria ohridella (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae) and bleeding canker disease on horse‐chestnut: direct effects and interaction

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A lepidopteran (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Imbrasia belina</Emphasis>) might influence tree-grass balance of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Colophospermum mopane</Emphasis> savanna

Traditional explanations of tree-grass coexistence in African savannas are based on competition between these growth forms or demographic bottlenecks of trees maintained by fire or mammalian browsers. Perturbation of their “balance” may result in an alternate system state of woody encroachment. Invertebrate herbivory has never been offered as an explanation. We developed a consumer-resource model which illustrated that annual irruptions of a lepidopteran (Imbrasia belina), known as mopane worm, can determine the tree-grass balance of semi-arid Colophospermum mopane savanna in southern Africa. Model performance was sensitive to the abundance, hence mortality, of mopane worms, owing to their complete defoliation of tree leaf biomass resulting in altered competitive relations between trees and grasses. Invertebrate herbivores have been recognized in other systems as agents for effecting a state change of host tree populations; this modeling study offers a first indication of such a role for the well-researched tree-grass relations of African savannas.     

Host physiological condition regulates parasitic plant performance: <Emphasis Type="Italic">Arceuthobium vaginatum</Emphasis> subsp. <Emphasis Type="Italic">cryptopodum</Emphasis> on <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pinus ponderosa</Emphasis>

Much research has focused on effects of plant parasites on host-plant physiology and growth, but little is known about effects of host physiological condition on parasite growth. Using the parasitic dwarf mistletoe Arceuthobium vaginatum subsp. cryptopodum (Viscaceae) and its host Pinus ponderosa, we investigated whether changes in host physiological condition influenced mistletoe shoot development in northern Arizona forests. We conducted two studies in two consecutive years and used forest thinning (i.e., competitive release) to manipulate host physiological condition. We removed dwarf mistletoe shoots in April, before the onset of the growing season, and measured the amount of regrowth in the first season after forest thinning (Study I: n=38 trees; Study II: n=35 trees). Thinning increased tree uptake of water and carbon in both studies, but had no effect on leaf N concentration or δ¹³C. Mistletoe shoot growth was greater on trees with high uptake of water and carbon in thinned stands than trees with low uptake in unthinned stands. These findings show that increased resource uptake by host trees increases resources to these heterotrophic dwarf mistletoes, and links mistletoe performance to changes in host physiological condition.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Agrobacterium rhizogenes</Emphasis>-mediated DNA transfer to<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Aesculu</Emphasis>s<Emphasis Type="Italic"> hippocastanum</Emphasis> L. and the regeneration of transformed plants

Hairy roots were induced from androgenic embryos of horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum L.) by infection with Agrobacterium rhizogenes strain A4GUS. Single roots were selected according to their morphology in the absence of antibiotic or herbicide resistance markers. Seventy-one putative transformed hairy root lines from independent transformation events were established. Regeneration was induced in MS liquid medium supplemented with 30 6-benzylaminopurine (BA), and the regenerants were multiplied on MS solid medium containing 10 M BA. Following elongation on MS medium supplemented with 1 M BA and 500 mg/l polyvinylpyrrolidone, the shoots were subjected to a root-inducing treatment. Stable integration of TL-DNA within the horse chestnut genome was confirmed by Southern hybridization. The copy number of transgenes was estimated to be from two to four.Communicated by E.D. Earle     

Ectomycorrhizae of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Tuber huidongense</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">T. liyuanum</Emphasis> with <Emphasis Type="Italic">Castanea mollissima</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pinus armandii</Emphasis>

Tuber huidongense and T. liyuanum are common commercial white truffles in China that belong to the Rufum and Puberulum groups of the genus Tuber, respectively. Their mycorrhizae were successfully synthesized with two native trees—Castanea mollissima and Pinus armandii—under greenhouse conditions. The identities of the mycorrhizae were confirmed through internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence analyses, and their morphological characteristics were described. All of the obtained mycorrhizae have an interlocking pseudoparenchymatous mantle, which is a typical feature of truffle mycorrhizae. The mycorrhizae of T. huidongense on the two trees have hyaline branched emanating hyphae, similar to the documented mycorrhizae of the Rufum group. The unramified, spiky, and hyaline cystidia on the mycorrhizae of T. liyuanum with both C. mollissima and P. armandii further confirmed that this characteristic is constant for the mycorrhizae of the Puberulum group. The successful mycorrhizal syntheses on the two nut-producing trees will be of economic importance in the cultivation of the two truffles.     

Genetic Distance in Housekeeping Genes Between <Emphasis Type="Italic">Plasmodium falciparum</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Plasmodium reichenowi</Emphasis> and Within <Emphasis Type="Italic">P. falciparum</Emphasis>

The time to the most recent common ancestor of the extant populations of Plasmodium falciparum is controversial. The controversy primarily stems from the limited availability of sequences from Plasmodium reichenowi, a chimpanzee malaria parasite closely related to P. falciparum. Since the rate of nucleotide substitution differs in different loci and DNA regions, the estimation of genetic distance between P. falciparum and P. reichenowi should be performed using orthologous sequences that are evolving neutrally. Here, we obtained full-length sequences of two housekeeping genes, sarcoplasmic and endoplasmic reticulum Ca²⁺-ATPase (serca) and lactate dehydrogenase (ldh), from 11 isolates of P. falciparum and 1 isolate of P. reichenowi and estimate the interspecific genetic distance (divergence) between the two species and intraspecific genetic distance (polymorphism) within P. falciparum. Interspecific distance and intraspecific distance at synonymous sites of interspecies-conserved regions of serca and ldh were 0.0672±0.0088 and 0.0011±0.0007, respectively, using the Nei and Gojobori method. Based on the ratio of interspecific distance to intraspecific distance, the time to the most recent common ancestor of P. falciparum was estimated to be (8.30±5.40) × 10⁴ and (11.62±7.56) × 10⁴ years ago, assuming the divergence time of the two parasite species to be 5 and 7 million years ago, respectively.This article contains an online supplementary table.Reviewing Editor: Dr. Martin Kreitman     

Dendrochronological potential of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Millettia stuhlmannii</Emphasis> in Mozambique

Key message

This study demonstrates that Millettia stuhlmannii produces annual growth rings responsive to seasonal climate and should be useful for dendrochronology.

Abstract

Millettia stuhlmannii is a highly valuable and potentially overexploited timber species indigenous to southeastern Africa. It is of particular economic importance in Mozambique though relatively little is known about its growth rate or response to climate. This study investigates whether M. stuhlmannii is potentially useful for dendrochronology—that is whether this species forms annual growth rings that are responsive to external forcing such as climate. Five methods were used to determine whether M. stuhlmannii growth rings are indeed annual in nature, including analysis of ring anatomy, dating trees of known age, cambial wounding, classical cross-dating, and comparison of annual growth to climate variables. Growth rings of Millettia stuhlmannii are distinct and well formed, young trees from plantations of known age formed an appropriate number of distinct annual rings, trees showed distinct wood reaction to cambial wounding, adding exactly one complete ring in one calendar year, cross-dating within and between trees was somewhat successful, and annual growth is significantly correlated with wet season precipitation. Results of this study indicate that M. stuhlmannii is a potentially useful species for dendrochronology. These findings should allow a better understanding of this species’ growth dynamics and ecology, as well as its response to climate variability in the past and potentially to future climate change.

     

Survival and growth of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Juniperus</Emphasis> seedlings in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Juniperus</Emphasis> woodlands

Juniperus woodlands are widely distributed in western North America. Few studies of seedling emergence, long-term survival, growth or mortality of the dominant Juniperus spp. in these woodlands have been carried out. Consequently, regeneration dynamics in these woodlands are poorly understood. Juniperus ashei is the dominant woody plant in the majority of woodland and savanna communities of the Edwards Plateau region in central Texas. We examined the emergence, mortality and growth of various spatial and temporal cohorts of J. ashei seedlings over an eight or nine-year period. Greatest emergence was found during the cool, mostly winter months and under the canopy of mature J. ashei trees. Emergence was significantly inversely related to temperature and significantly linearly related to rainfall, but only if the monthly rainfall and emergence were offset by one to four months. Greatest survival occurred below the J. ashei canopy, but greatest growth was at the canopy edge. Emerging seedlings were not from the current years seed crop, but from one or more previous years seed crops. Greatest mortality occurred mostly during the summer months and in the grassland habitat. There was a significant inverse logarithmic or exponential relationship between mean monthly temperature and mean monthly mortality. A large number of J. ashei seedlings or immature plants with reduced growth were found beneath the canopy of mature trees. These plants seem to serve as a seedling bank, providing the source of recruitment into the population should the overstory trees be removed. Survival of the two canopy cohorts with known emergence dates declined with time (negative exponential function) and was 1.0–3.4% after eight or nine years depending on the cohort. The pre-existing cohort seemed to have constant mortality (and presumably replacement), with about 8% of the population dying each year. Higher growth rates for seedlings were found at the edge of the established woodland canopy, which suggests that conditions in the edge habitat or possibly in canopy gaps are best for growth beyond the seedling stage.     

The ectomycorrhizae of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lactarius rimosellus</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lactarius acatlanensis</Emphasis> with the endangered <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fagus grandifolia</Emphasis> var. <Emphasis Type="Italic">mexicana</Emphasis>

Gut bacterium Pantoea sp. is one of the predominant bacterial species in the larval gut of the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella. The phenotypic characters of Pantoea sp. were investigated with BIOLOG phenotype MicroArray (PM) in this study. Totally 950 different metabolic phenotypes were tested using the PM plates 1–10. Results exhibited that Pantoea sp. was able to metabolize 37.37 % of the tested carbon sources, 91.32 % of nitrogen sources, 100 % of sulfur sources, and 98.31 % of phosphorus sources. Most informative utilization patterns for carbon sources of Pantoea sp. were organic acids and carbohydrates, and for nitrogen were various amino acids. The bacterium had 94 different biosynthetic pathways. It had a wide range of adaptabilities, and could still metabolize in osmolytes with up to 9 % sodium chloride, 6 % potassium chloride, 5 % sodium sulfate, 20 % ethylene glycol, 4 % sodium formate, 4 % urea, 5 % sodium lactate, 200 mmol/L sodium phosphate (pH 7.0), 100 mmol/L ammonium sulfate (pH 8.0), 100 mmol/L sodium nitrate, and 100 mmol/L sodium nitrite, respectively. It also exhibited active metabolism under pH values between 4.5 and 10. Pantoea sp. showed active decarboxylase activities while poor deaminase activities in the presence of various amino acids. The phenotypic characterization of Pantoea sp. increased our knowledge of the bacterium, in particular its interactions with insect hosts and the adaptability in gut environments, and showed us some possible approaches to controlling diamondback moth through decreasing Pantoea sp. density.     

Prevalence,intensity and associated factor analysis of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Tropilaelaps</Emphasis><Emphasis Type="Italic">mercedesae</Emphasis> infesting <Emphasis Type="Italic">Apis</Emphasis><Emphasis Type="Italic">mellifera</Emphasis> in China

Tropilaelaps mercedesae is a serious ectoparasite of Apis mellifera in China. The aim of this study was to investigate the infestation rates and intensity of T. mercedesae in A. mellifera in China, and to explore the relative importance of climate, district, management practices and beekeeper characteristics that are assumed to be associated with the intensity of T. mercedesae. Of the 410 participating apiaries, 379 apiaries were included in analyses of seasonal infestation rates and 352 apiaries were included in multivariable regression analysis. The highest infestation rate (86.3%) of T. mercedesae was encountered in autumn, followed by summer (66.5%), spring (17.2%) and winter (14.8%). In autumn, 28.9% (93) of the infested apiaries were in the north (including the northeast and northwest of China), 71.1% (229) were in the central and south (including east, southeast and southwest China), and 306 apiaries (82.9%) were co-infested by both T. mercedesae and Varroa. Multivariable regression analysis showed that geographical location, season, royal jelly collection and Varroa infestation were the factors that influence the intensity of T. mercedesae. The influence of beekeeper’s education, time of beekeeping, operation size, and hive migration on the intensity of T. mercedesa was not statistically significant. This study provided information about the establishment of the linkage of the environment and the parasite and could lead to better timing and methods of control.     

The fungal matrices of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ophiostoma ips</Emphasis> hinder movement of the biocontrol nematode agent, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Deladenus siricidicola</Emphasis>, disrupting management of the woodwasp, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sirex noctilio</Emphasis>

Deladenus (=?Beddingia) siricidicola (Tylenchida: Neotylenchidae) is the most effective biocontrol agent used against the invasive wood wasp, Sirex noctilio (Fabricius) (Hymenoptera: Siricidae). The nematodes feed and reproduce on the wood-inhabiting fungus, Amylostereum areolatum (Chaillet ex Fr.) Boidin (Russulales: Amylostereaceae) and parasitise larvae of S. noctilio. In the nematode biocontrol program, the nematodes are inoculated into herbicide-weakened ‘trap trees’. Recent declines in nematode parasitism of S. noctilio in Australia have coincided with an increased incidence of an exotic bark beetle, Ips grandicollis (Eichhoff) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), attacking trap trees and vectoring a wood-inhabiting fungus, Ophiostoma ips (Rumbold) Nannfelt (Ophiostomatales: Ophiostomataceae), which may inhibit migration of the nematode within the tree to the detriment of S. noctilio biocontrol. Several in vitro and in vivo experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of fungal interactions on the ability of D. siricidicola to locate and reproduce on A. areolatum. Deladenus siricidicola showed preference to A. areolatum in the presence and absence of O. ips, but the presence of O. ips negatively affected the choice response and the number of eggs laid by the nematodes. Deladenus siricidicola was unable to survive and reproduce on O. ips. Results give a clearer understanding of the choice response of D. siricidicola in I. grandicollis infested trees, explaining the disruptive impact of bark beetles on biocontrol of S. noctilio, an effect that could extend from Australia to other important pine growing countries.     

Close-Range Host Searching Behavior of the Stemborer Parasitoids <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cotesia sesamiae</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Dentichasmias busseolae</Emphasis>: Influence of a Non-Host Plant <Emphasis Type="Italic">Melinis minutiflora</Emphasis>

Studies were conducted on the host searching behavior of the larval parasitoid Cotesia sesamiae (Cameron) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) and the pupal parasitoid Dentichasmias busseolae Heinrich (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae), both of which attack lepidopteran (Crambidae, Noctuidae) cereal stemborers. The behavior of D. busseolae was observed in a diversified habitat that consisted of stemborer host plants (maize, Zea mays L. and sorghum, Sorghum bicolor (L). Moench (Poaceae)) and a non-host plant (molasses grass, Melinis minutiflora Beauv. (Poaceae)), while C. sesamiae was observed separately on host plants and molasses grass. In previous olfactometer studies, C. sesamiae was attracted to molasses grass volatiles while hboxD. busseolae was repelled. The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of molasses grass on close-range foraging behavior of the parasitoids in an arena that included infested and uninfested host plants. Dentichasmias busseolae strongly discriminated between host and non-host plants, with female wasps spending most of the time on infested host plants and least time on molasses grass. Likewise, C. sesamiae spent more time on uninfested and infested host plants than it did on molasses grass in single choice bioassays. While on infested plants, the wasps spent more time foraging on the stem, the site of damage, than on other areas of the plant. Overall, the results indicate that presence of the non-host plant does not hinder close range foraging activities of either parasitoid.     

Genetics and fine mapping of a yellow-green leaf gene (<Emphasis Type="Italic">ygl</Emphasis>-<Emphasis Type="Italic">1</Emphasis>) in cabbage (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Brassica oleracea</Emphasis> var. <Emphasis Type="Italic">capitata</Emphasis> L.)

Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata L.) is one of the most popular cultivated vegetables worldwide. Cabbage has rich phenotypic diversity, including plant height, head shape, head color, leaf shape and leaf color. Leaf color plays an important role in cabbage growth and development. At present, there are few reports on fine mapping of leaf color mutants in B. oleracea. In this study, a naturally occurring yellow-green leaf cabbage mutant (YL-1), derived from the self-pollinated progenies of the hybrid ‘Hosom’, was used for inheritance analysis and gene mapping. Segregation populations including F₂ and BC₁ were generated from the cross of two inbred lines, YL-1 and 01–20. Genetic analysis with the F₂ and BC₁ populations demonstrated that the yellow-green leaf color was controlled by a single recessive nuclear gene, ygl-1. Insertion–deletion (InDel) markers, designed based on the parental re-sequencing data, were used for the preliminary mapping with BSA (bulked segregant analysis) method. A genetic map constructed with 15 InDels indicated that ygl-1 was located on chromosome C01. The ygl-1 gene is flanked by InDel markers ID2 and M8, with genetic distances of 0.4 cM and 0.35 cM, respectively. The interval distance between two markers is 167 kb. Thus, it enables us to locate the ygl-1 gene for the first time in B. oleracea. This study lays the foundation for candidate gene prediction and ygl-1gene cloning.     

A single-base deletion mutation in <Emphasis Type="Italic">SlIAA9</Emphasis> gene causes tomato (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Solanum lycopersicum</Emphasis>) <Emphasis Type="Italic">entire</Emphasis> mutant

The entire (e) locus of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) controls leaf morphology. Dominant E and recessive e allele of the locus produce pinnate compound and complex reduced leaves. Previous research had indicated that SlIAA9, an Aux/IAA gene, was involved in tomato leaf morphology. Down-regulation of SlIAA9 gene by antisense transgenic method decreased the leaf complex of tomato and converted tomato compound leaves to simple leaves. The leaf morphology of these transgenic lines was similar with leaf morphology of tomato entire mutant. In this paper, we report that a single-base deletion mutation in the coding region of SlIAA9 gene results in tomato entire mutant phenotypes.     

The Evolutionary History of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Shigella</Emphasis> and Enteroinvasive <Emphasis Type="Italic">Escherichia coli</Emphasis> Revised

In Shigella and enteroinvasive Escherichia coli (EIEC), the etiologic agents of shigellosis in humans, the determinants responsible for entry of bacteria into and dissemination within epithelial cells are encoded by a virulence plasmid. To understand the evolution of the association between the virulence plasmid and the chromosome, we performed a phylogenetic analysis using the sequences of four chromosomal genes (trpA, trpB, pabB, and putP) and three virulence plasmid genes (ipaB, ipaD, and icsA) of a collection of 51 Shigella and EIEC strains. The phylogenetic tree derived from chromosomal genes showed a typical star phylogeny, indicating a fast diversification of Shigella and EIEC groups. Phylogenetic groups obtained from the chromosomal and plasmidic genes were similar, suggesting that the virulence plasmid and the chromosome share similar evolutionary histories. The few incongruences between the trees could be attributed to exchanges of fragments of different plasmids and not to the transfer of an entire plasmid. This indicates that the virulence plasmid was not transferred between the different Shigella and EIEC groups. These data support a model of evolution in which the acquisition of the virulence plasmid in an ancestral E. coli strain preceded the diversification by radiation of all Shigella and EIEC groups, which led to highly diversified but highly specialized pathogenic groups.