Evaluation of biocontrol agents and potassium silicate for the management of powdery mildew of zucchini

Investigations were conducted under greenhouse and field conditions to evaluate the effects of potential biocontrol agents (BCAs) and soluble silicon (Si) on powdery mildew of zucchini caused by Podosphaera xanthii. Five BCAs were applied as foliar sprays to zucchini leaves and Si was drenched weekly into the rhizosphere of these plants.In the greenhouse, all BCAs provided significant control of powdery mildew with fungal isolates, reducing disease levels by up to 90%. Si alone reduced powdery mildew by as much as 35% and improved the efficacy of most of the biocontrol agents. Higher disease pressure reduced the efficacy of Si on powdery mildew but did not affect the performance of the BCAs. In the field, a disease reduction of 10–70% was achieved by BCAs and Si. Lower temperatures and high humidity ranges were suitable for optimal performances. The efficacy of the bacterial BCA, Serratia marcescens – B15 and silicon diminished at temperatures above 25 °C. The fungal BCAs (Clonostachys rosea – EH and Trichothecium roseum – H20) were better suited to higher temperatures (25–30 °C) and were tolerant of low RH values. Application of K₂SiO₂ to zucchini roots increased the level of Si in the leaves, which was responsible for suppression of the disease.     

Recognition of lettuce downy mildew effector BLR38 in Lactuca serriola LS102 requires two unlinked loci

Plant-pathogenic oomycetes secrete effector proteins to suppress host immune responses. Resistance proteins may recognize effectors and activate immunity, which is often associated with a hypersensitive response (HR). Transient expression of effectors in plant germplasm and screening for HR has proven to be a powerful tool in the identification of new resistance genes. In this study, 14 effectors from the lettuce downy mildew Bremia lactucae race Bl:24 were screened for HR induction in over 150 lettuce accessions. Three effectors—BLN06, BLR38 and BLR40—were recognized in specific lettuce lines. The recognition of effector BLR38 in Lactuca serriola LS102 did not co-segregate with resistance against race Bl:24, but was linked to resistance against multiple other B. lactucae races. Two unlinked loci are both required for effector recognition and are located near known major resistance clusters. Gene dosage affects the intensity of the BLR38-triggered HR, but is of minor importance for disease resistance.     

Developmentally regulated Arabidopsis thaliana susceptibility to tomato spotted wilt virus infection

Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) is one of the most devastating plant viruses and often causes severe crop losses worldwide. Generally, mature plants become more resistant to pathogens, known as adult plant resistance. In this study, we demonstrated a new phenomenon involving developmentally regulated susceptibility of Arabidopsis thaliana to TSWV. We found that Arabidopsis plants become more susceptible to TSWV as plants mature. Most young 3-week-old Arabidopsis were not infected by TSWV. Infection of TSWV in 4-, 5-, and 6-week-old Arabidopsis increased from 9%, 21%, and 25%, respectively, to 100% in 7- to 8-week-old Arabidopsis plants. Different isolates of TSWV and different tospoviruses show a low rate of infection in young Arabidopsis but a high rate in mature plants. When Arabidopsis dcl2/3/4 or rdr1/2/6 mutant plants were inoculated with TSWV, similar results as observed for the wild-type Arabidopsis plants were obtained. A cell-to-cell movement assay showed that the intercellular movement efficiency of TSWV NSm:GFP fusion was significantly higher in 8-week-old Arabidopsis leaves compared with 4-week-old Arabidopsis leaves. Moreover, the expression levels of pectin methylesterase and β-1,3-glucanase, which play critical roles in macromolecule cell-to-cell trafficking, were significantly up-regulated in 8-week-old Arabidopsis leaves compared with 4-week-old Arabidopsis leaves during TSWV infection. To date, this mature plant susceptibility to pathogen infections has rarely been investigated. Thus, the findings presented here should advance our knowledge on the developmentally regulated mature host susceptibility to plant virus infection.     

Regulation of resistance and susceptibility in wheat–powdery mildew pathosystem with exogenous cytokinins

Dose–response relationship between resistance of wheat seedlings (Triticum aestivum, cultivar Zarya) to Erysiphe graminis f. sp. tritici Marchal. (Syn. Blumeria graminis), a causal organism of wheat powdery mildew and exogenous zeatin has been investigated. Two-week-old seedlings were inoculated with the pathogen. Zeatin or zeatinriboside were added to the nutrient solution immediately after inoculation. The dose–response curve of cytokinin in the most cases was multiphasic, with peaks of increased susceptibility occurring at 0.25–1.5 and 1.5–9 μM cytokinin, separated by a region of increased resistance at 0.5–3 μM cytokinin. The change in mineral nutrition or simultaneous treatment with thidiazuron revealed alterations of the dose–response curve ranging from a curve with maximum of resistance to a curve with maximum of susceptibility. Both multiphase nature of dose–response and its variability were proposed as possible explanations for earlier observed discrepancies in experimental data on modification of disease resistance by cytokinins. A mathematical model for two metabolic processes with substrate inhibition connected in-series was suggested to explain the multiphase dose–response. In this model, the product of the first reaction was used as substrate for the second reaction. Numerical experiments showed the changes in the shape of dose–response curve with changes in parameters dependent of cytokinin metabolism.     

Effect of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhiza on survival,penetration and development of root-knot nematode in tomato

Summary Effect of mycorrhizal colonisation byGlomus fasciculatum on survival, penetration and development of the root knot nematodeMeloidogyne incognita in tomato was studied. The number of giant cells formed in mycorrhizal plants was significantly low. Mycorrhizal roots did not prevent the penetration by nematode larvae. Root extract from the mycorrhizal plants brought about 50% mortality of the nematode larvae in four days time.     

番茄果实乙烯释放量的遗传模型分析

本试验选择2个番茄果实乙烯释放量显著不同的番茄品系,通过P_1、P_2、F_1、F_2、B_1和B_2六世代的分析方法,研究了番茄果实乙烯释放量的遗传规律.结果表明:番茄果实乙烯释放量遗传符合1对负向完全显性主基因+加性-显性多基因模型(D-4),主基因效应在B_1、B_2和F_(23)个世代的遗传率分别为36.33%、44.09%和35.14%,多基因效应在B_1、B_2和F_(23)个世代的遗传率分别为54.73%、40.50%和54.88%.     

小麦TCTP基因的克隆及白粉菌诱导下的表达

翻译控制肿瘤蛋白(translationally controlled tumor protein,TCTP)最初在鼠肿瘤细胞中被发现,研究表明TCTP广泛存在于动植物细胞中,并具有多种生物学功能。本研究用RT PCR和RACE技术在抗白粉病栽培小麦Brock中克隆了一个TCTP基因,该基因全长766 bp,推测编码一个168个氨基酸的多肽。ScanProsite分析表明,该多肽链具有2个TCTP特征结构区（TCTP1和TCTP2）和7个可能的功能位点。表达半定量分析发现,该基因受华北地区流行的优势小种15号白粉菌诱导,且随着诱导时间的增加其表达量增加。本研究将可能在小麦白粉病抗性研究领域开辟新的研究思路。     

偏凸-柱穗山羊草双二倍体SDAU18的细胞分子遗传学鉴定

综合利用细胞学、种子贮藏蛋白电泳、基因组原位杂交（GISH）和抗性接种鉴定相结合的方法．对偏凸-柱穗山羊草双二倍体SDAU18进行了鉴定。结果表明,SDAU18的根尖细胞染色体数目变异范围为52—56．在绝大多数根尖细胞染色体数目为56的SDAU18减数分裂中期I花粉母细胞fPMCMI）内可观察到28个二价体,在部分细胞中可观察到一定频率的单价体、三价体和四价体,平均染色体构型为2n=56=3．21I＋19．78IIRing＋6．50IIRod＋0．01III＋0．04IVRing＋0．01IVRod;在SDAU18种子贮藏蛋白电泳图谱中,亲本偏凸山羊草和柱穗山羊草的多数特异带能够出现,SDAU18高分子量麦谷蛋白亚基图谱中既出现双亲的亚基谱带．也观察到新型亚基谱带：分别利用偏凸山羊草和柱穗山羊草基因组总DNA作探针．另一个亲本基因组总DNA作封阻。对SDAU18根尖细胞制片进行染色体原位杂交．在SDAU18的56条染色体中分别有14条出现绿色杂交信号：SDAU18是偏凸山羊草和柱穗山羊草的双二倍体,对小麦白粉病和条锈病均表现免疫,是一个在小麦品种遗传改良中具有重要利用价值的新型种质材料。     

Constitutive activation of the jasmonate signaling pathway enhances the production of secondary metabolites in tomato

The phytohormone jasmonic acid (JA) regulates the synthesis of secondary metabolites in a wide range of plant species. Here, we show that exogenous methyl-JA (MeJA) elicits massive accumulation of caffeoylputrescine (CP) in tomato leaves. A mutant (jai1) that is defective in jasmonate perception failed to accumulate CP in flowers and MeJA-treated leaves. Conversely, a transgenic tomato line (called 35S::PS) that exhibits constitutive JA signaling accumulated high levels of leaf CP in the absence of jasmonate treatment. RNA blot analysis showed that genes encoding enzymes in the phenylpropanoid and polyamine pathways for CP biosynthesis are upregulated in MeJA-treated wild-type plants and in untreated 35S::PS plants. These results indicate that CP accumulation in tomato is tightly controlled by the jasmonate signaling pathway, and provide proof-of-concept that the production of some plant secondary metabolites can be enhanced by transgenic manipulation of endogenous JA levels.