Biology and biocontrol potential of Ampelomyces mycoparasites, natural antagonists of powdery mildew fungi

Historically, pycnidial fungi belonging to the genus Ampelomyces were among the first mycoparasites to be studied in detail and were also the first fungi used as biocontrol agents of plant parasitic fungi. The interactions between host plants, powdery mildew fungi and Ampelomyces mycoparasites are one of the most evident cases of tritrophic relationships in nature although their study has received little attention in fungal and plant ecology so far. Ampelomyces mycoparasites have now become one of the most advanced in terms of commercial development of a fungal biocontrol agent, although there is still a need for more development work to produce a product with reliability approaching that of conventional chemical treatments. This review summarizes the taxonomy, genetic diversity, life cycle, mode of action, natural occurrence, host range, biocontrol potential, mass production and commercialization of these mycoparasites and compares the biocontrol ability of Ampelomyces with that of other fungal antagonists of powdery mildews.     

Natural occurrence of ampelomyces intracellular mycoparasites in mycelia of powdery mildew fungi

This is the first extensive investigation that quantifies natural mycoparasitic relationships in the phyllosphere. The presence of Ampelomyces spp. was quantified in naturally occurring powdery mildew fungi collected in Hungary and Romania between 1992 and 1995. A total of 570 samples was studied representing 27 species (nine genera) of the Erysiphaceae infecting 41 host plant genera. The incidence of Ampelomyces spp., determined as the proportion of samples in which intracellular pycnidia were present, varied between 4.3 and 68.8% in the host fungal genera studied. The intensity of mycoparasitism, defined as a percentage of the powdery mildew mycelia parasitized by Ampelomyces , ranged from 0.15 to 65%. Both the incidence and the intensity of mycoparasitism showed the lowest values in Blumeria graminis (DC.) Speer collected from wild and cultivated monocotyledons, while the highest values were found in Arthrocladiella mougeotii (Lév.) Vassilkov infecting Lycium halimifolium Mill. plants. The paper reports for the first time the natural occurrence of Ampelomyces in Sawadaea bicornis (Wallr.:Fr.) Homma on maple.     

Characterization of six polymorphic microsatellite loci from Ampelomyces quisqualis,intracellular mycoparasite and biocontrol agent of powdery mildew

Ampelomyces spp. are common intracellular mycoparasites of powdery mildews worldwide and a strain has been commercialized as a biocontrol agent against these plant pathogens. In light of recent genetic analyses revealing high internal transcribed spacer sequence variability among Ampelomyces strains on different host plant mildews, yet no sequence variability within the Malus strain, polymorphic microsatellites were required to permit biocontrol and ecological studies of the complex apple/apple mildew/Ampellomyces tritrophic interaction. For this purpose, described here are the primers to amplify six polymorphic microsatellite loci from Ampelomyces quisqualis isolated from mycelia of the apple powdery mildew fungus, Podosphaera leucotricha.     

Mutual interplay between phytopathogenic powdery mildew fungi and other microorganisms

Powdery mildew is a common and widespread plant disease of considerable agronomic relevance. It is caused by obligate biotrophic fungal pathogens which, in most cases, epiphytically colonize aboveground plant tissues. The disease has been typically studied as a binary interaction of the fungal pathogen with its plant hosts, neglecting, for the most part, the mutual interplay with the wealth of other microorganisms residing in the phyllo- and/or rhizosphere and roots. However, the establishment of powdery mildew disease can be impacted by the presence/absence of host-associated microbiota (epi- and endophytes) and, conversely, plant colonization by powdery mildew fungi might disturb indigenous microbial community structures. In addition, other (foliar) phytopathogens could interact with powdery mildews, and mycoparasites may affect the outcome of plant–powdery mildew interactions. In this review, we discuss the current knowledge regarding the intricate and multifaceted interplay of powdery mildew fungi, host plants and other microorganisms, and outline current gaps in our knowledge, thereby setting the basis for potential future research directions.     

PCR primers useful for nucleotide sequencing of rDNA of the powdery mildew fungi

Four PCR primers that are useful to determine the nucleotide sequences of the rDNA of the powdery mildew fungi were newly designed. These primers provide both enough stability to work on a wide range of powdery mildews and enough specificity to eliminate contaminating DNA by PCR. DNA sequences of the rDNA ITS region were successfully obtained from specimens that were contaminated by other fungi. In addition, sequence results of the 18S and 28S rDNA were dramatically improved by using these primers in most of the specimens examined.     

The effectivity of Tilletiopsis albescens in biocontrol of powdery mildew

Tilletiopsis albescens grows well on powdery mildew fungi inoculated on barley or cucumber leaves and causes collapse of the colonies. Application of ballistospores or cut mycelium was equally effective for biocontrol, and the effectiveness tended to increase exponentially with the concentration of germinating units (conidia and cut mycelium) applied. Seventy percent relative humidity or more is required for effective biocontrol. Two applications of T. albescens in the period from 3 days before to 3 days after inoculation with powdery mildew were more effective than one. Applications before inoculation or 7 days after inoculation with powdery mildew had little effect. T. albescens followed the powdery mildew as it was disseminated to uninoculated leaves, but this did not result in an effective biocontrol. The potential for using T. albescens for biocontrol of powdery mildews is discussed.     

青岛地区烟草白粉病病原

在青岛地区的温室和实验室中发现烟草白粉病,通过对病原形态特征、核糖体基因内转录间隔区序列分析以及致病性测定,将青岛地区烟草白粉病的病原确定为奥隆特高氏白粉菌Golovinomyces orontii,这是该病原在国内烟草上的首次报道。     

小麦抗白粉病基因

到目前为止,小麦中已经鉴定出31个主效抗白杨病基因位点(Pm1-Pm31),对这些小麦抗白粉病基因位点的来源、染色体定位、遗传特点以及载体品种等方面进行了概括性综述。     

小麦抗白粉病相关基因的转化

利用玉米花青素苷合成调节基因C1-Lc作为报告基因, 通过瞬间表达后愈伤组织表面红色斑点的统计分析, 优化了小麦幼胚愈伤组织的基因枪转化参数。小麦Beclin1类似基因TaTBL和硫代硫酸硫转移酶基因TaTST是2个在白粉菌诱导条件下具有增强表达特性的抗病相关基因。本实验进一步利用基因枪将ubi强启动子控制下的2个基因导入到小麦品种扬麦158的幼胚愈伤组织细胞中, 使用除草剂经两轮选择培养基上的筛选和再生获得抗性植株, 进一步通过抗性植株的PCR分析获得转TaTBL基因植株5株, 转TaTST基因植株6株。转基因植株离体叶片的人工接种实验表明, 外源基因的导入不同程度上增强了植株的白粉病抗性, 表现为延缓了白粉菌的发育。利用玉米花青素苷合成调节基因C1-Lc作为报告基因,通过瞬间表达后愈伤组织表面红色斑点的统计分析,优化了小麦幼胚愈伤组织的基因枪转化参数。小麦Beclin1类似基因TaTBL和硫代硫酸硫转移酶基因TaTST是两个在白粉菌诱导条件下具有增强表达特性的抗病相关基因。本实验进一步利用基因枪将ubi强启动子控制下的两个基因导入到小麦品种扬麦158的幼胚愈伤组织细胞中,使用除草剂经两轮选择培养基上的筛选和再生获得抗性植株,进一步通过抗性植株的PCR分析获得转TaTBL基因植株5株,转TaTST基因植株6株。转基因植株离体叶片的人工接种实验表明,外源基因的导入不同程度上增强了植株的白粉病抗性,表现为延缓了白粉菌的发育。     

白粉菌侵染对小麦叶片显微及超微结构的影响

通过半薄及超薄切片,比较了正常和受白粉菌感染的小麦叶片细胞的显微及超微结构的差异。观察结果发现：（1）受感染小麦叶肉细胞的细胞壁上局部沉积大量团状电子致密颗粒;（2）叶绿体形状由原来的椭圆形转变成圆形,叶绿体膜破裂;类囊体膨大,基粒片层排列疏松,同时,叶绿体内嗜饿性颗粒数量增加;（3）线粒体膜解体,内含物分散到了细胞质中。     

Field resistance of spring barley cultivars to powdery mildew in Lithuania

During vegetative period 2004–2005 powdery mildew (Erysiphe graminis DC. f. sp. hordei Em. Marchal) field resistance of spring barley cultivars was investigated at the Lithuanian Institute of Agriculture. The spring barley genotypes tested were Lithuania-registered cultivars, cultivars from genetic resources collection, and the new cultivars used for initial breeding. In total, 23 resistance genes were present in the 84 cultivars studied. Among mono-genes only mlo and 1-B-53 showed very high resistance. Slight powdery mildew necroses (up to 3 scores) formed on cultivars possessing these genes. The maximal powdery mildew (PM) severity reached a score of 8.5 and the area under disease progress curve (AUDPC) a value of 1216.8. The cultivars ‘Primus’, ‘Astoria’, ‘Power’, ‘Harrington’ and ‘Scarlett’ were the most resistant among the non mlo cultivars. Severity of PM on ‘Primus’ reached a score of 3.5 (3.0 of PM necrosis) in average, the other cultivars were diseased from 4.5 (3.0) to 5.0 (2.0). The AUDPC values for these cultivars except ‘Scarlett’ were the lowest (85.0–145.3) among the other cultivars. The highest contrast in development of the other leaf diseases was between highly resistant and susceptible to PM cultivar groups. The fast development of PM depressed development of the other diseases 4.7 times.     

Nucleotide sequence diversity of rDNA internal transcribed spacers extracted from conidia and cleistothecia of several powdery mildew fungi

An improved protocol, including DNA extraction with Chelex, two amplifications with a nested primer set, and DNA purification by electrophoresis, made it possible to analyze nuclear rDNA sequences of powdery mildew fungi using at most several hundred conidia or 20 cleistothecia. Nucleotide sequence diversity of the nuclear rDNA region containing the two internal transcribed spacers (ITS1 and ITS2) and 5.8S rRNA gene derived from conidia and cleistothecia was investigated for four kinds of powdery mildew fungi including two isolates of the same species. The results showed that the nucleotide sequences of the nuclear rDNA region were highly conserved between the teleomorph and the anamorph. Thus, the nucleotide sequence data obtained from either developmental stage can be used for phylogenetic studies of powdery mildew fungi. The nucleotide sequences of the 5.8S rRNA genes of the four species were highly conserved, but those of their ITS regions were variable. This suggests that the nuclear rDNA region is not suitable for phylogenetic studies of distantly related powdery mildew fungi, because too much sequence diversity exists, within the ITS, and too little phylogenetic information is contained within the 5.8S rRNA gene. However, the ITS region will be useful for phylogenetic comparison of closely related species or intraspecies. Contribution No. 132 from the Laboratory of Plant Pathology, Mie University.     

南瓜白粉病病原菌鉴定及寄主范围测定

通过对南瓜白粉病病原菌的闭囊壳、分生孢子及萌发方式的观察和鉴别寄主感病反应鉴定,结果表明引起甘肃省武威地区南瓜白粉病的病原菌为苍耳单囊白粉菌Podosphaera xanthii。该白粉病菌闭囊壳形成的最适条件为温度20℃、相对湿度70%和光照强度4,400lx。寄主范围测定结果表明,该病菌不侵染丝瓜、小麦、辣椒、番茄、苜蓿、红三叶草、架豆和菜豆,可侵染除丝瓜之外的其余9种瓜类植物和绿豆、红小豆、向日葵,其中对南瓜、绿豆、西葫芦、红小豆、向日葵、甜瓜和黄瓜的致病性最强,发病率均达到100%,病情指数分别为15.56、14.51、13.33、13.33、13.07、12.22和12.22。侵染过程观察发现,感病南瓜人工接种白粉菌12h后,分生孢子芽管从侧面萌发,于24h芽管伸长,于36h形成菌丝,于72h形成稠密的网状菌丝,于96h形成分生孢子梗及串生分生孢子。     

Phylogenetic analysis and predicted secondary structures of the rDNA internal transcribed spacers of the powdery mildew fungi (Erysiphaceae)

The nucleotide sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of the ribosomal DNA including the 5.8S rRNA gene and the 5′ end of the 28S rRNA gene have been determined for 19 species in 10 genera of the powdery mildew fungi in order to analyze their phylogenetic relationship. These fungi were divided into two large groups based on the nucleotide length of the ITS regions, and this grouping was in line with that based on the morphological characters of the anamorphic stage rather than the teleomorphic stage. Although the variable ITS sequences were often ambiguously aligned, conserved sites were also found. Thus, a neighbor-joining tree was constructed using the nucleotide sequence data of the conserved sites of the ITS regions, the 5.8S rRNA gene, and the 5′ end of the 28S rRNA gene. The phylogenetic tree displayed the presence of four groups in the powdery mildews, which were distinguished by their morphology and/or host ranges. In the ITS2 region, the presence of a common secondary structure having four hairpin domains was suggested, in spite of the highly variable nucleotide sequences of this region. The predicted secondary structure was supported by the compensatory mutations as well as compensatory conserved sequences and high G+C content in the predicted stem regions. Contribution No. 142 from the Laboratory of Plant Pathology, Mie University.     

大麦抗白粉病基因Mlo的研究进展

野生型Mlo基因是大麦抗白粉病的负调控因子,该基因突变,赋予大麦对白粉菌的广谱抗性。综述了Mlo基因结构、功能及Mlo突变的等位基因(mlo)的抗性特点;讨论了mlo基因可能的抗病机制。为mlo抗性在麦类白粉病抗病育种中的应用提供了理论基础。     

一些小麦白粉病抗源抗性基因鉴定分析

研究鉴定了我国３７份小麦白粉病抗源的抗性基因,１９份材料不具有任何抗性基因;６份材料具有来自１ＢＬ／１ＲＳ易位系的抗性基因Ｐｍ８;５份材料具有抗性基因Ｐｍ５ａ;３份分别具有对目前欧洲所有生理小种均抗的抗性基因Ｐｍ２１、Ｐｍ１６和Ｐｍ１２;４份材料具有新的抗性基因。     

新番茄粉孢菌Oidium neolycopersici生物学特性的研究

新番茄粉孢菌Oidium neolycopersici是近几年引起番茄白粉病的主要病原菌。在国内首次对该菌的生物学特性进行了研究。结果表明：新番茄粉孢菌分生孢子萌发的适宜温度范围为20－25℃,最适相对湿度范围为80%－100%,在水滴中不能萌发;该菌对光照条件和酸碱度的要求不严格,在pH3－12时其萌发率均能达到90%以上;在碳氮源利用方面,该菌分生孢子对各种碳源均能利用,以甘露糖和半乳糖效果最好;氮源以硝态氮（硝酸钾）为佳,铵态氮、有机态氮对其萌发有抑制作用;分生孢子萌发的致死温度为44℃ 10min。     

First record of dill powdery mildew caused by Erysiphe heraclei DC in Egypt

In Egypt, powdery mildew was observed for the first time on dill plants, during annual disease surveys of March–May 2003 and 2005. Typical symptoms of powdery mildew of dill plant (Anethum graveolens L.) were observed in Gharbeia Governorate. Symptoms of powdery mildew became common on leaves, stems inflorescences and fruits as white irregular areas. These symptoms appeared at vegetative and early flowering stages then gradually increased through fruiting and pre-maturity stages. Samples of infected leaflets, stem, inflorescences and fruits were collected for examination by light and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Microscopic examination revealed that conidiophores were short, erect–69 × 6–10 μm in dimension, conidia were observed without conspicuous fibrosin bodies singly, elliposid to ovoid 25–33 × 10–16 μm in dimension, and the length to width ratio of conidia ranged from 1.7 to 2.0 and were produced singly. Cylindrical foot cells (22.0 × 8.0 μm) were followed by one or two shorter cells (12.5 × 7.5 μm). In spring, the sexual stage (cleistothecia) appeared on infected leaves and stems in spherical, gregarious measures 105–117 (111) × 100– 87.5 μm in diameter. Each cleistothecium contained (2–4) round to ovoid asci, 45–55 (50) × 45–25 (35) μm in dimension. The ascus contained (3–4) ellipsoid to ovoid ascospores, 20–17.5 × 15–10 (13.2) μm. Cleistothecia appendages are simple myceloid branched tips measuring 80–200 (140) μm in length and 3–5 (4) μm in diameter. Based on the observations of the morphology of its anamorph and teleomorph stages, the causal agent of dill powdery mildew was identified as Erysiphe heraclei which is reported for the first time in Egypt.     

Accommodation of powdery mildew fungi in intact plant cells

Parasitic powdery mildew fungi have to overcome basic resistance and manipulate host cells to establish a haustorium as a functional feeding organ in a host epidermal cell. Currently, it is of central interest how plant factors negatively regulate basal defense or whether they even support fungal development in compatible interactions. Additionally, creation of a metabolic sink in infected cells may involve host activity. Here, we review the current progress in understanding potential fungal targets for host reprogramming and nutrient acquisition.