The Immunoregulatory Effects of Endoglucanase Preparations on Plant Resistance to Fungal Infections

The effects of enzymatic preparations—pectomacerin, hemicellulase, andTrichoderma viride 13/10 cellulase—on plant immunological status were studied using two pathosystems, carrot root–white rot agent (Sclerotinia libertiana) and carrot root–black rot agent (Rhizopus nigricans) as examples. It was demonstrated that these preparations reduced the plant damage by infections, namely, decreased the permeability of cell membranes in the infected tissue and stimulated its defense responses, which were expressed as a stable elevation in the content of phenolic compounds and formation of tissue protective barriers.     

Biological Control of Carrot Black Rot

Diseased carrot seeds were treated with selected micro-organisms isolated from soils, carrot seeds and tap roots. The effects of those antagonists on the control of Alternaria radicina were evaluated by growing-on tests on water agar, filter paper, vermiculite and in a potting medium (BVB no. 4). The germination percentage, emergence percentage and the disease severity of those carrot seeds treated with Burkholderia (Pseudomonas) cepacia no.229 were significantly (P=0.05) differed from the non-treated seeds and the seed treated with other antagonists. The effects of B. cepacia no.229 in promoting seed emergence and controlling disease were as good as those seeds treated with iprodione (100 p.p.m.). Black rot lesions on carrot tap roots were significantly reduced (P=0.05) in size when roots were treated with B. cepacia no 229 or Bacillus amyloliquefaciens no. 224 compared to the nontreated roots. Also, B. cepacia no. 229 significantly (P=0.05) reduced black rot on the foliage of carrot compared to check.     

Improved Nematode Extraction from Carrot Disk Culture

Radopholus spp. were reared in carrot tissue culture via established procedures, with slight modification. Several plant tissue maceration enzymes and flotation media (salts and sucrose) were evaluated with regard to nematode toxicity and extraction efficiency. Best extraction of viable nematodes and eggs was attained when carrot tissue infested with Radopholus citrophilus or R. similis was macerated with a mixture of 0.50% driselase and 0.50% cellulysin, w/v each, with 2.5 ml of enzyme solution based for each gram of carrot tissue. Maceration slurries containing carrot tissue and nematodes were maintained in open flasks on a rotary shaker (175 rpm) at 26 C for 24 hours. Nematodes and eggs were extracted from resultant culture slurries by flotation with MgSO₄-7H₂0 (sp gr 1.1). A protocol is presented to extract large quantities of viable burrowing nematodes and their eggs from carrot disk cultures.     

Cavity spot of carrots.

Cavity spot was induced after compacted carrot beds were watered to excess in July or August, but not after treatment in October. Roots grown in pots containingfield soil from the site of a cavity spot outbreak had fewer lesions when supplied witha minimal amount of water than when waterlogged, and when the soil was mixed withpeat instead of sand. Soft rot lesions developed on roots which had been inoculated with the field soiland sealed in pots with wax and stood in water. Anaerobic pectolytic bacteriabelonging to the genus Clostridium were isolated from the lesions and were proven tobe pathogenic to carrot roots. The lesions later resembled cavity spot after the rootswere returned to dry, aerobic conditions.     

Untersuchungen über Beziehungen zwischen der Differenzierung und der Zusammensetzung der löslichen Proteinfraktion von Gewebekulturen und Blättern von Daucus carota

Summary The correlations between differentiation, the amino acid composition of total protein and of soluble protein, and the disc electrophoretic distribution of soluble protein of carrot tissue cultures and of carrot plants (leaves) were studied. In spite of pronounced and characteristic changes in the electrophoretic distribution of the components of soluble protein in various developmental stages of both bioassays, no significant differences in the amino acid composition of protein were observed. With progressive development of whole carrot plants and of carrot tissue cultures, the number of protein bands on disc electropherogramms increased.     

Isolation and Identification of Pathogens Causing Marigold (Tagetes erecta L.) Black Spot in Beijing,China

Black spot leads to great marigold losses worldwide. The disease is characterized by black spots on leaves and stems in its early stages, and the whole plant has black rot at the advanced stage. In this report, 6 of 217 Alternaria strains isolated from lesions of marigold plants in Beijing were randomly selected. The morphological characteristics and a pathogenic tree based on two protein‐coding genes (gpd and alt a 1) indicated that Alternaria tagetica is the causal agent of marigold black spot in Beijing. All six Alternaria strains could successfully re‐infect marigold, but they could not infect carrot or zinnia by either spore spray in a greenhouse or planting experiments in the epidemic area. This is the first report of the A. tagetica pathogen being isolated from marigold in Beijing.     

Oral immunogenicity and protective efficacy in mice of a carrot-derived vaccine candidate expressing UreB subunit against Helicobacter pylori

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is established as the etiologic agent of chronic active gastritis, peptic ulcer, gastric cancer and mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma. The development of a vaccine against H. pylori has become a priority to prevent and cure H. pylori infection. The UreB (urease B) subunit is the most effective and common immunogen of all strains of H. pylori and may stimulate the immunoresponse protecting the human body against the challenge of H. pylori. To date no report has documented an edible carrot vaccine against H. pylori. We transformed the gene of UreB into carrot by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation and the regenerated carrot plants demonstrated that the expressed UreB protein accounted for 25 μg/g roots and was effective to induce immune response in mice. These results suggest that the UreB transgenic carrot can be potentially used as an edible vaccine for controlling H. pylori.     

绿色荧光蛋白基因导入胡萝卜愈伤组织并获得表达

目的:将绿色荧光蛋白基因(green fluorescent protein,GFP)重组到胡萝卜愈伤组织细胞中,使其获得表达,为今后利用GFP基因作为植物报告基因提供条件。方法:通过冻融法将含有GFP基因的重组表达载体PBI1121转入到根癌农杆菌EHA105中,再利用根癌农杆菌介导的方法将GFP基因导入到胡萝卜愈伤组织细胞中,经过除菌和抗性筛选后观测转化结果。结果:荧光显微镜观测到被转化的愈伤组织在受蓝光激发后发出绿色荧光,利用PCR法扩增出约740bp的目的基因片断。结论:GFP基因在胡萝卜愈伤组织细胞中获得了表达。     

Cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase from carrot

A cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase has been isolated and partially purified from carrot tap-root tissue. The properties of this enzyme are very different from cyclic AMP phosphodiesterases found in mammalian cells. A dialyzable inhibitor of carrot cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase was also isolated from carrot tissue. Because the inhibitor behaved like inorganic phosphate on ion-exchange chromatography and inhibited the enzyme in proportion to its inorganic phosphate content, the inhibitor was tentatively identified as inorganic phosphate.     

Ethylene-induced Isocoumarin Formation in Carrot Root Tissue

The concentrations of 3-methyl-6-methoxy-8-hydroxy-3,4-dihydroisocoumarin (MMHD) formed in carrot roots inoculated with certain fungi or treated with indole-3-acetic acid, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, or 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T), were related to the amount of ethylene produced by the root tissue. Ethylene applied exogenously in concentrations above 0.3 ppm induced the formation of MMHD in carrot root discs. Continued production of MMHD required the continued presence of ethylene. The amounts of MMHD in the discs were reduced by CO₂, an inhibitor of ethylene action, and by reduction of the partial pressure of ethylene in fungus-inoculated or 2,4,5-T-treated carrot root discs. The results indicate that ethylene is required for the induction of MMHD formation by carrot root tissue.     

Simultaneous purification of chloroplast and mitochondrial DNA without isolation of intact organelles from green carrot tissue and suspension cultures

We report here the simultaneous purification of chloroplast (cpDNA) and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from green tissue and suspension cultures of carrot without organelle isolation. This method is based on isolating total nucleic acids from frozen tissue and separating the nuclear, chloroplast and mitochondrial fractions using sequential isopycnic sedimentation in two gradients of cesium chloride containing bisbenzamide. From 10 g of mature carrot leaves, 10 to 30μg of organelle DNA was consistently recovered from mature carrot leaves, while 30 to 50 μg was recovered from suspension cells. The method can be used to isolate chloroplast and mitochondrial DNAs from single plants without sacrificing the individual.     

Transmembrane ferricyanide reduction in carrot cells

Carrot cells (Daucus carota) grown in tissue culture are capable of reducing the non-permeable electron acceptor, ferricyanide, with concomitant proton extrusion from the cell. Optimum conditions for transmembrane ferricyanide reduction include a pH of 7.0-7.5 in a medium containing 10 mM each KCl, NaCl and CaCl2. Data are shown to prove that transmembrane ferricyanide reduction is an enzymatic process. It does not depend on the secretion of phenolics from the cell within the time limits of the assay (10 min). The presence of broken cells and cell fragments are excluded on the basis of stimulation or only slight inhibition by mitochondrial inhibitors. However, transmembrane ferricyanide reduction by carrot cells is inhibited about 50% by various glycolysis inhibitors, which are presumed to reduce the internal levels of NADH. Treatment of cells with p-diazoniumbenzenesulfonic acid, a non-permeant membrane modifying agent, also inhibits transmembrane ferricyanide reduction more than 90%. The data presented support the existence of a transplasma membrane redox system in carrot cells.     

Purple carrot extract protects against cadmium intoxication in multiple organs of rats: Genotoxicity,oxidative stress and tissue morphology analyses

The aim of this study was to investigate if purple carrot extract is able to protect against the noxious activities induced by cadmium exposure in multiple organs of rats. For this purpose, histopathological analysis, genotoxicity and oxidative status were investigated in this setting. A total of twenty Wistar rats weighing 250 g on the average, and 8 weeks age were distributed into four groups (n = 5), as follows: Control group (non-treated group, CTRL); Cadmium group (Cd) and Purple carrot extract groups at 400 mg/L or 800 mg/L. Histopathological analysis revealed that liver from animals treated with purple carrot extract improved tissue degeneration induced by cadmium intoxication. Genetic damage was reduced in blood and hepatocytes as depicted by comet and micronucleus assays in animals treated with purple carrot extract. SOD-CuZn and cytocrome C gene expression increased in groups treated with purple carrot extract. Purple carrot extract also reduced the 8OHdG levels in liver cells when compared to cadmium group. Taken together, our results demonstrate that purple carrot extract is able to protect against cadmium intoxication by means of reducing tissue regeneration, genotoxicity and oxidative stress in multiple organs of Wistar rats.     

First Report of Corn Whorl Rot Caused by Serratia marcescens in China

Whorl rot is a novel disease of corn found in the Huang‐Huai‐Hai Plain, China. Common symptoms of the disease in fields include yellowing and water‐soaked brown necrosis of young leaves in the whorl of corn plants, which often results in rot of the whorl. Bacterial streaming was always observed from diseased samples. Bacterial isolates were obtained from symptomatic tissue and further confirmed to be the casual agent of the disease using Koch's Postulates. Sequence analysis of 16S rDNA, housekeeping gene groES‐groEL and BIOLOG tests revealed that the isolate B3R3 belongs to the bacterium Serratia marcescens. None of the corn cultivars evaluated showed acceptable resistance to the disease. To our knowledge, this is the first report on corn whorl rot caused by Serratia marcescens.     

Phytochrome in Cultured Wild Carrot Tissue: II. Dark Transformations

Disappearance and transformation of phytochrome in light-treated, dark-grown cultured tissue of wild carrot (Daucus carota L.) have been analyzed. Evidence is presented for the existence of two populations of far red-absorbing phytochromes: one which is subject to reversion, and a second which undergoes loss of photoreversibility. Phytochrome levels and transformation characteristics have been compared for several strains and developmental stages of cultured wild carrot tissue.     

Influence of saline irrigation on growth,ion accumulation and partitioning,and leaf gas exchange of carrot (Daucus carota L.)

Like those of many horticultural crop species, the growth and leaf gas exchange responses of carrot (Daucus carota L.) to salinity are poorly understood. In this study ion accumulation in root tissues (periderm, xylem and phloem tissues) and in leaves of different ages was assessed for carrot plants grown in the field with a low level of salinity (5.8 mM Na(+) and 7.5 mM Cl(-)) and in a glasshouse with salinity ranging from 1-80 mM. At low levels of salinity (1-7.5 mM), in both the field and glasshouse, carrot leaves accumulated high concentrations of Cl(-) (140-200 mM); these appear to be the result of a high affinity for Cl(-) uptake and a low retention of Cl(-) in the root system. However, Cl(-) uptake is under tight control, with an 80-fold increase in external salinity resulting in only a 1.5-fold change in the Cl(-) concentration of the shoot and no increase in the Cl(-) concentration of the root xylem tissue. In contrast to Cl(-), shoot Na(+) concentrations were comparatively low (30-40 mM) but increased by seven-fold when salinity was increased by 80-fold. Growth over the 56-d treatment period in the glasshouse was insensitive to salinity less than 20 mM, but at higher concentrations the yield of carrot tap roots declined by 7 % for each 10 mM increase in salinity. At low levels of salinity the accumulation of high concentrations of Cl(-) (150 mM) in carrot laminae did not appear to limit leaf gas exchange. However, photosynthesis and stomatal conductance were reduced by 38 and 53 %, respectively, for plants grown at a salinity of 80 mM compared with those grown at 1 mM. Salinity-induced reductions in both p(i) and carbon isotope discrimination (delta) were small (2.5 Pa and 1.4 per thousand, respectively, at 80 mM) indicating that the reduction in photosynthesis was only marginally influenced by CO(2) supply. At a salinity of 80 mM the photosynthetic capacity was reduced, with a 30 % reduction in the CO(2)-saturated rate of photosynthesis (A(max)) and a 40 % reduction in both the apparent rate of RuBP-carboxylase-limited CO(2) fixation (V(cmax)) and the electron transport rate limiting RuBP regeneration (J(max)). This study has shown that carrot growth and leaf gas exchange are insensitive to the high leaf Cl(-) concentrations that occur at low levels (1-7 mM) of salinity. However, growth is limited at salinity levels above 20 mM and leaf gas exchange is limited at salinity levels above 8 mM.     

喀麦隆芋艿根腐病病原菌鉴定

从采自喀麦隆不同地区的芋艿(Xanthosoma mafaffa L.)病根及田土中分离菌株,分别从雅温得(Yaound(?))和巴马约(Mbalmayo)分离到的腐霉菌株XPMY和XPMM1,根据其形态学及生理学特征鉴定为群结腐霉Pythium myriotylum,用上述腐霉菌株的游动孢子悬液或菌丝体片断悬液人工接种,表现叶黄化及根腐等典型症状。用经常伴随群结腐霉的立枯丝核菌Rhizoctonia solani及茄镰孢Fusarium solani人工接种后均未表现症状。研究结果表明:群结腐霉Pythium myriotylum Drechsler是喀麦隆芋艿根腐病的致病菌。     

粉碎和添加菌剂对红壤区自然堆沤条件下稻秆养分释放的影响

通过对新鲜稻秆进行粉碎或添加菌剂处理,探索在红壤区气候条件下,稻秆加速腐化的技术措施及其N、P、K养分释放特征,为合理利用秸秆的养分资源提供科学依据。在每个60cm×120cm的200目尼龙滤布袋装入5kg新鲜水稻秸秆,设置原状、粉碎、粉碎+腐熟剂和粉碎+农家肥等4种处理,尼龙滤布袋置放在田间自然条件下堆沤,在处理后的第0、10、28、35、51、74天和91天采集样本测定秸秆的干物质、水分和氮、磷、钾养分含量,求算秸秆的干物质腐解及养分释放规律。经过91d自然堆沤置放后,粉碎过的稻秆,干物质腐解率比不处理的水稻秸秆提高4.2%(绝对值,下同),N、P、K养分释放率提高10.4%、6.8%、12.2%;在粉碎的基础上,添加菌剂后的干物质腐解率提高6.3%—7.3%,N、P、K养分释放率提高1.0%—5.8%、11.6%—14.9%、2.2%—5.3%;粉碎后的水稻秸秆在腐解20d内P素养分的释放强度在腐解高峰期明显受到抑制,但添加菌剂后,则消除了对P素释放的抑制作用。秸秆粉碎后加入腐熟剂或农家肥均促进秸秆的腐解和氮磷钾的释放,商品腐熟菌剂若无针对性,则对水稻秸秆的腐熟无明显效果。     

Induction of apoptotic cell death leads to the development of bacterial rot caused by Pseudomonas cichorii

Pseudomonas cichorii is the major causal agent of bacterial rot of lettuce. Collapse and browning symptoms were observed in lettuce leaf tissue from 15 to 24 h after inoculation (HAI) with P. cichorii; superoxide anion generation was detected at 1 to 6 HAI; and cell death was induced at 6 HAI, reaching a maximum at approximately 9 and 12 HAI. Heterochromatin condensation and DNA laddering also were observed within 3 HAI. Pharmacological studies showed that induction of cell death and DNA laddering was closely associated with de novo protein synthesis, protein kinase, intracellular reactive oxygen species, DNase, serine protease, and caspase III-like protease. Moreover, chemicals, which inhibited the induction of cell death and DNA laddering, also suppressed the development of disease symptoms. These results suggest that apoptotic cell death might be closely associated with the development of bacterial rot caused by P. cichorii.     

Effect of various salts on the growth and development of Geotrichum candidum,the causal agent of carrot sour rot

This study evaluated the efficacy of ammonium, calcium, potassium and sodium salts as possible alternatives to synthetic fungicides in the control of Geotrichum candidum, the causal agent of sour rot on carrots. In vitro mycelial growth of G. candidum was completely halted by ammonium bicarbonate and carbonate; calcium oxide; potassium benzoate, carbonate and sorbate; sodium benzoate, carbonate and fluoride (2% w/v). Potassium and sodium bicarbonate also reduced mycelial growth by 77.78% and 90.60%, respectively, and the difference between the effects of sodium bicarbonate and the first group of salts was not statistically significant (p < 0.05). With the exception of potassium and sodium bicarbonate, the above‐mentioned salts also halted or strongly reduced arthrospore germination. Potassium bicarbonate, and sodium bicarbonate, acetate and propionate significantly increased conidiation (p < 0.05). Of all the salts tested in vitro, only ammonium bicarbonate and carbonate, calcium oxide and sodium fluoride were toxic to G. candidum. In in vivo studies, all the calcium salts tested (acetate, chloride, citrate, formate, lactate, oxide, propionate and silicate), several of the sodium salts (acetate, bicarbonate, chloride and fluoride) and potassium bicarbonate exhibited both protective and curative activity against G. candidum, significantly reducing the severity of sour rot in comparison to pathogen‐inoculated controls (p < 0.05). Although no curative was observed with ammonium bicarbonate, ammonium carbonate, potassium carbonate, potassium chloride, sodium carbonate or sodium citrate, these salts also demonstrated significant protective activity against sour rot when compared to controls (p < 0.05). In sum, the study findings show that all of the selected salts may be used to control carrot sour rot, except for sodium fluoride, which exhibited phytotoxicity to carrots.