Selection for non-diapause inAmblyseius cucumeris andAmblyseius barkeri and exploration of the effectiveness of selected strains for thrips control

In Europe and North America the western flower thrips,Frankliniella occidentalis, is an important pest in various greenhouse crops, such as sweet pepper and cucumber. Two species of predatory mite are commercially applied for biological control of this pest:Amblyseius cucumeris andA. barkeri. Thrips control is generally successful from March onwards. During winter, however, thrips control by these predatory mites is less effective. An important reason for this is that the commercially applied strains of both mite species enter reproductive diapause under short-day photoperiods, whereas the western flower thrips does not enter diapause. In this paper we report on selection experiments for non-diapause in strains of both mite species, aimed at obtaining predators that do not enter diapause under light- and temperature conditions prevailing in winter. Additional experiments were done to estimate the potential of the selected lines as control agents ofF. occidentalis. Selection for non-diapause proved highly successful in both predatory mite species. In a New Zealand strain ofA. cucumeris diapause incidence decreased from 41% to 0% in about ten generations; in a Dutch strain ofA. barkeri diapause incidence decreased from 67% to 0% in about six generations. Furthermore, selection for non-diapause had no influence on predator performance, measured as predation rate and oviposition rate on a diet of first instar thirps larvae. Rates of predation and oviposition were the same for selected and unselected lines in both species; rates of predation and oviposition were higher forA. cucumeris than forA. barkeri. After 18 months under non-diapause conditions, no less than 92% of a sample of the selected non-diapause line ofA. cucumeris did not enter diapause when tested under diapause-inducing conditions. This indicates that ‘non-diapause’ is a stable trait in these predatory mites. Finally, a small-scale greenhouse experiment in a sweet pepper crop showed that the selected non-diapause line ofA. cucumeris established successfully under diapause-inducing short-day conditions.     

Water-relation parameters of giant and normal cells of Capsicum annuum pericarp

Abstract. Measurements of the water-relation parameters of the giant subepidermal cells (volume, V = 0.119 to 1.658 mm³; = 0.53±0.35 mm³, SD, n = 23) and the smaller mesocarp parenchyma cells ( V = 0.10 to 0.79×10⁻³ mm³; = 0.36±0.27×10⁻³ mm³, SD, n = 6) of the inner pericarp surface of Capsicum annuum L. were made using the Jülich pressure probe. The volumetric elastic modulus ɛ for the large cells was between 1.5 and 27 MPa for a pressure range of 0.09 to 0.41 MPa. For the small cells ɛ was 0.1 to 0.6 MPa for a pressure range of 0.22 to 0.39 MPa. The turgor pressure P , the half-time of water exchange T _1/2, and the hydraulic conductivity L _p were as follows, with SD and number of replicates: large cells, P = 0.27±0.06 MPa (23), T _1/2=2.7±2.2 s (46), L _p=5.8±3.7 pm s⁻¹ Pa⁻ (46); small cells, P = 0.33±0.07 MPa (6), T _1/2= 33±10s (12), L _p=0.21±0.07 pm s⁻¹ Pa⁻¹ (12). The determination of these basic water-relation parameters is considered as a prerequisite for future ecotoxicological and phytopathological studies. The differences between the large and the small cells are discussed in relation to a desirable biophysical definition of succulence. Further, for the large cells a pressure and volume dependence of ɛ was demonstrated.     

Influence of Initial Population Densities of Meloidogyne incognita on Three Chile Cultivars

The effects of Meloidogyne incognita on the Big Jim, Jalapeno, and New Mexico No. 6 chile (Capsicum annuum) cultivars were investigated in microplots for two growing seasons. All three cultivars were susceptible to M. incognita and reacted similarly to different initial populations of this nematode. Severe stunting and yield suppressions occurred at all initial M. incognita densities tested ranging from 385 to 4,230 eggs and larvae/500 cm³ soil. Regression analysis of the microplot data from a sandy loam soil showed yield losses of 31% for the 1978 season and 25% for the 1979 season for the three cultivars for each 10-fold increase in the initial population of M. incognita.     

Sensitive Chemiluminescence Enzyme Immunoassay for Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor/Vascular Permeability Factor in Human Serum

A sandwich chemiluminescence enzyme immunoassay for measuring the level of VEGF /VPF in serum was constructed. The detectability of the assay is very low (1.0pg/ml) and the measurable range of the assay was very wide (1–1000 pg/ml). The assay showed that the average level of VEGF /VPF in human sera from healthy blood donors was approximately 19 pg/ml.     

Plasmid composition and the chpG gene determine the virulence level of Clavibacter capsici natural isolates in pepper

The gram-positive bacterial species Clavibacter capsici causes necrosis and canker in pepper plants. Genomic and functional analyses of C. capsici type strain PF008 have shown that multiple virulence genes exist in its two plasmids. We aimed to identify the key determinants that control the virulence of C. capsici. Pepper leaves inoculated with 54 natural isolates exhibited significant variation in the necrosis. Six isolates showed very low virulence, but their population titres in plants were not significantly different from those of the highly virulent isolates. All six isolates lacked the pCM1_Cc plasmid that carries chpG, which has been shown to be required for virulence and encodes a putative serine protease, but two of them, isolates 1,106 and 1,207, had the intact chpG elsewhere in the genome. Genomic analysis of these two isolates revealed that chpG was located in the pCM2_Cc plasmid, and two highly homologous regions were present next to the chpG locus. The chpG expression in isolate 1,106 was not induced in plants. Introduction of chpG of the PF008 strain into the six low-virulence isolates restored their virulence to that of PF008. Our findings indicate that there are at least three different variant groups of C. capsici and that the plasmid composition and the chpG gene are critical for determining the virulence level. Moreover, our findings also indicate that the virulence level of C. capsici does not directly correlate with bacterial titres in plants.     

24-表油菜素内酯对干旱胁迫下辣椒叶片快速叶绿素荧光诱导动力学曲线的影响

以辣椒品种“超辣九号”为试材,采用15%的PEG6000模拟干旱,研究了0.1μmol·L^-1外源24-表油菜素内酯(EBR)处理对干旱胁迫下辣椒叶片快速叶绿素荧光诱导动力学曲线(OJIP)的影响。结果表明:干旱胁迫降低了辣椒叶片的光化学效率和光合性能,导致干旱光抑制的发生。干旱胁迫既损伤了辣椒叶片PSⅡ供体侧放氧复合体(OEC),同时也对PSⅡ反应中心和受体侧造成伤害,阻碍了光合电子传递;干旱胁迫还导致单位叶面积有活性反应中心数目(RC/CS)的下降,并降低了单位叶面积吸收的光能(ABS/CS)、捕获的光能(TRo/CS)和进行电子传递的能量(ETo/CS),同时诱导了单位叶面积热耗散(DIo/CS)的增加。这说明辣椒遭受干旱胁迫后启动了相应的防御机制,一方面通过PSⅡ的可逆失活减少光能吸收与传递,另一方面通过促进热耗散减少过剩激发能的积累。EBR处理改善了干旱胁迫下辣椒叶片PSⅡ受体侧的电子传递,缓解了单位叶面积有活性反应中心数目的减少,优化了光合电子传递的进行,并维持相对较高的热耗散能力,从而减轻了干旱光抑制程度,对干旱胁迫下辣椒叶片光合机构和光合性能起到保护作用。     

辣椒种质遗传多样性的EST-SSR分析

辣椒（Capsicum annuum L.）是一种重要的蔬菜作物,分析辣椒种质的遗传多样性对于辣椒种质的收集、鉴定和利用都有重要的意义。EST-SSR标记是一种位于转录区的SSR标记,能够检测出转录区的多态性,进而能够反映出种质之间“真实的遗传多样性”。本研究利用33个EST-SSR标记分析了31份辣椒种质的遗传多样性。EST-SSR标记在测试的辣椒种质上共检测出91个等位基因,平均每个位点扩增出2.76个等位基因,最多扩增出6个等位基因,多态性信息含量（PIC）最小为0.03,最大0.74,平均为0.38。系统聚类分析将31份种质分为2大组,聚类结果表现出了一定程度的与果实性状的相关性。主坐标分析的结果基本上与聚类分析的结果一致,但更加详细地表现了辣椒种质之间的遗传变异。     

An Antioxidant of Dried Chili Pepper Maintained Its Activity through Postharvest Ripening for 18 Months

The antioxidant properties of hot-water extracts from a dried chili pepper were maintained through the postharvest ripening process at 10 °C for 18 months. In order to isolate the antioxidant from the ripe pepper, we fractionated hot-water extracts by size-exclusion gel chromatography. A certain fraction showed antioxidative activity via the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging activity assay. Structural analysis by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), LC-MS, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) revealed that the antioxidant was a known compound, p-coumaryl alcohol. This study indicates that an effective antioxidant in chili pepper sustains its antioxidative effects during the postharvest ripening process.     

Identification of novel Xanthomonas euvesicatoria type III effector proteins by a machine‐learning approach

The Gram‐negative bacterium Xanthomonas euvesicatoria (Xcv) is the causal agent of bacterial spot disease in pepper and tomato. Xcv pathogenicity depends on a type III secretion (T3S) system that delivers effector proteins into host cells to suppress plant immunity and promote disease. The pool of known Xcv effectors includes approximately 30 proteins, most identified in the 85‐10 strain by various experimental and computational techniques. To identify additional Xcv 85‐10 effectors, we applied a genome‐wide machine‐learning approach, in which all open reading frames (ORFs) were scored according to their propensity to encode effectors. Scoring was based on a large set of features, including genomic organization, taxonomic dispersion, hypersensitive response and pathogenicity (hrp)‐dependent expression, 5′ regulatory sequences, amino acid composition bias and GC content. Thirty‐six predicted effectors were tested for translocation into plant cells using the hypersensitive response (HR)‐inducing domain of AvrBs2 as a reporter. Seven proteins (XopAU, XopAV, XopAW, XopAP, XopAX, XopAK and XopAD) harboured a functional translocation signal and their translocation relied on the HrpF translocon, indicating that they are bona fide T3S effectors. Remarkably, four belong to novel effector families. Inactivation of the xopAP gene reduced the severity of disease symptoms in infected plants. A decrease in cell death and chlorophyll content was observed in pepper leaves inoculated with the xopAP mutant when compared with the wild‐type strain. However, populations of the xopAP mutant in infected leaves were similar in size to those of wild‐type bacteria, suggesting that the reduction in virulence was not caused by impaired bacterial growth.     

高温胁迫对不同热敏型辣椒同工酶及DNA甲基化的影响

分别以耐热型晚熟紫色辣椒‘7036’和热敏型早熟绿色辣椒‘9050’为材料,研究了40℃高温胁迫对其POD同工酶以及DNA甲基化表达的影响。结果显示:(1)在POD同工酶表达方面,未经高温胁迫的辣椒‘7036’比其它处理多出1条带,而同工酶活性在2种辣椒中呈现不同的变化趋势。(2)随着高温胁迫时间延长,辣椒‘7036’DNA无甲基化和全甲基化比率增加,半甲基化和总甲基化比率降低,而辣椒‘9050’只有高温处理7d(T_7)的甲基化水平变化与之类似,但半甲基化和全甲基化比率的绝对值远低于辣椒‘7036’。(3)高温处理7d的DNA甲基化模式中,辣椒‘7036’去甲基化C型条带比率较高,辣椒‘9050’以超甲基化B型条带为主。实验表明,高温胁迫下紫色辣椒‘7036’的POD同工酶活性恢复,半甲基化水平大幅下降和全甲基化水平快速上升以及去甲基化等变化可能与其耐高温胁迫特性相关。