Chronopathological Aspects of Disease Incidence in Rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Rice seedlings maintained under uncontrolled glasshouse conditions were inoculated with conidial suspensions of a fungal pathogen, Helminthosporium oryzae, at various times during the 24 h. Significant increase in the percent germination and germ tube length of conidia were observed in the rice samples inoculated at 02:00 and 06:00h. The 24 h temporal variation in leaf temperature was positively correlated with variation in stomatal movements. The results indicate a 24 h rhythm in the behavior of the fungal pathogen on the host in relation to the conditions of the growing environment. In all the inoculated seedlings, the appearance of a large number of brown leaf spots was confined to the light span. Among the plants inoculated, earlier initiation of brown leaf spot appearance, maximum number of leaf spots, and highest disease severity were observed when plants were inoculated at 02:00h. There was a positive correlation between disease severity of the host and in vivo values of percent germination of conidia and germ tube length of the pathogen in plants inoculated between 02:00 and 06:00h. The findings of this study implicate that light intensity and temperature could play a predominant role in controlling disease susceptibility rhythms in plants.     

The Neotropical Genus Notodiaptomus Kiefer, 1936 (Calanoida: Diaptomidae): Redescription of the Type Species Notodiaptomus deitersi (Poppe, 1891) and Designation of a Neotype

Ribautia williamsi sp. nov., a new dwarf geophilomorph centipede from the Lower Urubamba Region, Peruvian Amazonia, is described and illustrated based on the holotype female. The new species is characterized by having the coxal organs grouped in clusters (three of these in each coxopleuron of the ultimate leg-bearing segment) and ventral pore-fields present along all the body; these two combined traits being shared by five other Neotropical species currently included in the genus Ribautia Brölemann, 1909, i.e. R. centralis (Silvestri, 1907) (from Colombia and Brazil), R. difficilis Pereira, Minelli &; Barbieri, 1995 (from Brazil), R. montana Kraus, 1954 (from Peru), R. peruana (Verhoeff, 1941) (from Peru), and R. titicacae (Turk, 1955) (from Peru). The new taxon is differentiated from the aforementioned species by the low number of leg-bearing segments and small body length; it is included in a key which will enable the identification of all known Neotropical members having coxal organs grouped in clusters. R. williamsi sp. nov. is the 14th species of Ribautia recorded from Peru.

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:D9FA5FAF-7652-4A5B-AC09-8783F05A694D     

Microbial Dynamics and Diversity of Bacillus thuringiensis in Textile Effluent Polluted and Non-polluted Rice Field Soils of Orissa, India

Microbial diversity was assessed in the soils of non-polluted rice fields of Central Rice Research Institute and Choudwar, and textile effluent contaminated (about 30 years) rice fields of Choudwar about 4 years after cessation of pollution. The soils contained 0.62–1.01 % organic C and 0.07–0.12 % total N, and measured 6.18–8.24 pH and 0.6–2.68 mS/cm Eh which were more in the polluted Choudwar soil. The microbial populations (×10⁶ cfu/g soil) in the soils were: heterotrophs 1.21–10.9, spore formers 0.9–2.43, Gram (−)ve bacteria 4.11–8.0, nitrifiers 0.72–1.5, denitrifiers 0.72–2.43, phosphate solubilizers 0.14–0.9, asymbiotic nitrogen fixers 0.34–0.59, actinomycetes 0.07–0.11, fungi 0–0.5 and Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) 0.4–0.61 which predominated in the polluted soil of Choudwar. The fungi were scarce in the polluted rice fields. The Bt isolates belonged to three motile and one non-motile group. Two motile Bt isolates were phenotyped as Bt subsp. sotto and israelensis, whereas, the non-motile isolate was Bt subsp. wahuensis. All Bt isolates produced extracellular protease, lipase and amylase enzymes. The microbial guilds had positive correlation among themselves, as well as, with soil physico-chemical characters but the fungi had negative relation and the nitrogen fixers were unrelated with the biotic and abiotic components.     

ZmGA3ox2, a candidate gene for a major QTL,qPH3.1, for plant height in maize

Maize plant height is closely associated with biomass, lodging resistance and grain yield. Determining the genetic basis of plant height by characterizing and cloning plant height genes will guide the genetic improvement of crops. In this study, a quantitative trait locus (QTL) for plant height, qPH3.1, was identified on chromosome 3 using populations derived from a cross between Zong3 and its chromosome segment substitution line, SL15. The plant height of the two lines was obviously different, and application of exogenous gibberellin A₃ removed this difference. QTL mapping placed qPH3.1 within a 4.0 cM interval, explaining 32.3% of the phenotypic variance. Furthermore, eight homozygous segmental isolines (SILs) developed from two larger F₂ populations further narrowed down qPH3.1 to within a 12.6 kb interval. ZmGA3ox2, an ortholog of OsGA3ox2, which encodes a GA3 β‐hydroxylase, was positionally cloned. Association mapping identified two polymorphisms in ZmGA3ox2 that were significantly associated with plant height across two experiments. Quantitative RT‐PCR showed that SL15 had higher ZmGA3ox2 expression relative to Zong3. The resultant higher GA₁ accumulation led to longer internodes in SL15 because of increased cell lengths. Moreover, a large deletion in the coding region of ZmGA3ox2 is responsible for the dwarf mutant d1‐6016. The successfully isolated qPH3.1 enriches our knowledge on the genetic basis of plant height in maize, and provides an opportunity for improvement of plant architecture in maize breeding.     

An Efficient Rice Mutagenesis System Based on Suspension-Cultured Cells

Plant mutants are important bio-resources for crop breeding and gene functional studies. Conventional methods for generating mutant libraries by mutagenesis of seeds with physical or chemical agents are of low efficiency. Here, we developed a highly-efficient ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) mutagenesis system based on suspension-cultured cells, with rice (Oryza sativa L.) as an example. We show that treatment of suspension-cultured tiny cell clusters with 0.4% EMS for 18-22h followed by differentiation and regeneration produced as high as 29.4% independent mutant lines with visible phenotypic variations, including a number of important agronomic traits such as grain size, panicle size, grain or panicle shape, tiller number and angle, heading date, male sterility, and disease sensitivity. No mosaic mutant was observed in the mutant lines tested. In this mutant library, we obtained a mutant with an abnormally elongated uppermost internode. Sequencing and functional analysis revealed that this is a new allelic mutant of eui (elongated uppermost internode) caused by two point mutations in the first exon of the EUI gene, representing a successful example of this mutagenesis system.     

1991-2010年宁夏水稻病虫害发生特征与经济损失分析

水稻病虫害发生种类繁多、暴发频繁,是威胁宁夏水稻稳产、高产的重要因素,但对其变化趋势与实际危害损失不清楚.基于宁夏水稻统计数据、稻田覆盖类型遥感数据和水稻产量数据,分析1991年至2010年宁夏水稻病虫害发生特征与经济损失情况.结果表明:1991年到2010年期间,宁夏水稻病害、虫害年均发生面积分别为5.3万hm2和2.0万hm2,其年均防治面积分别为8.4万hm2和1.6万hm2;水稻病害的发生程度下降了23.10％,防治程度上升了77.30％.20年间宁夏水稻虫害的发生面积、发生程度、防治面积和防治程度均显著增加.防治水稻病害、虫害后,分别挽回稻谷为2.67万吨、0.28万吨,其挽回损失量在20年期间分别增加了55.15％、2775.0％,表明水稻病虫害防治意义重大.由于气候变化等诸多因子,导致1991年到2010年宁夏水稻病害、虫害年均造成的实际稻谷损失量分别为0.71万吨与0.13万吨,水稻病害实际损失量在0值附件波动、虫害呈现波动增加趋势,说明水稻病害防控效果好、虫害的防控还有提升的空间.从全区各市县分布来看,水稻病虫害主要分布在宁夏的银北地区.为有效地防止或减少病虫害对水稻产量的损失,应加强农田景观变化和气候变化等对水稻病虫害发生与灾变的风险评估和监测预警,开展区域性水稻病虫害综合治理研究,并建立相应的防控新对策与技术体系.     

广西水稻地方品种耐冷性鉴定及相关分析

对419份广西水稻地方品种初级核心种质进行芽期、苗期的耐冷性鉴定及相关分析,结果表明:广西水稻地方品种芽期、苗期耐冷性主要集中在7级和9级,总体耐冷性较弱。芽期、苗期极强耐冷种质(1级)分别为24份和27份,占参试总数的5.73%和6.44%,其中10份种质芽期和苗期均表现极强耐冷(1级)。芽期、苗期耐冷性呈极显著正相关(r=0.66)。粳稻芽期、苗期耐冷性均显著高于籼稻;粘糯稻之间耐冷性差异是由籼粳稻类型的耐冷差异引起的;来自高寒山区稻作区的品种芽期和苗期平均耐冷表现最强。利用34个SSR标记与芽期、苗期耐冷性进行Pearson相关分析,在第7和第9染色体上,各鉴定出1个同时与芽期和苗期耐冷性相关联的位点。本研究为水稻芽期、苗期耐冷育种提供新的抗源材料,并为水稻耐冷基因定位及机理研究奠定基础。     

南方水稻黑条矮缩病对褐飞虱和白背飞虱体内三种保护酶活性的影响

为探寻植物感染病毒病后对刺吸性害虫体内生化酶活性的影响,本文研究了感染南方水稻矮缩病毒(Southern rice black-streaked dwarf virus,SRBSDV)的水稻对褐飞虱Nilaparvata lugens和白背飞虱Sogatella furcifera成虫及若虫体内三种保护酶活性的影响。结果表明,取食染病水稻的白背飞虱和褐飞虱成虫及若虫体内超氧化物歧化酶(superoxide dismutase,SOD)、过氧化物酶(peroxidase,POD)和过氧化氢酶(catalase,CAT)的活性均随取食时间的延长而增加。在带毒水稻上取食12 h后,白背飞虱成虫、褐飞虱成虫、若虫体内SOD活性与对照比差异不显著外,其他均显著高于对照;取食24 h后,白背飞虱若虫体内SOD、POD活性和褐飞虱若虫SOD活性虽高于对照但未达显著水平;取食5 d后,白背飞虱若虫、褐飞虱成虫、若虫POD活性未达显著外,其他均显著高于对照。以上研究结果可为进一步研究植物-病毒-寄主三种之间的关系提供参考。     

Basal and Foliar Treatment using an Organic Fertilizer Amendment Lowers Cadmium Availability in Soil and Cadmium Uptake by Rice on Field Micro-Plot Experiment Planted in Contaminated Acidic Paddy Soil

In the present study, field micro-plot experiments were conducted to investigate the basal and foliar application of a tested organic fertilizer amendment (OFA) for decreasing the risk of Cd accumulating in rice. The results showed that applications of OFA significantly increased rice yields in Cd-polluted soil and reduced the level of Cd in rice plants, especially in rice grain. In addition, three application methods of OFA were investigated (single basal application (B1, B2, and B3), combined basal application (+LM, +D, and +Z), and foliar application (F1, F2)). Treat B, F, +LM, +D were all higher than control on rice yield with 25.03, 28.05, 30.61, 22.50 g pot^?1 on average, respectively. Among which, rice cadmium depress to 0.33 mg kg^?1 in foliar application is considered to be a more efficient and economical method of heavy metal remediation. The mechanism of foliar application to alleviate the accumulation of Cd in brown rice may be related to the probable Cd sequestration in the leaves and straws. And the doses of the foliar application were 2.25–3.75 kg hm^?2, approximately 1.0–2.5% of the basal application amount yet with more effect (0.10 mg kg^?1 more than single basal; 0.23 mg kg^?1 more than combined basal) on Cd reduction.