Fiji disease resistance in sugarcane: Relationship to cultivar preference in field populations of the planthopper vector Perkinsiella saccharicida

Populations of the planthopper vector Perkinsiella saccharicida on sugarcane cultivars resistant (cvs QUO and Q87), moderately resistant (cvs Q90 and Q124) and susceptible (cvs NCo310 and Q102) to Fiji disease with known field resistance scores were monitored on the plant (2000–2001) and ratoon (2001–2002) crops. In both crops, the vector population remained very low, reaching its peak in the autumn. The vector population was significantly higher on cultivars susceptible to Fiji disease than on cultivars moderately resistant and resistant to Fiji disease. The number of P. saccharicida adults, nymphs and oviposition sites per plant increased with the increase in the Fiji disease susceptibility. The results suggest that under low vector density, cultivar preference by the planthopper vector mediates Fiji disease resistance in sugarcane. To obtain resistance ratings in the glasshouse that reflect field resistance, glasshouse‐screening trials should be conducted under both low and high vector densities, and the cultivar preference of the planthopper vector recorded along with Fiji disease incidence.     

Resistance to Fiji disease in sugar cane: role of cultivar preference by planthopper vector Perkinsiella saccharicida (Homoptera: Delphacidae)

Fiji disease (FD) of sugar cane caused by Fiji disease virus (FDV) is transmitted by the planthopper Perkinsiella saccharicida Kirkaldy (Hemiptera Delphacidae). FD is effectively managed by using resistant cultivars, but whether the resistance is for the vector or for the virus is unknown. This knowledge would help develop a rapid and reliable glasshouse-based screening method for disease resistance. Sugar cane cultivars resistant, intermediate, and susceptible to FD were screened in a glasshouse, and the relationship between vector preferences and FD incidence was studied. Cultivar preference by nymphs increased with an increase in cultivar susceptibility to FD, but the relationship between adult preference and FD resistance was not significant. There was a positive correlation between the vector population and FD incidence, and the latent period for symptom expression declined with the increase in the vector populations. FD incidence in the glasshouse trial reflected the field-resistance status of sugar cane cultivars with known FD-resistance scores. The results suggest that resistance to FD in sugar cane is mediated by cultivar preference of the planthopper vector.     

Characteristics of resistance in rice to rice hoja blanca virus (RHBV) and its vector, Tagosodes orizicolus (Muir)

This paper characterises resistance to rice hoja blanca virus (RHBV) which is transmitted by the planthopper Tagosodes orizicolus (Muir). Resistance is expressed as decreased proportion of plants infected compared to susceptible lines, although severity of symptom expression is similar in both types. This resistance is not due to differences in vector feeding behaviour. Vectors reared eight generations on resistant plants showed no increased ability to transmit to resistant lines or decreased ability to transmit to susceptible ones. Longevity of vectors was similar when reared either on virus-resistant or susceptible plants. Incubation period of the virus in resistant plants are significantly longer than in susceptible plants. Resistance increased with plant age in resistant and susceptible cultivars. Increased virus dosage, as determined by increased number of viru-liferous vectors per inoculated plant, caused an increase in transmission to both resistant and susceptible cultivars. However, the ranking of resistant and susceptible remained the same across the experimental range of dosage and plant age. It is concluded that the resistance studied is to virus infection and there is little risk of “breakdown” occurring as a result of genetic or behavioural changes in the vector population. This will permit the use of economic thresholds to planthopper feeding damage with little risk of RHBV epidemic outbreak.     

Field testing for virus resistance and agronomic performance in transgenic plants

Resistance to specific virus diseases may be added as heritable characteristics to susceptible crop cultivars by transformation of the cultivars with specific virus-derived genes. In practice, however, resistance to the virus varies among transformed plants and transformation often changes cultivar yield and quality characteristics that are agronomically important. Therefore, rigorous selection among hundreds of different transformed plant lines is required to identify lines that are both virus resistant and also conform to or exceed standard characteristics of the original, susceptible cultivar. This paper describes methods we have developed for rapid selection of virus resistance, yield, and quality characteristics among transformed populations of plants.     

The effect of cultivar used as host for Polymyxa gmminis on the multiplication and transmission of barley yellow mosaic virus (BaYMV)

A viruliferous isolate of the fungal vector Polymyxa graminis was grown on roots of barley cultivars immune or susceptible to barley yellow mosaic virus (BaYMV). Zoospores or resting spores of the vector produced on different cultivars were then inoculated to a virus-susceptible test cultivar. Although the vector established in all treatments, transmission of BaYMV was rare and usually nil from immune cultivars; amounts of virus detected serologically in their roots were very low, thus showing that resistance was to virus multiplication. If immune cultivars decrease the virus content of vector populations in the field, this would have important implications for disease control.     

The evaluation of rhizomania resistant sugar beet for the UK

Sugar beet rhizomania disease, caused by Beet necrotic yellow vein virus and transmitted by the soil‐borne parasite Polymyxa betae, was first recorded in the UK in 1987. Recently, breeding lines and cultivars with partial resistance to the virus derived from the ‘Holly’ source of resistance have been developed and their suitability for use under UK conditions is explored in this paper. Virus multiplication in the roots of resistant lines exposed to severe disease pressure in glasshouse tests, when quantified by ELISA, was less than one third of that in susceptible controls. More recently developed resistant lines had a lower virus content, on average, largely due to a reduced frequency of susceptible individuals. There was no evidence for resistance to the vector, P. betae, in virus resistant lines. However, the proportion of viruliferous P. betae resting spores in the roots, estimated using the most probable number (MPN) technique, was reduced by at least one third in resistant lines compared with the most susceptible control. A novel line, containing an additional gene to that in ‘Holly’, was the most effective, reducing the infection level to 3% of that in the susceptible control. In two field experiments on severely infested sites, the rate of infection of a resistant line, when assessed by ELISA, was reduced by half compared with a susceptible cultivar and sugar yields of resistant lines were consistently 2–3 times higher than those of susceptible cultivars. In 41 trials on rhizomania‐free sites, several recently introduced resistant lines exhibited sugar yields and agronomic performance comparable to that of three selected high yielding, susceptible cultivars. Results are discussed in relation to the specific UK requirements for rhizomania resistant cultivars. One resistant line, Beta 805 (cv. Concept), fulfilled the requirements for widespread use to control the disease.     

Long-term plum pox virus infection produces an oxidative stress in a susceptible apricot, Prunus armeniaca, cultivar but not in a resistant cultivar

The effect of plum pox virus (PPV) infection on the response of some antioxidant enzymes was studied in two apricot cultivars, which behaved differently against PPV infection: cultivar Real Fino (susceptible) and cultivar Stark Early Orange (cv. SEO, resistant). In the susceptible cultivar, PPV produced a decrease in Φ _PSII, F '_v/ F '_m and Q _p. PPV infection produced a drop in p -hydroxy mercury benzoic acid (pHMB)-sensitive ascorbate peroxidase, dehydroascorbate reductase and peroxidase in the soluble fraction from susceptible plants, whereas in the resistant apricot cultivar, pHMB-insensitive ascorbate peroxidase, monodehydroascorbate reductase, glutathione reductase and superoxide dismutase increased. However, catalase decreased in the soluble fractions from both infected cultivars. Long-term PPV infection also produced a decrease in the chloroplastic ascorbate–glutathione cycle enzymes only in the susceptible plants. As a consequence of PPV infection, an oxidative stress, indicated by an increase in lipid peroxidation and in protein oxidation, was produced only in the leaves from the susceptible cultivar which was also monitored by the diaminobenzidine peroxidase-coupled H₂O₂ probe. The loss of Φ _PSII, indicative of activated oxygen species production, and the decrease in the levels of antioxidant enzymes in chloroplasts from susceptible plants could be responsible for the chlorosis symptoms observed. The results suggest that the higher antioxidant capacity showed by cv. SEO could be a consequence of a systemic acquired resistance induced by PPV penetration in stem tissue at the graft site and could be related, among other factors, to their resistance to PPV.     

Responses of some Asian and European barley cultivars to UK and Chinese isolates of soil-borne barley mosaic viruses

In field plots at Yancheng, Jiangsu, China, a range of European and Asian barley cultivars was grown in soil from three sites in China infested with barley yellow mosaic virus (BaYMV). Most of the cultivars resistant to the common European strain of BaYMV were susceptible to the Chinese isolates but cv. Energy remained disease-free. Barley mild mosaic virus (BaMMV) was also detected in one of these soils but affected only one Chinese cultivar and not those susceptible to BaMMV in Europe. This is the first report of BaMMV in China. Inoculation experiments confirmed the different cultivar response to UK and Chinese isolates of BaYMV and showed that resistance was to the virus and not to the vector. A range of Chinese cultivars selected for resistance to BaYMV were also resistant to a UK isolate of BaMMV.     

Drought‐stress and plant resistance affect herbivore performance and proteome: the case of the green peach aphid Myzus persicae (Hemiptera: Aphididae)

Little is known about the simultaneous effects of drought stress and plant resistance on herbivorous insects. By subjecting the green peach aphid Myzus persicae Sulzer to well‐watered and drought‐stressed plants of both susceptible and resistant peach (Prunus persica), the effects of both stressors on aphid performance and proteomics are tested. Overall, the influence of the water treatment on aphid performance is less pronounced than the effect of host plant genetic resistance. On the susceptible cultivar, aphid survival, host acceptance and ability to colonize the plant do not depend on water treatment. On the resistant cultivar, aphid survival and ability to colonize are higher on drought‐stressed than on well‐watered plants. A study examining the pattern of protein expression aiming to explain the variation in aphid performance finds higher protein expression in aphids on the drought‐stressed susceptible cultivars compared with the well‐watered ones. In the susceptible cultivar, the regulated proteins are related to energy metabolism and exoskeleton functionality, whereas, in the resistant cultivar, the proteins are involved with the cytoskeleton. Comparison of the protein expression ratios for resistant versus susceptible plants reveals that four proteins are down‐regulated in well‐watered plants and 15 proteins are down‐regulated in drought‐stressed plants. Drought stress applied to the susceptible cultivar induces the regulation of proteins in M. persicae that enable physiological adaptation to maintain an almost unaltered aphid performance. By contrast, for aphids on the resistant cultivar subjected to drought stress, the down‐regulation of proteins responds to an induced host susceptibility effect.     

Combining plant resistance and a natural enemy to control <Emphasis Type="Italic">Amphorophora idaei</Emphasis>

The European large raspberry aphid Amphorophora idaei Börner (Homoptera: Aphididae) is a virus vector of at least four plant virus complexes making it the most important aphid pest of raspberries in Northern Europe. An approach combining a bottom-up control (plant resistance) and a top-down control (an aphid parasitoid) using Aphidius ervi Haliday (Hymenoptera: Aphidiinae) was investigated in the laboratory. Aphid performance (pre-reproductive period, total reproductive output, lifespan and r _m) were compared when reared on both a susceptible cultivar and a resistant cultivar with significantly poorer performance on the resistant cultivar. Parasitoid attack behaviour increased with aphid density on both cultivars, but was significantly lower on resistant plants than susceptible plants. Aphids showed a greater tendency to drop from the plant when feeding on resistant plants compared with susceptible plants. The significance of the results is discussed in the context of possible control of the aphid using these combined methods.     

Interaction of Vesicular-Arbuscular Mycorrhizae and Cultivars of Alfalfa Susceptible and Resistant to Meloidogyne hapla

The interaction between vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungi and the root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne hapla) was investigated using both nematode-susceptible (Grasslands Wairau) and nematode-resistant (Nevada Synthetic XX) cultivars of alfalfa (Medicago sativa) at four levels of applied phosphate. Mycorrhizal inoculation improved plant growth and reduced nematode numbers and adult development in roots in dually infected cultures of the susceptible cultivar. The tolerance of plants to nematode infection and development when preinfected with mycorrhizal fungi was no greater than when they were inoculated with nematodes and mycorrhizal fungi simultaneously. Growth of plants of the resistant cultivar was unaffected by nematode inoculation but was improved by mycorrhizal inoculation. Numbers of nematode juveniles were lower in the roots of the resistant than of the susceptible cultivar and were further reduced by mycorrhizal inoculation, although no adult nematodes developed in any resistant cultivar treatment. Inoculation of alfalfa with VAM fungi increased the tolerance and resistance of a cultivar susceptible to M. hapla and improved the resistance of a resistant cultivar.     

Assessing cultivar resistance to Sitodiplosis mosellana (Géhin) (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) using a phenotyping method under semi‐field conditions

The orange wheat blossom midge, Sitodiplosis mosellana (Géhin), can significantly reduce wheat yield. Growing resistant wheat cultivars is an effective way of managing this pest. The assessment of cultivar resistance in field trials is difficult because of unequal pressure of S. mosellana caused by differences in cultivar heading dates relative to the flight period of S. mosellana adult females and huge variations of egg laying conditions from 1 day to another. To overcome these hurdles and to expose all cultivars homogeneously to the pest, an assessment method of cultivar resistance was developed under semi‐field conditions. In 2015, the resistance of 64 winter wheat cultivars to S. mosellana was assessed. Few or no larvae developed in the ears of resistant cultivars, but in susceptible cultivars, large numbers of larvae developed. Seventeen cultivars proved to be resistant, whereas 47 were susceptible. The identification of new resistant cultivars offers more opportunities to manage S. mosellana. The phenotyping method is easy, cheap, efficient and reliable. It can be used to guide the breeding of new resistant wheat cultivars. Using specific midge populations, this method could also be used in research on new resistance mechanisms in winter wheat or in other cereal species.     

Nonrelatedness between symptoms and cucumber virus 4 content in different cucumber cultivars

The virus replication capacity (determined by density gradient centrifugation and spectrophotometric virus assay) and severity of symptoms were compared in ten cucumber(Cucumis sativus L.) cultivars infected by cucumber virus 4. Except the expected resistant susceptible and symptomless virus carrier plants a new paradoxial group of cultivars was found. This group is characterized by low virus reproduction rate but simultaneously associated with severe symptoms and is responsible for difficulties in the virus transmission and purification. It is concluded that the critical evaluation of the resistance against viruses of TMV-group must include symptomatic and quantitative virus assays, as there need not be a direct relationship between virus symptoms and the virus increase.     

Blockage of stylet tips as the mechanism of resistance to virus transmission by Aphis gossypii in melon lines bearing the Vat gene

Aphis gossypii is the main virus vector in muskmelon crops. The melon gene Vat confers resistance to non‐persistent virus transmission by this aphid. The mechanism of this resistance is not well understood, but no relationship has been detected between resistance and the probing behaviour of aphids on resistant plants. Results presented here suggest that temporary blockage of aphid stylet tips preventing virus particle release may explain the resistance conferred by Vat gene. We performed experiments in which viruliferous aphids were allowed to probe different sequences of resistant (Vat‐bearing) and/or susceptible melon plants. The results demonstrated that A. gossypii inoculates Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) efficiently in susceptible plants having previously probed resistant plants, showing that the resistance mechanism is reversible. Furthermore, the infection rate obtained for susceptible plants was the same (25%) regardless of whether the transmitting aphid had come directly from the CMV source or had subsequently probed on resistant plants. This result suggests that virus is not lost from stylet to plant during probing of resistant plants, supporting the temporary blockage hypothesis. We also found that the ability of Myzus persicae to transmit CMV is noticeably reduced after probing on resistant plants, providing evidence that this aphid species also responds to the presence of the Vat gene. Finally, we also found that in probes immediately after virus acquisition M. persicae inoculates resistant plants with CMV more efficiently than susceptible plants, perhaps because the Vat gene product induces increased salivation by this aphid.     

Symptom Severity, Yield, Seed Mottling and Seed Transmission of Soybean Mosaic Virus in Susceptible and Resistant Soybean: The Influence of Infection Stage and Growth Temperature

The effect of soybean mosaic virus (SMV) infection on symptom severity, yield, seed mottling and seed transmission in soybean in relation to the growth stage at infection and subsequent temperature was investigated using a susceptible (Harosoy), a moderately resistant (Evans) and a highly resistant (Merit) cultivar. Disease symptoms were more severe with early infection. A greater reduction in plant growth and seed yield, and higher percentages of mottled seeds and seed transmission of SMV also occurred with early infection. Virus titer was higher in younger plants than in older ones and also higher in plants infected at the ealier stage than at the later stage of growth. Merit (a highly resistant cultivar previously reported to be immune to seed mottling) inoculated at the early stage of plant growth resulted in infection and production of some mottled seeds. Temperature affected all parameters investigated. The effect of temperature was greater in the susceptible cultivar than in the resistant one. The optimal temperature for symptom severity, yield, seed mottling and seed transmission was 20 °C. Virus titer was highest at 30 °C in all three cultivars. Maturity of susceptible cultivar was delayed by infection.     

梨黑星菌粗毒素对抗病和感病梨离体叶片生理特性的影响

以不同抗病性梨品种为材料,研究了梨黑星菌粗毒素对梨离体叶片的过氧化物酶(POD)活性、苯丙氨酸解氨酶(PAL)活性、丙二醛(MDA)含量、细胞膜相对透性以及叶绿素含量变化的影响.研究表明,毒素接种后抗病和感病品种叶片的POD和PAL活性、MDA含量和相对电导率均呈上升趋势,其间会有1个或2个峰值出现,且抗病品种叶片的POD和PAL活性高于感病品种,而细胞内MDA含量和相对电导率增加比率低于感病品种;同时,毒素使梨离体叶片的叶绿素、类胡萝卜素含量下降,且感病品种的下降幅度大于抗病品种.总之,梨离体叶片POD和PAL的活性变化与梨品种抗病性呈正相关,叶片MDA含量和相对电导率变化与梨品种抗病性呈负相关,抗病品种离体叶片对毒素的毒害有更强的抵抗力.     

Enhanced sensitivity to higher ozone in a pathogen-resistant tobacco cultivar

Investigations of the effects of elevated ozone (O(3)) on the virus-plant system were conducted to inform virus pathogen management strategies better. One susceptible cultivar of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L. cv. Yongding) and a resistant cultivar (Nicotiana tabacum L. cv. Vam) to Potato virus Y petiole necrosis strain (PVY(N)) infection were grown in open-top chambers under ambient and elevated O(3) concentrations. Above-ground biomass, foliage chlorophyll, nitrogen and total non-structural carbohydrate (TNCs), soluble protein, total amino acid (TAA) and nicotine content, and peroxidase (POD) activity were measured to estimate the effects of elevated O(3) on the impact of PVY(N) in the two cultivars. Results showed that under ambient O(3), the resistant cultivar possessed greater biomass and a lower C/N ratio after infection than the susceptible cultivar; however, under elevated O(3), the resistant cultivar lost its biomass advantage but maintained a lower C/N ratio. Variation of foliar POD activity could be explained as a resistance cost which was significantly correlated with biomass and C/N ratio of the tobacco cultivar. Chlorophyll content remained steady in the resistant cultivar but decreased significantly in the susceptible cultivar when stressors were applied. Foliar soluble protein and free amino acid content, which were related to resistance cost changes, are also discussed. This study indicated that a virus-resistant tobacco cultivar showed increased sensitivity to elevated O(3) compared to a virus-sensitive cultivar.     

A field screening method to evaluate rice breeding lines for resistance to the hoja blanca virus

A method is presented for rearing large colonies of viruliferous Sogatodes oryzicola, vector of the rice hoja blanca virus (RHBV). These colonies were used for field screening up to 10 000 rice breeding lines per season for resistance to RHBV. Uniform infection of check varieties in the field indicated that the method was adequate. Field release of vectors when plants were 14 days old resulted in satisfactory disease incidence, after 21 days, to distinguish lines segregating for resistance from lines uniformly resistant or susceptible. Various sources of resistance identified earlier continued to be resistant under the screening conditions. Progeny of lines identified as non-segregating resistant continued as non-segregating resistant. Resistant plants from lines segregating for resistance produced progeny lines that were segregating and non-segregating. Ratios of resistant to susceptible plants in F₁ progeny of three-way crosses were consistent with earlier observations that RHBV resistance is a dominant character. The susceptibility of the commercial checks indicates that rice production in RHBV areas of tropical Latin America continues to be at risk from the virus. Virus-resistant commercial cultivars resulting from this method should be available in 2 years.     

Biochemical and bioassay analysis of resistance of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) cultivars to attack by the slug Deroceras reticulatum (Muller)

A method is described for using young field slugs Deroceras reticulatum (Muller) in a bioassay study of biochemical resistance of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) cultivars to slugs. Tuber parts or an artificial diet were provided as food sources. Comparisons were made of feeding, survival and weight gain between the susceptible cultivar Maris Piper and the resistant cultivar Pentland Dell. Biochemical analyses were made of these two cultivars and the resistant cultivars Stormont Enterprise and Majestic. Comparisons of tuber sections and peelings as food sources indicated factors affecting growth were located in the surface layers of the tubers. Phenolics and glycoalkaloids were concentrated in the surface layers but the amounts were similar in the susceptible and resistant cultivars and the bioassays indicated that neither acting alone could explain resistance. The amounts and distribution of free amino acids also did not correlate with resistance although when supplied in the artificial diet they partly inhibited feeding. Proteinaceous inhibitors of slug gut proteolytic enzymes were present throughout the tubers but were not concentrated in the surface layers and the amounts were similar in the different cultivars thus they too did not explain the difference in susceptibility between the cultivars. Bioassays using acetone extracts (low molecular weight substances) and acetone powders (high molecular weight substances) either alone or in combination indicated that the resistant cultivar Pentland Dell contained a high molecular weight substance which together with a low molecular weight substance from either the same cultivar or the susceptible Maris Piper could confer resistance. Bioassays using protein extracts supplied in the presence or absence of chlorogenic acid indicated that this mechanism could comprise enzymic oxidation of phenolics. Assays of phenolase confirmed this since activity was highest in the outer layers of the tubers and was highest in the three resistant cultivars. Thus the chief resistance factor identified was high phenolase activity acting rapidly on phenolics when the slug first bites the tuber surface. The quantity of phenolics per se did not control the resistance. Thus while phenolics must be available, resistance is compatible with low blackening on cutting the tuber.