Isolation and characterization of microsatellite loci in Cylindrocladium parasiticum

Twelve polymorphic microsatellite markers were developed for Cylindrocladium parasiticum, a plant pathogen with a wide host range and the causal agent of the serious disease of peanuts (Arachis hypogaea) known as cylindrocladium black rot (CBR). Polymorphism was evaluated on 17 isolates from different hosts and regions. Each locus had between two and six alleles. Cross‐species transferability tested for 20 other Cylindrocladium species found amplification only in Cylindrocladium pacificum, which is phylogenetically closely related to C. parasiticum.     

Algal biochar: effects and applications

Algae represent a promising target for the generation of bioenergy through slow pyrolysis, leading to the production of biochar. This study reports experiments conducted on the production of freshwater and saltwater macroalgal biochar in pilot‐scale quantities, the physical and chemical characteristics of the biochars, and their impact on plant growth. The biochars are low in carbon (C) content, surface area and cation exchange capacity, while being high in ash and nutrients. Trace element analysis demonstrates that macroalgal biochar produced from unpolluted water does not contain toxic trace elements in excess of levels mandated for unrestricted use as a biosolids amendment to soils. Pot trials conducted using a C and nutrient‐poor soil, without and with additional fertilizer, demonstrate dramatic increases between 15 and 32 times, respectively, in plant growth rate for biochar treatments compared with the no biochar controls, with additional smaller increases when fertilizer was added. Pot trials conducted using a relatively fertile agricultural soil showed smaller but significant impacts of biochar amendment over the controls.     

Host‐plant dependent wing phenotypic variation in the neotropical butterfly Heliconius erato

Most phytophagous insects feed on a single plant during development, and this may influence not only performance‐linked traits, but also more subtle morphological differences. Insect–plant interactions are thus valuable for studying environmental influences on phenotypes. By using geometric morphometrics, we investigated the variation in forewing size and shape in the butterfly Heliconius erato phyllis reared on six species of passion vines (Passiflora spp.). We detected wing shape sexual dimorphism, for which the adaptive significance deserves further investigation. There was size as well as wing shape variation among individuals fed on different hosts. These subtle differences in shape were interpreted as environmental effects on development, which should be under weak natural selection for these traits, and therefore not strongly canalized. This result reinforces the role of plasticity on host‐plant use, as well as the corresponding consequences on developmental variability among phytophagous insects. We propose that this variation can be an important factor in resource specialization and partner recognition, possibly triggering reproductive isolation and sympatric speciation in phytophagous insects. This interaction also shows itself as a good model for studying the role of environmental and interaction diversity in evolution. © 2011 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2011, 102 , 765–774.     

Consequences of grazing on the vertical transmission of a fungal Neotyphodium symbiont in an annual grass population

Symbiosis between cool‐season grasses and vertically transmitted fungal endophytes are common and significantly impact on ecosystem function. This makes the understanding of the underlying mechanisms to symbiotic individuals frequency in local populations much more interesting. Most studies have been focused on the differential fitness between symbiotic and non‐symbiotic counterparts (relative fitness), barely considering other mechanisms. We performed a microcosms experiment to evaluate whether grazing alters the dynamics of the endophyte Neotyphodium occultans in the annual grass Lolium multiflorum by simultaneously modifying the relative fitness and the endophyte efficiency to be transmitted from host plants to seeds. Grazing was simulated by means of clipping and trampling on symbiotic and non‐symbiotic plants growing separately, in soils obtained from paddocks, differing in their agronomic management history (natural grassland vs. ryegrass promotion). Seed production showed a complex pattern as it depended on the symbiotic status of the plants, the level of grazing and the agro‐ecological context. Grazed plants produced three times fewer seeds than ungrazed plants only in microcosms with endophyte‐symbiotic plants in soils from ryegrass promotion. Endophyte benefits on seed production were exclusively observed in ungrazed plants in the same soil. Symbiotic plants produced symbiotic and non‐symbiotic seeds in all the treatments. While the production of non‐symbiotic seeds by these plants was not affected by grazing and the soil, grazing reduced the production of symbiotic seeds in both contexts. Grazing negative effect on the density of fully infected spikes determined a significant increment in the transmission failures which were not modified by agro‐ecological contexts. Therefore, grazing can modulate symbiosis dynamics through reducing seed production and endophyte transmission efficiency. Transmission has been disregarded, but it is a context‐dependent process that could lead to a gradual reduction in the symbiotic plants frequency in a population if the mutualism effectiveness does not outweigh transmission failures.     

Nitrogen fixation, stomatal response and transpiration in Medicago sativa, Trifolium repens and T. subterraneum under water stress and recovery

Stomatal behaviour, transpiration and nitrogen fixation were investigated in Medicago sativa L. (cvs. Tierra de Campos and Aragon, Hidalgo-Maynar 1966), Trifolium repens L. (cv. Aberystwyth S-184) and Trifolium subterraneum L. (cv. Clare) subjected to drought by withholding water and then to three days’ recovery after rewatering. Dawn leaf water potential was measured with pressure chamber, stomatal response with a diffusion porometer and nitrogen fixation by using acetylene reduction technique. At low water potentials, the leaf resistance was higher in Medicago than in Trifolium. As water stress developed all species decreased their transpiration, T. subterraneum being the one most affected by moderate deficits. During water stress ‘Tierra de Campos’ always maintained higher acetylene reduction levels than ‘Aragon’ and the Trifolium species, except for the lowest water potentials. During recovery from water stress only ‘Tierra de Campos’ reached predeficit transpiration rates. In ‘Tierra de Campos’ acetylene reduction recovery after rewatering was more rapid and intense than in ‘Aragon’. It is concluded that, of the plants investigated, ‘Tierra de Campos’ was best adapted to water deficits.