Studies on Taphrina maculans Butler,inciting leaf spot of turmeric (Curcuma Longa L.). II. The disease development and life cycle of the pathogen

Summary The course of development ofT. maculans since its entry into the host till the full development of spots together with its morphological characters have been investigated and discussed.     

Taphrina maculans reduces the therapeutic value of turmeric (Curcuma longa)

Rhizomes of turmeric are used in several culinary preparations. They have been used as household remedies since time immemorial. Phenolics are found in plants only and they play a great role in human health. The high performance liquid chromatography of different parts of healthy and infected plants reveals that the phenolic acid content is reduced in diseased tissues including rhizomes which are commonly consumed by human beings in several countries of the world. Results also showed that the infected leaves had maximum phenolic acids as compared to healthy leaves which indicate that due to infection the amount of phenolic acids increased. We report for the first time that leaf spot (Taphrina maculans) of turmeric (Curcuma longa), which is an important disease, reduces the quantity and number of phenolics thereby damaging the therapeutic properties of turmeric.     

Influence of magnetic field on the growth,development and rhizome yield of turmeric (Curcuma longa L.)

Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture (PCTOC) - Static magnetic field (SMF) as a priming method (magnetopriming) is used to invigorate plant growth and development culminating in improved...     

Studies on phytohemagglutinins. XXV. Isolation and characterization of hemagglutinins of the spindle tree seeds (Evonymus europaea L.).

A mixture of isophytohemagglutinins has been isolated from the fleshy arils of the spindle tree seeds (Evonymus europaea L.) by fractional precipitation of the saline extract of the arils by (NH4)2SO4 at a 0.40% saturation. Successive preparative disc electrophoresis on polyacrylamide gel affords separation of one slower moving component, phytohemagglutinin I, from the mixture of other isophytohemagglutinins that have a very similar electrophoretic mobility. Phytohemagglutinin I has a sedimentation coefficient Sw,20 of 7.1 S and an approximate mol. wt of 127 000. Amino acid analysis shows a high amount of aspartic acid, alanine and glycine but also significant amounts of serine, threonine, cysteine and methionine. Aspartic acid is the only N-terminal amino acid found by the dansylation technique. Phytohemagglutinin I contains glucosamine and 4.7% neutral sugar. Its approximate pI in citrate/phosphate buffer is 4.4-4.5. The metal content amounts to 0.250% Ca, 0.019% Mg, 0.034% Zn and 0.026% Cu. Mn is not present. Ultracentrifugation analysis reveals homogeneity in the sedimentation behavior of the mixture of isophytohemagglutinin, an Sw,20 of 7.1 S and an approximate mol. wt of 119 000. The mixture has an amino acid composition closely resembling that of phytohemagglutinin I and an identical pI but contains only 1.9% neutral sugar. Two N-terminal amino acids were shown to be present, aspartic acid and tyrosine. With the exception of Cu which is absent, the metal content is almost the same as that of phytohemagglutinin I. Both phytohemagglutinin I and the mixture are devoid of anti-A1 activity and show detectable anti-H, anti-B and anti-A2 erythroagglutinating activity in approximate limit concentrations of 2.5, 5 and 10 mug/ml, respectively. This activity is not influenced by the presence of EDTA, Ca2+ or Mg2+, but is stimulated by Zn2+. Mn2+ and Co2+ have an inhibitory effect. None of the simple sugars tested inhibited the hemagglutination reactions.     

In vitro induction, screening and detection of high essential oil yielding somaclones in turmeric (Curcuma longa L.)

Leaf of turmeric contains an essential oil used extensively in perfumery, pharmaceuticals and aromatherapy. Five somaclones were induced in turmeric on MS media with varying amounts of plant growth regulators. All somaclones were subsequently transferred to the field. Essential oil was extracted from leaves of in vitro and ex vitro grown plants and subjected to quantitative and qualitative evaluation. A positive correlation was established between the leaf oil content and oil constituent of in vitro grown and field transferred somaclones. Somaclones (C2, C4, C5) containing 0.16–0.18 % oil in vitro retained normal oil content (0.48–0.5 %) in the field. Similarly in vitro grown somaclones C3 and C7 with 0.36 and 0.25 % oil content retained proportionately increased oil yields of 1 % and 0.76 under ex vitro condition. GC–MS analysis of the oil revealed similar spectrum of constituents both among in vitro and ex vitro grown plants with alpha-phellandrene as major one. Thus the novel method of in vitro screening could be applied for rapid identification of high essential oil yielding turmeric genotypes thereby reducing labour, cost and time required in conventional ex vitro screening of somaclones.     

Studies on antidermatophytic activity of waste leaves of Curcuma longa L.

During antidermatophytic screening of some essential oils, Curcuma longa L. exhibited the strongest antifungal activity, completely inhibiting the mycelial growth of ringworm, caused by the fungi- Microsporum gypseum and Trichophyton mentagrophytes. The essential oil from leaves of Curcuma longa was fungicidal at 2.5 μl/ml at which it tolerated heavy doses of inoculum. The fungicidal activity of the oil was thermostable up to 80 °C and self life up to 24 months in storage. The oil also showed a broad fungitoxic spectrum, inhibiting the mycelial growth of other fungi, viz., Epidermophyton floccosum, M. nanum, T. rubrum, T. violaceum. Moreover, up to 5 % concentration it did not exhibit any adverse effect on mammalian skins. The oil has been formulated in the form of an ointment, 1 % w/v and subjected to topical testing on patients of the Out Patient Department (OPD) at Moti Lal Nehru Medical College, Allahabad. Patients were selected on the basis of KOHpositive results and diagnosed tenia corporis. After the second week of treatment, all patients were KOH- negative. At the end of medication, 75 % of patients recovered completely while 15 % showed significant improvement from the disease. The ointment thus, can be exploited commercially after ongoing successful clinical trials. Relationship of the dermatophytes to the toxicity of the oil vis-a-vis phylogeny using molecular data of the pathogens have also been discussed.     

空心莲子草叶斑病菌及代谢产物除草活性研究

从空心莲子草叶斑病叶或茎分离的镰刀菌及代谢产物对空心莲子草具有杀灭作用。代谢产物主要作用于空心莲子草叶片,使叶片组织变黄,最后枯萎死亡,发病死亡较快。用病菌分生孢子接种时致使植株叶片组织失水、发黄、脱落或从节间处折断枯死。开始时局部发病,有病斑形成,最后全株发病枯死。     

Studies of the antibody heterogeneity in carp (Cyprinus carpio L.). I. Electrophoretic and isoelectric spectra of anti-DNP-antibodies]

Carp IgM as well as carp anti-DNP-antibodies migrate electrophoretically very well as a diffuse band into polyacrylamide gel of large pore size. The isoelectric spectra of the carp anti-DNP-antibodies are heterogeneous and show bands in the pI-range of 4.0 to 6.4. The activity of focused anti-DNP-antibodies could be demonstrated in the pI range between 5.4 to 6.4 even in high antibody dilutions. The investigated structural heterogeneity of the anti-DNP-antibodies of carp is a further proof for the phylogenetically early onset of a large antibody heterogeneity of lower vertebrates.     

Identification of QTL involved in field resistance to light leaf spot (Pyrenopeziza brassicae) and blackleg resistance (Leptosphaeria maculans) in winter rapeseed (Brassica napus L.)

 Quantitative trait loci (QTL), involved in the polygenic field resistance of rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) to light leaf spot disease, were mapped using 288 DNA markers on 152 doubled-haploid (DH) lines derived from the cross ‘Darmor-bzh’בYudal’. Over two years (1995 and 1996), the DH population was evaluated for light leaf spot resistance on leaves (L) and stems (S), and for blackleg disease resistance in same field trials. For the L resistance criterion, a total of five and seven QTL were detected in 1995 and in 1996 respectively, accounting for 53% and 57% of the genotypic variation. For the S criterion, three and five QTL were identified in 1995 and in 1996 respectively, explaining 29% and 43% of the genotypic variation. The locations of the QTL detected were quite consistent over the two years (4- and 2-year common QTL for L and S, respectively). Three genomic regions, located on the DY5, DY10 and DY11 groups, were common to the resistance on leaves and stems. In comparison with the QTL for blackleg resistance described by Pilet et al. (1998), two regions on the DY6 and DY10 groups, were associated with the two disease resistances. These ‘multiple disease resistance’ (‘MDR’) QTL may correspond to genes involved in common resistance mechanisms towards the two pathogens or else to clusters of resistance genes. Received: 21 November 1997 / Accepted: 3 March 1998     

Sexual reproduction in the cork oak (Quercus suber L.). I. The progamic phase

 Cork oak (Quercus suber L.) is a monoecious wind-pollinated species with a protandrous system to ensure cross-pollination. To the best of our knowledge, this report provides the first insight into the sexual reproduction cycle in this species. The cork oak flowering season extends from April until the end of May. Our results show that, at anthesis, the pistillate flower is not completely formed and ovules are just starting to develop. Pollen reaching the dry stigmatic surface adheres to the receptive cells, germinates and penetrates the epidermis in aproximately 24 h, and grows through the intercellular spaces of a solid transmitting tissue. In cross-pollination, a sequential arrest of pollen tubes was observed along the style, providing preliminary evidence for a pollen tube competition mechanism. As a consequence, few pollen tubes reach the basal portion of the style. Furthermore, pollen tube growth is a discontinuous process since tubes are arrested in the basal portion of the style about 10–12 days after pollination. While tubes are latent, the ovarian loculus starts to develop from an emerging mass of sporogeneous cells which later will differentiate into the placenta and ovules. One and a half months after pollination ovules complete their differentiation, tubes resume growth and fertilisation occurs. Ovular abortion is frequent at this stage, and only one ovule will successfully mature during autumn into a monospermic seed. Received: 23 July 1998 / Revision accepted: 2 November 1998