Fungus gnats vector Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. radicislycopersici1

Fungus gnat adults transported Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. radicis-lycopersici from Petri dish culture and infected host plants to the roots and hypocotyls of healthy tomato and bean plants. The source of the fungus did not affect the ability of fungus gnats to transport the fungus to healthy hosts. The presence of fungus gnat larvae in media in which young tomato plants were grown did not increase the incidence of plant infection by the pathogen. Fungus gnat adults appear to aid in the dissemination of F. oxysporum f.sp. radicis-lycopersici.     

Production of Intraspecific Hybrids of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. radicis-lycoperisici and Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici by Protoplast Fusions

The fusion of protoplasts from the cycloheximide-resistant mutant FOL(C) of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici (FOL) and the mycostatin-resistant mutant FORL(M) of F. oxysporum f. sp. radicis-lycopersici (FORL), produced hybrids which expressed significant differences from the parents in their pathogenicity and growth and in the electrophoretic separation patterns of their proteins, enzymes and isoenzymes. The results suggest a transformed genetic basis for these altered expressions and the feasibility of using protoplast fusion technology for examining the biology of pathogenicity genes and for elucidating the disease and virulence potential for new races from within hybridisable taxa of Fusarium spp. Such information would be useful for the design and development of long-term control systems for Fusarium diseases, particularly in breeding programs for disease resistance in crops.     

Mutation of an arginine biosynthesis gene causes reduced pathogenicity in Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. melonis

Restriction enzyme-mediated integration (REMI) mutagenesis was used to tag genes required for pathogenicity of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. melonis. Of the 1,129 REMI transformants tested, 13 showed reduced pathogenicity on susceptible melon cultivars. One of the mutants, FMMP95-1, was an arginine auxotroph. Structural analysis of the tagged site in FMMP95-1 identified a gene, designated ARG1, which possibly encodes argininosuccinate lyase, catalyzing the last step for arginine biosynthesis. Complementation of FMMP95-1 with the ARG1 gene caused a recovery in pathogenicity, indicating that arginine auxotrophic mutation causes reduced pathogenicity in this pathogen.     

Race Differentiation in Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. chrysanthemi

The pathogenicity of different isolates of Fusarium oxysporum obtained from plants of Gerbera (Gerbera jamesonii), Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium), Paris daisy (Argyranthemum frutescens) and African daisy (Osteospermum sp.), all in the family Asteraceae, was tested on different cultivars of these hosts, to assess their pathogenicity. The reactions were compared with those of isolates of F. oxysporum f. sp. chrysanthemi and of f.sp. tracheiphilum obtained from the American Type Culture Collection. We found that isolates of F. oxysporum f. sp. chrysanthemi can be distinguished as three physiological races on the basis of their pathogenicity to the panel of differential cultivars. Sequencing of the intergenic spacer (IGS) region of ribosomal DNA (rDNA) and phylogenetic analysis showed that the Fusarium races fell into three phylogenetic groups, which coincided with those observed in pathogenicity tests. Analysis of the IGS sequences revealed a high degree of similarity among strains from Italy and Spain from different host species, suggesting that recent outbreaks in these ornamentals were probably caused by introduction of infected nursery material from a common origin.     

Dispensable chromosomes in Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici

The genomes of many filamentous fungi consist of a ‘core’ part containing conserved genes essential for normal development as well as conditionally dispensable (CD) or lineage‐specific (LS) chromosomes. In the plant‐pathogenic fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici, one LS chromosome harbours effector genes that contribute to pathogenicity. We employed flow cytometry to select for events of spontaneous (partial) loss of either the two smallest LS chromosomes or two different core chromosomes. We determined the rate of spontaneous loss of the ‘effector’ LS chromosome in vitro at around 1 in 35 000 spores. In addition, a viable strain was obtained lacking chromosome 12, which is considered to be a part of the core genome. We also isolated strains carrying approximately 1‐Mb deletions in the LS chromosomes and in the dispensable core chromosome. The large core chromosome 1 was never observed to sustain deletions over 200 kb. Whole‐genome sequencing revealed that some of the sites at which the deletions occurred were the same in several independent strains obtained for the two chromosomes tested, indicating the existence of deletion hotspots. For the core chromosome, this deletion hotspot was the site of insertion of the marker used to select for loss events. Loss of the core chromosome did not affect pathogenicity, whereas loss of the effector chromosome led to a complete loss of pathogenicity.     

Mineral Uptake in Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. vasinfectum

A method for growing Fusarium oxysporum, a mycelial fungus, and a technique for its use in mineral uptake studies have been described. Some general characteristics of the uptake process were determined. The fungus, grown for 54 hours, was found to take up as much K as 15 to 20 meq/100 g dry weight in 2 to 4 hours from a solution of 5 meq/l KCl. Approximately 3 to 5 meq of this uptake was readily removed by a CaCl₂ rinse. The uptake was only slightly sensitive to pH over the range of 4 to 9. Below pH 4 uptake dropped rapidly. The age of the culture appeared to be the dominant factor in determining the rate of uptake. In contrast to other fungi, the presence of glucose during uptake was detrimental to K uptake. Conditions unfavorable for metabolic activity as low temperature, anaerobiosis, or the presence of DNP markedly reduced the uptake rate. Although the fungus took up Na from single salt solutions nearly as well as K, the latter ion was much preferred in mixtures of the two ions. The organism showed no significant metabolic uptake of Ca or Cl. During uptake from KCl solutions, the organic acid content increased. The increase, chiefly in succinic acid and to a lesser extent in acetic and citric acids, amounted to about half the K uptake. The remainder of the K taken up was correlated with a roughly equivalent efflux of cellular Mg.     

Chemical mutagenesis of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici: non-selected changes in pathogenicity of auxotrophic mutants.

Single and multiple auxotrophic mutants of the Fusarium oxysporum f. sp.lycopersici strains which cause Fusarium crown-rot and Fusarium wilt of tomato were obtained by chemical mutagenesis with nitrous acid, nitrosoguandidine and ethylmethaneulphonate. The mutagenesis and selection procedures, adapted for use with a plant pathogenic fungus, are described. Changes in pathogenicity were observed when the auxotrophs were compared with the wild type but no correlation was observed between changes in pathogenicity and the particular nutritional requirement.     

西瓜枯萎病菌的快速检测与鉴定

通过西瓜枯萎病菌与其他专化型枯萎病菌及瓜类几种重要病原菌的比较基因组分析,获得了西瓜枯萎病菌的基因组特异序列。在此基础上,设计出特异引物,筛选可扩增出西瓜枯萎病菌特异性DNA条带的引物。将特异性引物和尖孢镰刀菌专化型的通用引物W106R/W106S结合,建立双重PCR检测体系。该双重PCR检测体系可以在一次PCR反应中快速、准确的检测出西瓜枯萎病菌,为通过分子方法快速鉴定西瓜枯萎病菌提供技术支持。     

Insight into the molecular requirements for pathogenicity of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici through large-scale insertional mutagenesis

Background  

Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici is the causal agent of vascular wilt disease in tomato. In order to gain more insight into the molecular processes in F. oxysporum necessary for pathogenesis and to uncover the genes involved, we used Agrobacterium-mediated insertional mutagenesis to generate 10,290 transformants and screened the transformants for loss or reduction of pathogenicity.     

Temperature-induced alterations in phospholipids of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici.

Ten phospholipids were identified in hyphal membrane preparations of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici when the cells were grown to the late log phase at 15, 25, and 37 degrees C, respectively. The major phospholipids present were phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), which together made up about 70% of the total membrane phospholipids. The degree of unsaturation in the acyl group of the phospholipids was inversely related to growth temperature. The polar head group composition was also affected by growth temperature. Cells grown at 15 and 25 degrees C contained the same relative proportions of PC and PE, but when the growth temperature was raised to 37 degrees C, the ratio of PC to PE was doubled. A methylating system capable of converting PE to PC was demonstrated in vitro.     

香蕉枯萎病菌Fow1基因的克隆及序列分析

为了解Fow1基因在尖镰刀菌古巴专化型侵染香蕉过程中的作用,及其与尖镰刀菌古巴专化型生理小种1号和生理小种4号之间的致病力差异的关系,采用PCR和RT-PCR方法扩增了2个生理小种的Fow1基因,并对扩增产物进行了克隆测序及相似序列搜索和比对,还对基因编码的蛋白进行了结构预测和功能分析。研究结果表明2个生理小种Fow1基因开放阅读框均为957bp,编码318个氨基酸,基因序列和氨基酸序列差异小,而且两个生理小种Fow1基因所编码的蛋白均具有酵母线粒体载体蛋白典型的结构特征,推测Fow1基因可能为香蕉枯萎病菌在香蕉组织中定殖所必需。从Fow1基因序列及其编码蛋白的氨基酸序列看,2个生理小种致病力的差异与Fow1基因并无明显对应关系,这为进一步研究Fow1基因功能奠定了基础。     

The SNARE protein FolVam7 mediates intracellular trafficking to regulate conidiogenesis and pathogenicity in Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici

Soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptors (SNAREs) are conserved in fungi, plants and animals. The Vam7 gene encodes a v-SNARE protein that involved in vesicle trafficking in fungi. Here, we identified and characterized the function of FolVam7, a homologue of the yeast SNARE protein Vam7p in Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici (Fol), a fungal pathogen of tomato. FolVam7 contains SNARE and PX (Phox homology) domains that are indispensable for normal localization and function of FolVam7. Targeted gene deletion showed that FolVam7-mediated vesicle trafficking is important for vegetative growth, asexual development, conidial morphology and plant infection. Further cytological examinations revealed that FolVam7 is localized to vesicles and vacuole membranes in the hyphae stage. Moreover, the ΔFolvam7 mutant is insensitive to salt and osmotic stresses and hypersensitive to cell wall stressors. Taken together, our results suggested that FolVam7-mediated vesicle trafficking promotes vegetative growth, conidiogenesis and pathogenicity of Fol.     

Antagonistic Effect of Nonpathogenic Fusarium oxysporum Fo47 and Pseudobactin 358 upon Pathogenic Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. dianthi

Pseudobactin production by Pseudomonas putida WCS358 significantly improves biological control of fusarium wilt caused by nonpathogenic Fusarium oxysporum Fo47b10 (P. Lemanceau, P. A. H. M. Bakker, W. J. de Kogel, C. Alabouvette, and B. Schippers, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 58:2978-2982, 1992). The antagonistic effect of Fo47b10 and purified pseudobactin 358 was studied by using an in vitro bioassay. This bioassay allows studies on interactions among nonpathogenic F. oxysporum Fo47b10, pathogenic F. oxysporum f. sp. dianthi WCS816, and purified pseudobactin 358, the fluorescent siderophore produced by P. putida WCS358. Both nonpathogenic and pathogenic F. oxysporum reduced each other's growth when grown together. However, in these coinoculation experiments, pathogenic F. oxysporum WCS816 was relatively more inhibited in its growth than nonpathogenic F. oxysporum Fo47b10. The antagonism of nonpathogenic F. oxysporum against pathogenic F. oxysporum strongly depends on the ratio of nonpathogenic to pathogenic F. oxysporum densities: the higher this ratio, the stronger the antagonism. This fungal antagonism appears to be mainly associated with the competition for glucose. Pseudobactin 358 reduced the growth of both F. oxysporum strains, whereas ferric pseudobactin 358 did not; antagonism by pseudobactin 358 was then related to competition for iron. However, the pathogenic F. oxysporum strain was more sensitive to this antagonism than the nonpathogenic strain. Pseudobactin 358 reduced the efficiency of glucose metabolism by the fungi. These results suggest that pseudobactin 358 increases the intensity of the antagonism of nonpathogenic F. oxysporum Fo47b10 against pathogenic F. oxysporum WCS816 by making WCS816 more sensitive to the glucose competition by Fo47b10.     

Lectins Specificity to Pathogenesis of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. vasinfectum

Lectins of cotton were isolated from either resistant or susceptible seed cultivars. In agar-gel double diffusion tests, positive reactions took place between lectins of cotton cultivars and the antisera of their corresponding wilt Fusaria. The number of precipitin bands correlated with the degree of susceptibility of the tested cultivars. On the other hand, no visible reaction was detected when these antisera were subjected to react with either the resistant host or nonhost lectins.     

Inoculum sources of Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. asparagi in asparagus production

Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. asparagi (Foa) incites crown and root rot of asparagus which causes early decline of asparagus plantings. The aim of the present study was to identify the main inoculum sources of the pathogen in the Netherlands. As has been reported for foreign seed lots, Dutch seed lots can be infested with Foa at low levels. We found that seed infestation occurs mainly during the seed harvesting process through infested soil adhering to fallen berries. Soil samples from 59 fields without a history of asparagus growing and differing in their distance from asparagus plantings were tested for infestation with Foa, using a bioassay with asparagus as a bait plant. A high correlation was found between the incidence of infestation and proximity to asparagus fields; Foa was found in 69% of the samples from fresh fields in an asparagus production centre, and in only 6% of the samples from fields at a distance of 1 km and more from asparagus fields and outside a production centre. To evaluate planting material as an inoculum source of Foa, 49 lots of one-year-old crowns from 23 nurseries were collected and rated for disease symptoms. Infestation was found to be common with only two lots free of symptomatic plants. Most of the lots had more than 75% of symptomatic plants. Although most of the plants were infested, they showed only slight root rot symptoms. The procedure for production of Foa-free planting material is discussed. Persistence and infestation of asparagus root residues in former asparagus fields was assessed by retrieving the residues from eight former asparagus fields with an asparagus-free period of one to 25 years, and three fields with a standing asparagus crop. Even after an asparagus-free period of 25 yr asparagus root residues were retrieved from soil, although at low levels. Mean population densities of Fusarium spp. declined from 2 times 10⁶ to 1 times 10⁵ colony forming units g^_1 air-dry root tissue during the first 10 years and were still > 10⁴ c.f.u. g“¹ air-dry root tissue 20 to 25 yr after asparagus produced was stopped. The population was dominated by F. oxysporum. Eighty-three of the 112 isolates (74%) of F. oxysporum belonged to the forma specialis asparagi. The proportion of Foa in the population did not decrease in time. It was concluded that persistence of Foa in asparagus root residues is a major reason for its long-term survival.     

应用PCR-RFLP和巢式PCR检测黄瓜尖镰孢菌

以3株黄瓜尖镰孢菌(Fusarium oxysporum f.sp.cucumarinum)、23株镰孢菌属(Fusariumspp.)真菌和分离自土壤的20株真菌、6株细菌和7株放线菌为材料,采用化学裂解法提取总DNA,进行PCR-RFLP和巢式PCR检测,试验证明PCR-RFLP程序不能完全区分Fusarium属内不同种,而巢式PCR对黄瓜尖镰孢菌具有特异性.运用优化的PCR-RFLP和巢式PCR检测程序对染病黄瓜组织进行了检测,结果表明,两种方法均可在接种发病早期(未显症时)检测出黄瓜枯萎病菌,PCR-RFLP在感病品种接种后3d即可检测到病原菌,而巢式PCR在接种后5d才能检测到病原菌.     

A rapid serological test for detecting Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. narcissi in Narcissus

Polyclonal antiserum was elicited against a strain of Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. narcissi (GCRI80/26) and a specific and sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay developed. Antiserum raised to cell wall fractions gave better recognition than that to cytoplasmic fractions. Recognition was equally good in artificially and naturally infected bulbs. Little cross-reactivity in bulb tissue was shown by three other bulb-rotting fungi. Nine isolates of F. oxysporum f.sp. narcissi from a wide geographic area gave similar results in an indirect ELISA of mycelial extracts, although some cross-reactivity was observed with two other Fusarium spp. Four Fusarium spp. and four other fungi showed little cross-reactivity. Ten days after inoculation the pathogen was readily detected in the base plate area of three Narcissus cultivars and points remote from the inoculation site in the most susceptible cultivar. A direct correlation was observed between positive results in the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and recovery of the pathogen on selective medium.     

香蕉枯萎菌基因组DNA提取方法的研究

以香蕉枯萎菌菌株为试验材料,在SDS～CTAB法和高盐沉淀法等基础上加以改进,对两种提纯香蕉枯萎菌基因组DNA的方法进行了比较研究。结果表明：高盐沉淀法是适合于香蕉枯萎菌基因组DNA提取的方法。该方法提取的DNA OD260／OD280的比值为1．841,DNA产量为0．81mgDNA／g菌丝体。基因组DNA经琼脂糖凝胶电泳得到一条带型较宽且清晰的DNA谱带,基本无DNA碎带;将提取的DNA直接用于PCR扩增,得到带多而且清晰、整齐、基本无拖尾的RAPD图谱。