Fertility status and distribution of mating type alleles of the rice blast fungus, Magnaporthe grisea in northern Iran

This study was carried out using 155 monoconidial isolates collected from different areas of two major rice growing provinces in northern Iran, including 94 isolates from Guilan and 59 isolates from Mazandaran. Among 94 isolates from Guilan, 92 and two isolates recovered from rice and crabgrass (Digitaria sp.), respectively. All 61 rested isolates from Mazandaran were recovered from rice. All isolates were evaluated for in vitro sexual fertility and mating type status by pairing with Mat 1-1 and Mat 1-2 fertile standard hermaphrodite isolates including Br48 and Th12 (Mat 1-1) and KA9 and TH16 (Mat 1-2). Of 155 isolates, 98 (63.2%) were fertile and 57 (36.8%) were infertile and produced no perithecium when mated with standard isolates. Among 98 fertile isolates, 96 isolates were identified as Mat 1-1 and two isolates as Mat 1-2. All Mat 1-1 isolates were obtained from rice and two Mat 1-2 isolates obtained from crab grass. No Mat 1-2 isolate was identified from rice in this study. Both mating types were found in Guilan but all isolates recovered from Mazandaran were identified as Mat 1-1. Male fertility predominated in fertile Mat 1-1 and Mat 1-2 isolates from all sampling sites in northern Iran, and no female fertility was detected. This is the first report of existence of Mat 1-2 allele in Magnaporthe grisea population in Iran.     

Prevalence of ixodid ticks on cattle in Mazandaran province, Iran

A survey was carried out to investigate the prevalence of hard tick species (Acari: Ixodidae) on cattle in Mazandaran province, Iran. A total of 953 ticks were collected from 86 infested cattle during activating seasons of ticks during 2004-2005. Nine species were identified: Boophilus annulatus (51.3%), Rhipicephalus bursa (16.8%), Haemaphysalis punctata (6.3%), Ixodes ricinus (6.8%), Hyalomma marginatum (12.5%), Hyalomma anatolicum excavatum (5.2%), Hyalomma asiaticum (0.6%), Hyalomma detritum (0.2 %), and Dermacentor spp. (0.1%). The results show that Boophilus annulatus, Rhipicephalus bursa, and Hyalomma species are dominant tick species in the surveyed area.     

The assessment of the rice cultivars/lines resistance to blast disease in Mazandaran province, Iran

Blast, caused by Magnaporthe grisea, is one of the most important diseases in rice production regions of the world including Iran. To determine progress of rice blast disease on the selective cultivars and lines also to assay some components of partial resistance, a set of Iranian rice cultivars (Local and breeding) along with near-isogenic lines (NILs) and breeding lines from International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) were tested with some field races of the fungus in blast nursery and five of selective races in greenhouse. These experiments were conducted in a Randomized complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications (except greenhouse experiment on the leaves). Traits in this study consisted of Infection Neck Number (INN), Neck Lesion Size (NLS), Infection Type (IT), percent Diseased Leaf Area (DLA) and Area Under Disease Progress Curve (AUDPC); also IT, Sporulation Lesion Number (SLN), Sporulating Region Diameter (SRD) and percent DLA were measured in leaf blast in greenhouse (one replication). The Iranian local cultivars and NILs i.e. Co-39 and C104-PKT located as susceptible group for AUDPC, IT, INN and NLS. Iranian breeding cultivars, breeding lines from IRRI and NILs (except Co-39 and C104-PKT) were resistant or indicated hypersensivity reaction (HR). Some cultivars (Fujiminori, Onda, and Hassan Saraii) were semi susceptible to leaf blast in nursery. The main point is correlation in 1% (a = 0.0001) between the traits in greenhouse and blast nursery. Neck node infection of Haraz cultivar in greenhouse experiment to IA-89 race is very important, because Haraz is a resistant cultivar to blast disease in Iran.     

Study of genetic diversity in potato cultivars using PCR analysis of organelle DNA

The genetic diversity of 98 potato cultivars of Russian and foreign breeding was studied using of PCR with organelle-specific primers. The polymorphism of both plastid (atpE, trnG/trnR) and mitochondrial (rps10, atp6) loci was revealed. Eight different haplotypes were detected in the sample of cultivars studied. Comparatively low polymorphism of organelle DNA in the potato cultivars was demonstrated: most cultivars (91 or 92.9%) possessed only two haplotypes (I and II); 62 cultivars of them had the same “cultural” cytoplasmic type (haplotype I). The breeding cultivars of the Russian and foreign origin did not differ from each other in frequency of basic haplotypes.     

水稻品种多样性田间稻瘟病菌群体遗传结构分析

利用稻瘟病菌的一段倒位重复序列Pot2设计的一对引物,采用rep—PCR分子指纹技术对来自石屏县净种杂交稻田块、净种糯稻田块以及间种杂交稻糯稻田间的251个稻瘟病单孢分离菌株进行扩增．结果表明,所有供试菌株均分别扩增到9—17条DNA带,大小从400bp到23kb左右,但大多数带主要集中在5—10kb之间．所有菌株共扩增出的DNA指纹带中,约65％的为多态性DNA带,35％的为共同扩增带．将供试菌株扩增带诺进行聚类分析,比较间裁与净载田间病菌群体遗传结构的组成差异结果表明,在不同遗传相似水平,菌株遗传宗群复杂度与栽培方式有一定相关性。间栽田间病菌遗传宗群较净栽田问复杂,为3—5个,且优势宗群群不明显;而在净栽糯稻或净栽杂交稻田间遗传宗群较为简单,只有1—3个,且优势宗群明显．本试验结果证明水稻品种多样性有利于稻瘟病菌稳定化选择。     

Retrotransposon-microsatellite amplified polymorphism (REMAP) markers for genetic diversity assessment of the rice blast pathogen (Magnaporthe grisea).

This present study is the first report of the application of the retrotransposon-microsatellite amplified polymorphism (REMAP) technique in fungi. Genome fingerprinting has a major role in the characterization of population structure and in the analysis of the variability in fungi. Retrotransposon-microsatellite amplified polymorphism assay was used in virulent isolates of a rice blast pathogen (Magnaporthe grisea) as a new assay system for genetic variability studies that overcomes the limitations of previous techniques. The high polymorphism observed in REMAP could be due to past or recent actions of retrotransposon in M. grisea. Retrotransposon-microsatellite amplified polymorphism, with its superior marker utility, was concluded to be the marker of choice for characterizing M. grisea isolates.     

Study of genetic diversity in potato cultivars using PCR analysis of organelle DNA

The genetic diversity of 98 potato cultivars of Russian and foreign breeding was studied using of PCR with organelle-specific primers. The polymorphism of both plastid (atpE, trnG/trnK) and mitochondrial (rps, atp6) loci was revealed. Eight different haplotypes were detected in the sample of cultivars studied. Comparatively low of polymorphism of organelle DNA in the potato cultivars was demonstrated: most cultivars (91 or 92.9%) possessed only two haplotypes (I and II); 62 cultivars of them had similar "cultural" cytoplasmic type (haplotype I). The breeding cultivars of the Russian and foreign origin did not differ from each other in frequency of basic haplotypes.     

江苏省稻瘟病菌的毒性多样性及水稻品种的抗病性

在13个已知日本抗病基因品种上检测1997－1999年采集自江苏省吴江,赣榆,通州,高邮和宜兴等5个代表地区的324个稻瘟病菌株的毒性,结果可将上述菌株划分为90种毒性类型,表明江苏省稻瘟病菌存在着丰富的毒性多样性,毒性类型组成在地区间存在较大的差异,并且随着时间的推移,稻瘟病菌毒性类型组成有差异加大的趋势,在已知抗病基因品种上测定江苏省稻瘟病菌的毒力,结果显示：Pi-k^3,Pi-ta,Pi-ta^2和Pi-sh等抗病基因对江苏省的稻瘟病菌的抗谱很窄,而Pi-i,Pi-z,Pi-z^t和Pi-b等抗病基因的抗谱比较宽,可作为抗源加以利用,用6个代表性毒性类型菌株接种江苏省80筱水稻主载品种和新育成品种,品种抗性分析表明,上述水稻品种中的籼稻和杂交稻对江苏省稻瘟病菌具有较高的抗性,而粳稻品种的抗性较差,上述研究结果为利用水稻品种抗性多样性控制稻瘟病提供了依据。     

Genome organization of Magnaporthe grisea: genetic map,electrophoretic karyotype,and occurrence of repeated DNAs

A genetic map of Magnaporthe grisea (anamorph=Pyricularia oryzae and P. grisea), the causal agent of rice blast disease, was generated from segregation data utilizing 97 RFLP markers, two isoenzyme loci and the mating type locus among progeny of a cross between parental strains Guy 11 and 2539. Of the seven chromosomes of M. Grisea, three were resolved by contour-clamped homogeneous electric field (CHEF) electrophoresis, while the remaining four migrated as two doublet bands. By utilizing differences between CHEF mobilities of unresolved chromosomes from the parental strains, Southern analysis with selected markers allowed the chromosomal assignment of all linkage groups. A small translocation involving 1 marker was found in the parental strains used to produce the segregating population from which the map was constructed. Nine classes of repetitive DNA elements were found in the genome of a fungal isolate pathogenic to rice. These occurred only a few times or not at all in the genomes of isolates showing reduced virulence on rice. One repetitive DNA was shown to have structural similarity to the Alu sequences found in primates, a sequence similarity to the copia-like elements of Drosophila, and peptide similarity to transposable elements found in Drosophila, other fungi, and higher plants.The mention of a trademark, proprietary product, or vendor anywhere in this paper does not constitute a guarantee or warranty of the product by the USDA-ARS and does not imply its approval to the exclusion of other products or vendors that also may be suitable     

Genetic variability and distribution of mating type alleles in field populations of Leptosphaeria maculans from France

Leptosphaeria maculans is the most ubiquitous fungal pathogen of Brassica crops and causes the devastating stem canker disease of oilseed rape worldwide. We used minisatellite markers to determine the genetic structure of L. maculans in four field populations from France. Isolates were collected at three different spatial scales (leaf, 2-m2 field plot, and field) enabling the evaluation of spatial distribution of the mating type alleles and of genetic variability within and among field populations. Within each field population, no gametic disequilibrium between the minisatellite loci was detected and the mating type alleles were present at equal frequencies. Both sexual and asexual reproduction occur in the field, but the genetic structure of these populations is consistent with annual cycles of randomly mating sexual reproduction. All L. maculans field populations had a high level of gene diversity (H = 0.68 to 0.75) and genotypic diversity. Within each field population, the number of genotypes often was very close to the number of isolates. Analysis of molecular variance indicated that >99.5% of the total genetic variability was distributed at a small spatial scale, i.e., within 2-m2 field plots. Population differentiation among the four field populations was low (GST < 0.02), suggesting a high degree of gene exchange between these populations. The high gene flow evidenced here in French populations of L. maculans suggests a rapid countrywide diffusion of novel virulence alleles whenever novel resistance sources are used.     

Inheritance of dsRNAs in the rice blast fungus, Magnaporthe grisea

The 1.6 and 1.8 kbp dsRNAs have been found in the rice blast fungus, Magnaporthe grisea strain MG01. These dsRNA molecules are located in cytoplasm of the fungal cells and maintained stably during vegetative growth. Three crosses between dsRNA free and dsRNA containing strains including a parental cross, sib-mating and back cross were made to follow the inheritance of dsRNAs during sexual reproduction. Approximately 10% of ascospore progenies (11 out of 105) contained dsRNAs from all three crosses. These data indicate that dsRNAs of M. grisea are inherited at a low frequency and not in a Mendelian fashion.     

Development of microsatellite markers and construction of genetic map in rice blast pathogen Magnaporthe grisea

Magnaporthe grisea is the most destructive fungal pathogen of rice and a model organism for studying plant-pathogen interaction. Molecular markers and genetic maps are useful tools for genetic studies. In this study, based on the released genome sequence data of M. grisea, we investigated 446 simple sequence repeat (SSR) loci and developed 313 SSR markers, which showed polymorphisms among nine isolates from rice (including a laboratory strain 2539). The number of alleles of each marker ranged 2-9 with an average of 3.3. The polymorphic information content (PIC) of each marker ranged 0.20-0.89 with an average of 0.53. Using a population derived from a cross between isolates Guy11 and 2539, we constructed a genetic map of M. grisea consisting of 176 SSR markers. The map covers a total length of 1247 cM, equivalent to a physical length of about 35.0 Mb or 93% of the genome, with an average distance of 7.1cM between adjacent markers. A web-based database of the SSR markers and the genetic map was established (http://ibi.zju.edu.cn/pgl/MGM/index.html).     

Organization and distribution pattern of MGLR-3, a novel retrotransposon in the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe grisea

A specific telomere was deleted in spontaneous, gain-of-virulence mutants derived from a rice pathogen of Magnaporthe grisea. Three different types of transposons, including Pot2, Mg-SINE, and a novel, 6-kb-long LTR (long terminal repeat)-type retrotransposon designated MGLR-3, were identified on this chromosomal end. The 114-bp-long telomeric repeat is immediately followed by the 3' LTR of MGLR-3. A truncated copy of Pot2 immediately flanks the 5' LTR, suggesting that this telomere was generated by a transposition event of MGLR-3 into this Pot2 element, causing the breakage of a chromosome. The subsequent addition of a telomeric repeat to the 3' LTR of MGLR-3 most probably repaired the broken end of the chromosome. Mg-SINE is located 25 bp away from the truncated Pot2 element. MGLR-3 exhibited strong homology to various gypsy-class retrotransposons, including grh and MAGGY in M. grisea. MGLR-3 is ubiquitous regardless of the host of origin.     

广西药用野生稻遗传多样性分析及SSR引物数量对遗传多样性结果的影响研究

采用25对SSR分子标记,对广西境内采集的1610份药用野生稻材料进行遗传多样性和聚类分析,其中检测到等位变异181个,有效等位基因数Ae范围为1.0094(RM240)~2.2674(RM488),平均值为1.3568;期望杂合度He范围为0.0093(RM240)~0.5591(RM448),平均值为0.2112;Shannon多样性指数I在0.0393~0.9296之间变动,平均值为0.3624。数据表明,广西药用野生稻遗传多样性较为丰富,12个药用野生稻地理居群按遗传多样性指数大小排序为:梧州-3南宁-1梧州-2梧州-1南宁-2玉林-2贵港-2梧州-4玉林-3玉林-1贺州贵港-1,其中指数高的居群均分布于梧州市和南宁市两地,因此确定了这两地为广西药用野生稻的遗传多样性中心。通过不同数量的SSR引物对药用野生稻材料间相似系数矩阵进行相关性测验,结果显示当引物按照PIC值降序排列时,10对引物即达到较好聚类效果,升序排列时,21对引物即达到较好聚类效果。研究表明,在进行药用野生稻大居群聚类分析时,SSR引物适宜数量应多于21对,最低不得少于10对。     

Actin in penetration pegs of the fungal rice blast pathogen,Magnaporthe grisea

Summary The penetration peg is the structure used byMagnaporthe grisea to pierce the surface of rice leaves or very hard nonbiodegradable substrates. Penetration pegs produced by appressoria in vitro were examined by electron microscopy and immunofluorescence microscopy using various fluorophore labeled anti-actins. Freeze-substitution preparation of appressoria at early stages of substrate penetration showed that peg cytoplasm consisted primarily of a zone of exclusion, excluding even ribosomes, and was continuous with a similar region in the appressorium. Apical vesicles were, however, observed in short, presumably elongating pegs. Immunofluorescence microscopy was used to demonstrate binding of a monoclonal anti-actin to penetration peg cytoplasm, following permeabilization of appressoria by means of a brief sonication. Occasional filaments and ca. 300 nm diameter plaques were labeled in appressorial cytoplasm. Western blot analysis of germ tube extracts showed that the monoclonal probe bound predominantly to a single band with a molecular weight similar to that of rabbit muscle actin. Preincubation of the antibody with actin virtually eliminated peg labeling. We conclude that the penetration peg contains actin which may play a role in the formation of the zone of exclusion.Abbreviations PE polyethylene - Tris tris(hydroxymethyl)-amino-methane - TBS Tris-buffered saline - TBS-B Tris buffered saline plus 3% bovine serum albumin     

Transposon-based high sequence diversity in Avr-Pita alleles increases the potential for pathogenicity of Magnaporthe oryzae populations

Magnaporthe oryzae causes rice blast that is one of the most devastating diseases of rice worldwide. Highly variable nature of this fungus has evolved itself against major resistance genes in newly released rice varieties. Understanding the population structure of this fungus is essential for proper utilization of the rice blast resistance genes in rice crop plants. In the present study, we analyzed 133 isolates of M. oryzae from ten countries to find the allelic variation of Avr-Pita gene that is triggering Pita-mediated resistance in rice plant. The diversity analysis of these alleles showed higher level of nucleotide variation in the coding regions than the noncoding regions. Evolutionary analysis of these alleles indicates that Avr-Pita gene is under purifying selection to favor its major alleles in 133 isolates analyzed in this study. We hypothesize that the selection of favorable Avr-Pita allele in these isolates may occur through a genetic mechanism known as recurrent selective sweeps. A total of 22 functional Avr-Pita protein variants were identified in this study. Insertion of Pot3 transposable element into the promoter of Avr-Pita gene was identified in virulent isolates and was suggested that mobility of repeat elements in avirulence genes of M. oryzae seems to help in emergence of new virulent types of the pathogen. Allele-specific markers developed in this study will be helpful to identify a particular type of Avr-Pita allele from M. oryzae population which can form the basis for the deployment of Pita gene in different epidemiological regions.     

Siderophores produced by Magnaporthe grisea in the presence and absence of iron

An analysis of siderophores produced by Magnaporthe grisea revealed the presence of one intracellular storage siderophore, ferricrocin, and four coprogen derivatives secreted into the medium under iron depletion. Structural analysis showed that the compounds are coprogen, coprogen B, 2-N-methylcoprogen and 2-N-methylcoprogen B. Siderophore production under low and high iron conditions was quantified.     

Population structure and dynamics of Magnaporthe grisea in the Indian Himalayas.

The population genetics of Magnaporthe grisea, the rice blast pathogen, were analyzed in a center of rice diversity (the Uttar Pradesh hills of the Indian Himalayas) using multilocus and single-, or low-copy, DNA markers. Based on DNA fingerprinting with the multilocus probe MGR586 and single-locus probes, 157 haplotypes clustered into 56 lineages (at >/=70% MGR586 band similarity, each with unique single-locus profiles) and high diversity indices were detected among 458 isolates collected from 29 sites during 1992-1995. Most valleys sampled had distinct populations (73% of the lineages were site specific) with some containing one or a few lineages, confirming the importance of clonal propagation, and others were very diverse. Widely distributed lineages suggested that migration occurs across the region and into the Indo-Gangetic plains. Repeated sampling at one site, Matli, (170 isolates, 1992-1995) yielded 19 lineages and diversity significantly greater than that reported from similar samples from Colombia and the Philippines. Analysis of allelic associations using pairwise comparisons and multilocus variance analysis failed to reject the hypothesis of gametic phase equilibrium. The Matli population shifted from highly diverse in 1992 to almost complete dominance by one lineage in 1995. Such population dynamics are consistent with recombination followed by differential survival of clonal descendants of recombinant progeny. At another site, Ranichauri, population (n = 84) composition changed from 2 to 11 lineages over 2 yr and yielded additional evidence for equilibrium. Sexually fertile and hermaphrodite isolates of both mating types were recovered from rice in both Matli and Ranichauri. We demonstrate that Himalayan M. grisea populations are diverse and dynamic and conclude that the structure of some populations may be affected to some extent by sexual recombination.