The dispersal of bacteria from leaf surfaces by water splash

J. BUTTERWORTH AND H.A. McCARTNEY. 1991. Advances in the techniques of genetic engineering have made possible the use of genetically manipulated micro-organisms (GMOs) for the control of pests and diseases. Before GMOs can be widely used in agriculture, however, their fate after release must be understood. Dispersal of released GMOs will have an important influence on their action or survival under field conditions. The object of this study was to quantify the efficiency of rain as a means of removing and disseminating such micro-organisms from foliar crop surfaces.
Spontaneous mutants of three species of bacteria ( Pseudomonas syringae, Klebsiella planticola and Bacillus subtilis ), resistant to the antibiotic rifampicin, were sprayed on two plant species, french bean, Phaseolus vulgaris , and oilseed rape, Brassica napus. The leaves from the plants were then exposed to artificial rain and splash droplets generated by the impact on the leaves were collected on selective nutrient agar in Petri dishes and in sterile glass 28 ml screw-capped bottles. The bacterial content of the splashed drops was assessed, as was the content of the water which ran off the leaf surfaces. Comparisons of the numbers of bacteria removed from the leaves with the numbers applied prior to splashing show that rainfall can be a very efficient means of removing bacteria from foliar surfaces, but that most of the removed bacteria run off to the soil. Only a small proportion was splashed relatively short distances from the source.     

Containment in industrial biotechnology within wastewater treatment plants

Both physical and biological containment are considered to be essential parts in the risk analysis of industrial Good Industrial Large-Scale Practice (GILSP) processes using genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Biological containment of industrial microorganisms has become a more important issue since the introduction of recombinant DNA techniques. In the event of an accidental discharge in the production plant, a large amount of organisms could be released into the wastewater treatment (WWT) system. This WWT system should therefore be considered as a part of the containment. This study demonstrates both a hydrodynamic and a microbiological model for the containment aspects of industrial WWT plants. The models are verified by measurements using industrial hosts of GILSP GMOs at full scale. Both models describe the full-scale equipment accurately. The results are supplemented with microcosm studies on survival of GMOs in defined niches. It is shown that WWT plants can be considered as useful additional parts of the containment of microorganisms, in case of an accidental discharge. The effect of drainage of an enormous amount of microorganisms (several tons) through the WWT plant into the environment is shown to be comparable to the direct drainage of a small-scale fermenter. Microcosm experiments correlate well with the survival rates in the WWT and therefore can be of use to predict the behaviour of GMOs in this environment. Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology (2002) 28, 65–69 DOI: 10.1038/sj/jim/7000210 Received 16 July 2001/ Accepted in revised form 05 September 2001     

Not all GMOs are crop plants: non-plant GMO applications in agriculture

Since tools of modern biotechnology have become available, the most commonly applied and often discussed genetically modified organisms are genetically modified crop plants, although genetic engineering is also being used successfully in organisms other than plants, including bacteria, fungi, insects, and viruses. Many of these organisms, as with crop plants, are being engineered for applications in agriculture, to control plant insect pests or diseases. This paper reviews the genetically modified non-plant organisms that have been the subject of permit approvals for environmental release by the United States Department of Agriculture/Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service since the US began regulating genetically modified organisms. This is an indication of the breadth and progress of research in the area of non-plant genetically modified organisms. This review includes three examples of promising research on non-plant genetically modified organisms for application in agriculture: (1) insects for insect pest control using improved vector systems; (2) fungal pathogens of insects to control insect pests; and (3) virus for use as transient-expression vectors for disease control in plants.     

Generation of transgenic plants of a potential oilseed crop Camelina sativa by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation

Camelina sativa is an alternative oilseed crop that can be used as a potential low-cost biofuel crop or a source of health promoting omega-3 fatty acids. Currently, the fatty acid composition of camelina does not uniquely fit any particular uses, thus limit its commercial value and large-scale production. In order to improve oil quality and other agronomic characters, we have developed an efficient and simple in planta method to generate transgenic camelina plants. The method included Agrobacterium-mediated inoculation of plants at early flowering stage along with a vacuum infiltration procedure. We used a fluorescent protein (DsRed) as a visual selection marker, which allowed us to conveniently screen mature transgenic seeds from a large number of untransformed seeds. Using this method, over 1% of transgenic seeds can be obtained. Genetic analysis revealed that most of transgenic plants contain a single copy of transgene. In addition, we also demonstrated that transgenic camelina seeds produced novel hydroxy fatty acids by transforming a castor fatty acid hydroxylase. In conclusion, our results provide a rapid means to genetically improve agronomic characters of camelina, including fatty acid profiles of its seed oils. Camelina may serve as a potential industrial crop to produce novel biotechnology products.     

Releasing genetically engineered plants: Present proposals and possible hazards

Worldwide the majority of current proposals to release genetically modified organisms concern plants; most are for small changes in common crop plants and present little apparent hazard. However, there is much confusion about how plants become pests, and implausible risk factors are appearing in the literature and before committees. It is dangerous to estimate the risks from first principles because of the immaturity of plant population biology and the lack of empirical data. Regulatory agencies should concentrate on obtaining realistic assessment of hazards, and not attempt to balance notional benefits and disbenefits.     

Environmental risks from the release of genetically modified organisms (GMOs)–the need for molecular ecology

Applications to release genetically modified organisms (GMOs) into the environment, usually the agricultural environment, are increasing exponentially. Many involve crop plants that are also weeds. Studies of biological invasions and of biological control show that the probability that a genetically new organism establishing itself is small; it is also unpredictable and in some cases could have severe ecological effects. GMOs pose risks both because they will be released in large numbers and because the greater the genetic novelty the greater the possibility of ecological novelty. Molecular ecology is an essential ingredient in ensuring that risks are assessed efficiently.     

Fungicide impacts on photosynthesis in crop plants

Fungicides are widely used to control pests in crop plants. However, it has been reported that these pesticides may have negative effects on crop physiology, especially on photosynthesis. An alteration in photosynthesis might lead to a reduction in photoassimilate production, resulting in a decrease in both growth and yield of crop plants. For example, a contact fungicide such as copper inhibits photosynthesis by destroying chloroplasts, affecting photosystem II activity and chlorophyll biosynthesis. Systemic fungicides such as benzimidazoles, anilides, and pyrimidine are also phytotoxic, whereas azoles stimulate photosynthesis. This article focuses on the available information about toxic effects of fungicides on photosynthesis in crop plants, highlighting the mechanisms of perturbation, interaction, and the target sites of different classes of fungicides.     

Silicon: its manifold roles in plants

The title of this essay declares that silicon does have roles in plants and all participants in this conference know that that is so. This knowledge, however, is not shared by the general community of plant biologists, who largely ignore the element. This baffling contrast is based on two sets of experience. First, higher plants can grow to maturity in nutrient solutions formulated without silicon. That has led to the conventional wisdom that silicon is not an essential element, or nutrient, and thus can be disregarded. Second, the world's plants do not grow in the benign environment of solution culture in plant biological research establishments. They grow in the field, under conditions that are often anything but benign. It is there, in the real world with its manifold stressful features, that the silicon status of plants can make a huge difference in their performance. The stresses that silicon alleviates range all the way from biotic, including diseases and pests, to abiotic such as gravity and metal toxicities. Silicon performs its functions in two ways: by the polymerization of silicic acid leading to the formation of solid amorphous, hydrated silica, and by being instrumental in the formation of organic defence compounds through alteration of gene expression. The silicon nutrition of plants is not only scientifically intriguing but also important in a world where more food will have to be wrung from a finite area of land, for that will put crops under stress.     

Field performance of transgenic potato plants compared with controls regenerated from tuber discs and shoot cuttings

Summary The objective of this study was to separate and determine effects on the field performance of transgenic potatoes that originate from the tissue culture process of transformation and from the genes inserted. The constructs introduced contained the reporter gene for betaglucuronidase (GUS) under the control of the patatin promoter (four different constructs) and the neomycin phosphotransferase gene under the control of the nopaline synthase promoter. Both genes might be expected to have a neutral effect on plant phenotype. The field performance of transgenic plants (70 independent transformants) was compared with non-transgenic plants regenerated from tuber discs by adventitious shoot formation and from shoot cultures established from tuber nodal cuttings. Plants from all three treatments were grown in a field trial from previously field-grown tubers, and plant performance was measured in terms of plant height at flowering, weight of tubers, number of tubers, weight of large tubers and number of large tubers. There was evidence of somaclonal variation among the transgenic plants; mean values for all characters were significantly lower and variances generally higher than from plants derived from nodal shoot cultures. A similar change in means and variances was observed for the non-transgenic tuber-disc regenerants when compared with shoot culture plants. Plant height, tuber weight and tuber number were, however, significantly lower in transgenic plants than in tuber-disc regenerants, suggesting an effect on plant performance either of the tissue culture process used for transformation or of the genes inserted. There were significant differences between constructs for all five plant characters. The construct with the smallest segment of patatin promoter and the lowest level of tuber specificity for GUS expression had the lowest values for all five characters. It is proposed that the nature of GUS expression is influencing plant performance. There was no indication that the NPTII gene, used widely in plant transformation, has any substantial effect on plant performance in the field.     

REVIEW ARTICLE: Transgenic plants and the environment

With a continued increase in the range of transgenes, and plantspecies for which genetic modification is possible, this reviewattempts to bring together some of the factors that will influencethe eventual fate of transgenes in the environment, and theeffects that such a dispersal may have. The review is developedfrom papers presented at the SEB Swansea meeting (April, 1994). Using experiments with GM (genetically modified) plants, andmarkers in non-GM plants, as well as observations on naturaland crop populations, it is possible to predict isolation distancesrequired for limiting the unintentional release from GM crops,and the probable fate of both GM pollen and seed if it is releasedbeyond the GM plot. Knowledge of wild relatives of crop plants,and ecological mechanisms can also give insights into the possibleeffects of different transgenes on native plants, and otheragricultural crops. A large number of limited scale releasesof GM plants have now taken place from which we can gain informationon the performance of GM crops in an agricultural environment,and the stability of the GM phenotype. All this information,can help to form a sound basis for regulations on the releaseof GM plants, an assessment of the need for, and scope of monitoring,and the best way in which to use GM crops. Key words: Transgenic releases, genetically-modified plants, molecular ecology, transgene stability     

Potential for the use of elicitors of plant resistance in arthropod management programs

Plants protect themselves from arthropod herbivores both directly, by expressing biochemical and morphological traits that interfere with herbivore development or behavior, and indirectly, by facilitating the action of natural enemies of herbivores. These direct and indirect resistance mechanisms are not always expressed at maximal levels by plants, but rather can be induced to higher levels by a variety of stimuli, most notably prior herbivory. The recent discovery of chemical elicitors of induced responses has led to interest in manipulating the inducible responses of plants for crop protection. Applications of elicitors of induced responses made at appropriate times during the growing season of a crop have the potential of activating both direct and indirect mechanisms of plant resistance and thereby simultaneously augmenting host-plant resistance and biological control. This strategy may serve as an important component of a multifaceted, ecologically-based pest management program and is unlikely to precipitate the rapid evolution of countermeasures by target pests. However, this strategy will not be appropriate in all crops or against all arthropod pests. The conditions under which the use of an elicitor is likely to be successful are discussed, and examples of the successful use of elicitors are reviewed.     

Plant breeding: Past achievements and expectations for the future

Plant breeding improvements have been responsible for 50 percent or more of the gains in yield per unit area of major crop plants in the United States over the past 50 yr. Rates of gain attributable to genetic improvements have averaged 1% per year, have generally been linear, and show no sign of slackening. Extrapolations indicate that varieties and hybrids of the year 2000 will yield, on average, 15% more than those of 1985 Improvements in tolerance to environmental stress, in grain-to-straw ratios, and in standability, as well as maintenance of required levels of resistance to disease, insect and nematode pests, have been the major genetic causes of higher achieved yields and will continue to be the foundation for further gains in productivity and stability. Broadened genetic diversity is also an increasingly important goal to promote stability and increase productivity potentials. Proportionately large research inputs are now needed to maintain desired rates of improvement, compared to earlier years. It seems likely that contributions from biotechnology will become increasingly important in years to come if improvement rates are to be maintained.     

Novel chemistry of invasive exotic plants

Of the many exotic plants that have become naturalized in North America, only a small proportion are pests capable of invading and dominating intact natural communities. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that the most invasive plants are phytochemically unique in their new habitats. A comparison of exotic plant species that are highly invasive in North America with exotics that are widespread, but non-invasive revealed that the invasive plants were more likely to have potent secondary compounds that have not been reported from North American native plants. On average, the compounds found in the invasive plants were reported from fewer species, fewer genera and fewer families than those from non-invasive plants. Many of the unique phytochemicals from invasive plants have been reported to have multiple activities, including antiherbivore, antifungal, antimicrobial and allelopathic (phytotoxic) effects, which may provide the plants with several advantages in their new environments.     

Detecting un-authorized genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and derived materials

Genetically modified plants, in the following referred to as genetically modified organisms or GMOs, have been commercially grown for almost two decades. In 2010 approximately 10% of the total global crop acreage was planted with GMOs (James, 2011). More than 30 countries have been growing commercial GMOs, and many more have performed field trials. Although the majority of commercial GMOs both in terms of acreage and specific events belong to the four species: soybean, maize, cotton and rapeseed, there are another 20 + species where GMOs are commercialized or in the pipeline for commercialization. The number of GMOs cultivated in field trials or for commercial production has constantly increased during this time period. So have the number of species, the number of countries involved, the diversity of novel (added) genetic elements and the global trade. All of these factors contribute to the increasing complexity of detecting and correctly identifying GMO derived material. Many jurisdictions, including the European Union (EU), legally distinguish between authorized (and therefore legal) and un-authorized (and therefore illegal) GMOs. Information about the developments, field trials, authorizations, cultivation, trade and observations made in the official GMO control laboratories in different countries around the world is often limited, despite several attempts such as the OECD BioTrack for voluntary dissemination of data. This lack of information inevitably makes it challenging to detect and identify GMOs, especially the un-authorized GMOs. The present paper reviews the state of the art technologies and approaches in light of coverage, practicability, sensitivity and limitations. Emphasis is put on exemplifying practical detection of un-authorized GMOs. Although this paper has a European (EU) bias when examples are given, the contents have global relevance.     

Phylogeny of early land plants: insights from genes and genomes

A large body of evidence from molecular systematic studies has confirmed the charophytic origin of land plants, and clarified monophyly of many lineages in charophytes and land plants. These studies have also identified liverworts as the earliest land plants, and the lycopods as the extant sister group to all other vascular plants. Two traditionally defined groups-bryophytes and pteridophytes-are now recognized as early grades of land plant evolution. However, several problems that complicate the use of sequence data in reconstructing plant phylogeny have become apparent; reconstruction of an accurate land plant phylogeny will require analysis of sequences of multiple genes and genomic structural characters of all three genomes.     

水稻施用硅肥对稻纵卷叶螟幼虫取食和成虫产卵选择性的影响

采用感虫水稻品种TN1,设置3种施硅水平,即高硅(0.32 g Si/kg土壤)、低硅(0.16 g Si/kg土壤)和不施硅对照(0 g Si/kg土壤),研究了施用硅肥对稻纵卷叶螟产卵和取食选择性的影响。结果表明:稻纵卷叶螟幼虫对硅处理水稻叶片的取食选择性和成虫在硅处理水稻上的着卵量、着卵率均显著低于对照水稻。高硅处理水稻叶片中的硅含量、可溶性糖含量和碳氮比高于对照,而氮含量低于对照;低硅处理水稻叶片的碳氮比高于对照、氮含量低于对照。同时,硅处理显著降低水稻的卷叶株率和卷叶率。这些结果表明,施硅能增强稻纵卷叶螟对水稻的不选择性,从而增强水稻对稻纵卷叶螟的抗性。     

农作物虫害的机器检测与监测技术研究进展

在早期发现并准确定位害虫, 对其未来的发展趋势作出评价, 可提高施药处方决策和综合防治的针对性和准确性。在作物虫害信息的获取中, 传统的检测和监测方法不但耗时、费力, 而且导致的预报滞后会进一步增加损失程度, 很难较好地满足现代农业的精准生产要求。本文介绍了国内外学者在田间作物上开展害虫及其危害状况的机器检测和监测技术研究取得的进展, 包括声特征检测法、雷达观测法、图像识别法以及光谱监测法等, 讨论了现有技术的局限性, 指出了未来作物虫害机器检测和监测技术的可能发展方向是采用多种技术相结合的组合式检测和监测方法, 从多个角度获取特定虫害的相关信息, 相互进行实证检验, 以提高作物虫害机器检测和监测的精度及效率。