Differential effectiveness of microbially induced resistance against herbivorous insects in Arabidopsis

Rhizobacteria-induced systemic resistance (ISR) and pathogen-induced systemic acquired resistance (SAR) have a broad, yet partly distinct, range of effectiveness against pathogenic microorganisms. Here, we investigated the effectiveness of ISR and SAR in Arabidopsis against the tissue-chewing insects Pieris rapae and Spodoptera exigua. Resistance against insects consists of direct defense, such as the production of toxins and feeding deterrents and indirect defense such as the production of plant volatiles that attract carnivorous enemies of the herbivores. Wind-tunnel experiments revealed that ISR and SAR did not affect herbivore-induced attraction of the parasitic wasp Cotesia rubecula (indirect defense). By contrast, ISR and SAR significantly reduced growth and development of the generalist herbivore S. exigua, although not that of the specialist P. rapae. This enhanced direct defense against S. exigua was associated with potentiated expression of the defense-related genes PDF1.2 and HEL. Expression profiling using a dedicated cDNA microarray revealed four additional, differentially primed genes in microbially induced S. exigua-challenged plants, three of which encode a lipid-transfer protein. Together, these results indicate that microbially induced plants are differentially primed for enhanced insect-responsive gene expression that is associated with increased direct defense against the generalist S. exigua but not against the specialist P. rapae.     

假臭草对菜青虫杀虫活性的研究

测定了假臭草根、茎、叶的甲醇提取液对菜青虫的生物活性。结果表明假臭草根、茎、叶的甲醇提取液对菜青虫无触杀活性;假臭草提取液对菜青虫的拒食活性强弱依次为叶茎根,在浓度为1 g/mL时拒食率分别为36.51%、63.34%和79.33%;假臭草茎和叶的甲醇提取液对菜青虫有一定的胃毒作用,在浓度为1 g/mL时,假臭草叶和茎甲醇提取液对菜青虫的胃毒活性分别为66.67%和33.33%。     

Interactions of insecticidal toxin gene products from Xenorhabdus nematophilus PMFI296

Four genes on a genomic fragment from Xenorhabdus nematophilus PMFI296 were shown to be involved in insecticidal activity towards three commercially important insect species. Each gene was expressed individually and in combinations in Escherichia coli, and the insecticidal activity of the lysates was determined. The combined four genes (xptA1, xptA2, xptB1, and xptC1), in E. coli, showed activity towards Pieris brassicae, Pieris rapae, and Heliothis virescens. The genes xptA1, xptB1, and xptC1 were involved in expressing activity towards P. rapae and P. brassicae, while the genes xptA2, xptB1, and xptC1 were needed for activity towards H. virescens. When each of these three genes was expressed individually in E. coli and the cell lysates were used in insect assays or mixed and then used, insecticidal activity was detected at a very low level. If the genes xptB1 and xptC1 were expressed in the same E. coli cell and this cell lysate was mixed with cells expressing xptA1, activity was restored to P. rapae and P. brassicae. Similarly mixing XptB1/C1 lysate with XptA2 lysate restored activity towards H. virescens. Individual gene disruptions in X. nematophilus PMFI296 reduced activity to insects; this activity was restored by complementation with cells expressing either xptA1 or xptA2 for their respective disruptions or E. coli expressing both xptB1 and xptC1 for individual disruptions of either of these genes. The genes xptA2, xptC1, and xptB1 were expressed as an operon in PMFI296 and inactivation of xptA2 or xptC1 resulted in silencing of downstream gene(s), while xptA1 was expressed as a single gene. Therefore, the two three gene product combinations interact with each other to produce good insecticidal activity.     

The glutathione-deficient mutant pad2-1 accumulates lower amounts of glucosinolates and is more susceptible to the insect herbivore Spodoptera littoralis

Plants often respond to pathogen or insect attack by inducing the synthesis of toxic compounds such as phytoalexins and glucosinolates (GS). The Arabidopsis mutant pad2-1 has reduced levels of the phytoalexin camalexin and is known for its increased susceptibility to fungal and bacterial pathogens. We found that pad2-1 is also more susceptible to the generalist insect Spodoptera littoralis but not to the specialist Pieris brassicae . The PAD2 gene encodes a γ-glutamylcysteine synthetase that is involved in glutathione (GSH) synthesis, and consequently the pad2-1 mutant contains about 20% of the GSH found in wild-type plants. Lower GSH levels of pad2-1 were correlated with reduced accumulation of the two major indole and aliphatic GSs of Arabidopsis, indolyl-3-methyl-GS and 4-methylsulfinylbutyl-GS, in response to insect feeding. This effect was specific to GSH, was not complemented by treatment of pad2-1 with the strong reducing agent dithiothreitol, and was not observed with the ascorbate-deficient mutant vtc1-1 . In contrast to the jasmonate-insensitive mutant coi1-1 , expression of insect-regulated and GS biosynthesis genes was not affected in pad2-1 . Our data suggest a crucial role for GSH in GS biosynthesis and insect resistance.     

Salicylate-mediated suppression of jasmonate-responsive gene expression in Arabidopsis is targeted downstream of the jasmonate biosynthesis pathway

Jasmonates (JAs) and salicylic acid (SA) are plant hormones that play pivotal roles in the regulation of induced defenses against microbial pathogens and insect herbivores. Their signaling pathways cross-communicate providing the plant with a regulatory potential to finely tune its defense response to the attacker(s) encountered. In Arabidopsis thaliana, SA strongly antagonizes the jasmonic acid (JA) signaling pathway, resulting in the downregulation of a large set of JA-responsive genes, including the marker genes PDF1.2 and VSP2. Induction of JA-responsive marker gene expression by different JA derivatives was equally sensitive to SA-mediated suppression. Activation of genes encoding key enzymes in the JA biosynthesis pathway, such as LOX2, AOS, AOC2, and OPR3 was also repressed by SA, suggesting that the JA biosynthesis pathway may be a target for SA-mediated antagonism. To test this, we made use of the mutant aos/dde2, which is completely blocked in its ability to produce JAs because of a mutation in the ALLENE OXIDE SYNTHASE gene. Mutant aos/dde2 plants did not express the JA-responsive marker genes PDF1.2 or VSP2 in response to infection with the necrotrophic fungus Alternaria brassicicola or the herbivorous insect Pieris rapae. Bypassing JA biosynthesis by exogenous application of methyl jasmonate (MeJA) rescued this JA-responsive phenotype in aos/dde2. Application of SA suppressed MeJA-induced PDF1.2 expression to the same level in the aos/dde2 mutant as in wild-type Col-0 plants, indicating that SA-mediated suppression of JA-responsive gene expression is targeted at a position downstream of the JA biosynthesis pathway.     

苏云金芽孢杆菌Rpp02菌株cry1Ac20基因的克隆及表达

Rpp02菌株是本实验室分离的一株对鳞翅目等多种害虫具有高毒力的苏云金芽孢杆菌莫里逊亚种 (Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. morrisoni), 经PCR检测,它含有cry1Ac基因。对其基因组DNA进行PCR扩增,得到大约4 kb的产物。测序结果表明,该片段含有一个较大的ORF框,基因编码区为3 534 bp,编码1 177个氨基酸,分子量为133.144 kD,pI 4.952, 为弱酸性蛋白质,亮氨酸（Leu）、丝氨酸（Ser）、谷氨酸（Glu）3种氨基酸含量最高,分别为8.0%、7.8%、7.7%。该基因序列与cry1Ac序列同源性达到99%,并被国际Bt杀虫晶体蛋白基因命名委员会命名为cry1Ac20。生物测定表明,该基因在大肠杆菌中得到了表达,表达产物具有较强的杀虫效果,试喂菜青虫48 h后,校正死亡率为88.78%。     

菜粉蝶野田村病毒感染宿主的病理学变化及病毒的装配

应用光学组织切片和电镜超薄切片技术对菜粉蝶新的野田村病毒感染菜青虫幼虫的组织病理学和超微病理 学变化以及菜青虫颗粒体病毒混合感染后的病理学变化进行了研究。结果表明该病毒只在菜青虫中肠细胞质内 增殖。病毒侵染时,线粒体、内质网等细胞器均发生显著病变。该病毒与前人报告的能侵染菜青虫的其它病毒均 有所不同。本文还讨论了野田村病毒的装配。