Dendryphion penicillatum and Pleospora papaveracea, Destructive Seedborne Pathogens and Potential Mycoherbicides for Papaver somniferum

ABSTRACT Dendryphion penicillatum and Pleospora papaveracea were isolated from blighted Papaver somniferum and Papaver bracteatum plants grown in growth chambers and the field in Beltsville, MD. The etiology of the diseases was determined, and the fungi are being investigated as potential mycoherbicides to control the narcotic opium poppy plant. P. papaveracea is known to be a highly destructive seedborne pathogen of Papaver somniferum, causing seedling blight, leaf blight, crown rot, and capsule rot. Single conidia and ascospores were isolated and cultures established from naturally infested seed and diseased foliage and pods of opium poppy from Iran, Colombia, Venezuela, Sweden, India, and the United States (Maryland and Washington). Mycelia and conidia of P. papaveracea and D. penicillatum produced on necrotic leaf tissues appear morphologically similar, and the fungi were previously considered to be anamorph and teleomorph. However, no anamorph/teleomorph connection could be established, and the fungi appear to be distinct taxa. P. papaveracea produced conidia, mature pseudothecia, and chlamydospores in vitro and on infected stems. D. penicillatum produced conidia, microsclerotia, and macronematous conidiophores. Although both fungi were pathogenic to three poppy cultivars, conidial inoculum from P. papaveracea cultures was more virulent than conidial inoculum from D. penicillatum. Eight-week-old plants became necrotic and died 8 days after inoculation with a conidial suspension of P. papaveracea at 2 x 10(5) spores per ml. Disease severity was significantly enhanced by inoculum formulations that contained corn oil, by higher conidial inoculum concentrations, and by increased wetness periods. Symptoms on plants inoculated with either pathogen included leaf and stem necrosis, stem girdling, stunting, necrotic leaf spots, and foliar and pod blight. Inoculated seedlings exhibited wire stem, damping-off, and root rot. Conidia, and less frequently pseudothecia, of P. papaveracea and conidia of D. penicillatum were produced abundantly on inoculated, necrotic foliage, pods, and seedlings. Cultures from conidia or ascospores reisolated from these tissues consistently produced fungi whose morphologies were typical of the fungus from which the inoculum was derived.     

Nep1 Protein from Fusarium oxysporum Enhances Biological Control of Opium Poppy by Pleospora papaveracea

ABSTRACT The fungus Pleospora papaveracea and Nep1, a phytotoxic protein from Fusarium oxysporum, were evaluated for their biocontrol potential on opium poppy (Papaver somniferum). Four treatments consisting of a control, P. papaveracea conidia, Nep1 (5 mug/ml), and P. papaveracea conidia plus Nep1 (5 mug/ml) were used in detached-leaf and whole-plant studies. Conidia of P. papaveracea remained viable for 38 days when stored at 20 or 4 degrees C. Nep1 was stable in the presence of conidia for 38 days when stored at 4 degrees C or for 28 days at 20 degrees C. The presence of Nep1 did not affect conidia germination or appressoria formation. Nep1 was recovered from drops applied to opium poppy leaves in greenhouse and field studies 24 h after treatment. Opium poppy treated with the combination of Nep1 and P. papaveracea had higher necrosis ratings than the other treatments. There were changes in the intercellular protein profiles, determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis and silver staining, due to application of treatments; the most intense occurred in response to the combination of Nep1 and P. papaveracea. The combination of Nep1 and P. papaveracea enhanced the damage caused to opium poppy more than either component alone.     

Phylogenetic Analysis of Downy Mildew Pathogens of Opium Poppy and PCR-Based In Planta and Seed Detection of Peronospora arborescens

ABSTRACT Severe downy mildew diseases of opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) can be caused by Peronospora arborescens and P. cristata, but differentiating between the two pathogens is difficult because they share morphological features and a similar host range. In Spain, where severe epidemics of downy mildew of opium poppy have occurred recently, the pathogen was identified as P. arborescens on the basis of morphological traits. In this current study, sequence homology and phylogenetic analyses of the internal transcribed spacer regions (ITS) of the ribosomal DNA (rDNA) were carried out with DNA from P. arborescens and P. cristata from diverse geographic origins, which suggested that only P. arborescens occurs in cultivated Papaver somniferum in Spain. Moreover, analyses of the rDNA ITS region from 27 samples of downy-mildew-affected tissues from all opium-poppy-growing regions in Spain showed that genetic diversity exists within P. arborescens populations in Spain and that these are phylogenetically distinct from P. cristata. P. cristata instead shares a more recent, common ancestor with a range of Peronospora species that includes those found on host plants that are not members of the Papaveraceae. Species-specific primers and a PCR assay protocol were developed that differentiated P. arborescens and P. cristata and proved useful for the detection of P. arborescens in symptomatic and asymptomatic opium poppy plant parts. Use of these primers demonstrated that P. arborescens can be transmitted in seeds and that commercial seed stocks collected from crops with high incidence of the disease were frequently infected. Field experiments conducted in microplots free from P. arborescens using seed stocks harvested from infected capsules further demonstrated that transmission from seedborne P. arborescens to opium poppy plants can occur. Therefore, the specific-PCR detection protocol developed in this study can be of use for epidemiological studies and diagnosing the pathogen in commercial seed stocks; thus facilitating the sanitary control of the disease and avoidance of the pathogen distribution in seeds.     

Role of oospores as primary inoculum for epidemics of downy mildew caused by Peronospora arborescens in opium poppy crops in Spain

This study investigated the role of Peronospora arborescens oospores as primary inoculum for downy mildew of opium poppy and infection types that they may give rise to in Spain using an integrative experimental approach that combined pathogenicity tests in growth chambers and field microplots, together with molecular detection of P. arborescens infection by specific nested-PCR assays. The results demonstrated that oospores in infested soil or leaf debris were effective inoculum for ingress of the pathogen through underground plant tissues early in poppy seedling growth. This gave rise to systemic infections that reproduced the stunting, chlorotic syndrome frequently observed in affected plants in commercial fields. Additionally, infection of underground tissues of older plants by oospore inoculum could remain asymptomatic. Results also suggested that sporangia formed on infected plants are effective in producing secondary local infections that later may become systemic and either symptomatic or asymptomatic. Finally, and more importantly, those delayed symptomatic or asymptomatic systemic infections, as well as secondary local infections of capsules, can give rise to infected seeds. This research on the biology of P. arborescens on poppy plants and epidemiology of downy mildew may help to develop knowledge-based disease-management strategies of use in the protection of yields of opium poppy crops in Spain and elsewhere.     

Infection of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) seedlings with Pythium irregulare Buism. and Pythium ultimum Trow.: histological and biochemical responses

We have studied the reaction of Picea abies seedlings to infection with Pythium. The highly virulent species Pythium ultimum and the less virulent species Pythium irregulare germinated on the root and hypocotyl surface, formed appressoria and penetrated through the stomata as well as through the epidermis. No major differences in the growth of both fungal species were observed during the early events of colonization. The less virulent species formed about 25% more appressoria suggesting that the fungus experienced difficulties with penetration. Differences were observed in the response of the host plant to infection. Autofluorescence, possibly related to deposition of lignin or lignin-like materials increased more in cortical and endodermal tissue colonized with the highly virulent P. ultimum than with the less virulent P. irregulare. Chitinase activity was highest in the tissues most extensively colonized by the fungus. In addition, a systemic increase of chitinase activity was also detected. Interestingly, chitinase activity increased systemically in cotyledons which were never in contact with the pathogen, indicating the translocation of a systemic signal. Salicylic acid was also detected in spruce seedlings; its level increased in roots during infection with the less virulent P. irregulare.     

苹果炭疽叶枯病病原Glomerella cingulata及其侵染过程

为明确苹果炭疽叶枯病病原菌围小丛壳Glomerella cingulata的侵染致病特征,在分离获得该病原菌的基础上,采用形态学观察、ITS序列分析和致病性测定对其进行了鉴定,并利用光学和扫描电子显微镜对病原菌在嘎啦苹果叶片上的侵染过程进行了研究.结果表明,在陕西咸阳地区分离获得的9株病原菌均为围小丛壳G.cingulata.25 ℃下接种9 h后,分生孢子中间产生隔膜,双胞化,并萌发产生芽管和附着胞;24 h后分生孢子的2个细胞均可萌发并形成芽管及附着胞,部分芽管顶端可产生次级分生孢子;48 h后次级分生孢子萌发形成附着胞;72 h后,附着胞下形成的侵染钉可直接入侵寄主,在表皮细胞内形成初生菌丝和次生菌丝,此时叶片表面已出现褐色斑点.接种7 d后叶片病斑处出现分生孢子盘和子囊壳.表明陕西省近年出现的苹果炭疽叶枯病病原菌为围小丛壳G.cingulata,该病菌在嘎啦叶片上的一些特殊侵染行为可能是导致该病害易在短时间内暴发的重要原因.     

Suppression of clubroot formation in Chinese cabbage by the root endophytic fungus, Heteroconium chaetospira

Root-colonizing fungi were isolated from a total of 663 root segments of Chinese cabbage plants grown in soils collected from wheat, rape, Chinese cabbage, and napier grass fields. Most of the 322 isolates were from the wheat field soil and comprised 18 genera and two septate fungal groups. Hyaline and dark septate fungi accounted for approximately half the isolates from the wheat field soil. Sixteen isolates almost completely suppressed clubroot in sterile soil. Amongst these 16 isolates, two from Heteroconium chaetospira were also effective in nonsterile soil. Chinese cabbage seedlings from seed treated with these two isolates appeared healthy, and inoculation with one isolate promoted growth. Hyphae of the fungus covered the root surface and extensively colonized the inner cortical tissues.     

Infection of Commercial Hybrid Primula Seed by Botrytis cinerea and Latent Disease Spread Through the Plants

ABSTRACT Botrytis cinerea occurred commonly on cultivated Primula xpolyantha seed. The fungus was mostly on the outside of the seed but sometimes was present within the seed. The fungus frequently caused disease at maturity in plants grown from the seed, demonstrated by growing plants in a filtered airflow, isolated from other possible sources of infection. Young, commercially produced P. xpolyantha plants frequently had symptomless B. cinerea infections spread throughout the plants for up to 3 months, with symptoms appearing only at flowering. Single genetic individuals of B. cinerea, as determined by DNA fingerprinting, often were dispersed widely throughout an apparently healthy plant. Plants could, however, contain more than one isolate.     

Two class III chitin synthases specifically localized in appressoria and haustoria of Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici

Rust fungi like Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici are known to change their cell wall properties upon entering the plant tissue. Immunohistochemistry revealed the cellular localization of two class III chitin synthase isoforms in rust mycelia developing on and in the host plant. Isoform IIIa is restricted to fungal infection structures growing on the surface of the plant, such as germ tubes and, predominantly, appressoria. Isoform IIIb is found exclusively in haustoria developed inside the plant. Thus, the rust fungus uses at least two chitin synthase isoforms with specialized functions in the differentiation of infection structures during the biotrophic plant-pathogen-interaction.     

核盘菌侵入油菜超微结构及侵染机制的研究

 通过电子显微镜观察核盘菌在油菜叶片上侵染过程,发现该菌首先在叶片上形成复合附着器。每个分枝末端一般生出一个侵染钉。侵染钉侵入叶表面腊质、角质层和表皮细胞壁时.不仅靠附着器产生的压力,而且供助于酶对寄主表面的软化、消解作用。该菌通过角质层和表皮细胞壁侵入油菜叶片,尚未发现通过气孔侵入的现象。侵入叶片后,该菌的继续生长,导致了油菜组织的溃烂。然后菌丝在腐烂的叶片上集结形成菌核。     

银杏内生真菌No.1028代谢产物的抗真菌活性及其培养生物学特性

采用无菌技术从银杏茎中分离到一株内生真菌(No.1028),经形态分类学和rDNAITS序列分析研究鉴定为黑孢属Nigrosporasp.,菌丝生长速率法测定结果表明,其代谢产物对重要作物真菌病害病原菌具有明显的抑制作用。离体条件下内生真菌发酵液对番茄早疫病菌、黄瓜枯萎病菌、菜豆炭疽病菌、葡萄炭疽病菌、水稻纹枯病菌、黄瓜立枯病菌均有较强的抑制作用,对上述不同病原菌的抑制率分别为66.7%、48.3%、64.6%、36.5%、57.1%和23.0%。经提取分离得到纯的白色晶体状活性物质。同时也研究了不同碳源、氮源、无机离子对内生真菌No.1028生物学特性和生长的影响,发现玉米粉、黄豆饼粉比较适合其生长和抑菌代谢产物的合成,Na 对抑菌代谢产物的合成有较明显的促进作用。     

The effect of leaf age on infection of Coffea genotypes by Hemileia vastatrix

The age of a leaf at the time of inoculation affected both development of infection structures on the leaf surface and subsequent sporulation. In the case of the susceptible genotypes, cv. Caturra and line NC-169, there was a decrease in the number of appressoria formed, with an increase in age of fully expanded leaves. On the selected resistant line, NP-547, significantly fewer appressoria were formed on the fourth leaf pair than on younger or older leaf pairs. Appressoria were formed significantly more readily over stomata of leaf pairs one, two, three, four and six than over five and seven of the susceptible selections. On the youngest leaf pair a significantly large percentage of appressoria formed away from stomata compared with the percentages obtained for older leaf pairs, where a large proportion of germinated uredospores did not form appressoria. The reaction type of the susceptible genotypes was a greater value on younger than older leaf pairs, and the reverse was true of the resistant genotype. The latent period (inoculation to sporulation) was shorter on NC-169 than on cv. Caturra. No uredospores formed on NP-547. Uredosorus density decreased with an increase in leaf age on the susceptible genotypes.     

梨树腐烂病病原菌的研究

 对梨树腐烂病病原菌研究证明,它与苹果黑腐皮壳的内子座形态相同,但与外子座形态、菌落色泽、质地、结构、酯酶同工酶谱及寄主反应等均有明显差异。室外人工交互接种,均不发病。室内交互接种均发病,病斑再分离培养所得菌株再测定,上述性状皆不因寄主不同而变异,有明显的稳定性。因此,梨树腐烂病病原菌是苹果黑腐皮壳Valsa mali Miyabe et ya-mada的一个新变种——苹果黑腐皮壳梨变种Valsa mali Miyabe et Yamada var.pyriY.J.Lu.var.nov.。     

A semiaxenic phototrophic system to study interactions between arbuscular mycorrhizal and pathogenic fungi in woody plants

Among other benefits, arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi may increase plant tolerance to root diseases. The research on the underlying mechanisms requires growth conditions that are both controlled and realistic. To study these interactions, a semiaxenic phototrophic system was developed in which the roots grow in a controlled environment and can be inoculated with both pathogenic and symbiotic fungi. Micropropagated fig plantlets were grown in containers having shoots in the outside and roots in a growth medium without sugar, inoculated or not with the AM fungus Rhizophagus irregularis and the pathogenic fungus Armillaria mellea. Dual inoculated plants developed the mycorrhizal association and pathogen infection symptoms. Mycorrhizal inoculation lowered disease index and increased plant growth. Colonization of A. mellea in fig roots was quantified by real-time PCR, showing that R. irregularis did not significantly lower the quantity of Armillaria, suggesting that other mechanisms were involved in increased tolerance to the pathogen. The results show that the system proposed is suitable to study the triple interaction involving plant, AM and root pathogenic fungi.     

北京地区主栽西瓜品种种子携带真菌检测及鉴定

用离体平皿法对北京西瓜产区主栽的11个西瓜品种进行种子带菌检测、分离纯化和形态学、ITS序列比对,确定其属或种地位。结果表明:不同品种所带真菌种类有差异,种子表面携带的优势菌群主要为曲霉属Aspergillus spp.、青霉属Penicilliumspp.、链格孢属Alternariaspp.和镰刀菌属Fusariumspp.;种子内部寄藏真菌主要为青霉属、根霉属Rhizopus spp.和曲霉属。种子外部检出的主要病原菌有镰刀菌属的F.verticillioides,F.proliferatum及茎点霉Phomasp.;种子内部检出的病原菌有F.verticillioides和F.oxysporum。不同品种间种子表面携带真菌量与种子内部携带真菌率差异显著,但种子外部带菌量和内部种仁带菌率之间无显著相关性。本研究对开展西瓜种子处理研究有借鉴意义。     

Stratified distribution of Fusarium and Bipolaris on wheat and barley with dryland root rot in South Australia

Dryland root rot of wheat and barley in South Australia is a syndrome from which the associated fungi Fusarium equiseti, F. acuminatum, F. oxysporum and Bipolaris sorokiniana were isolated consistently. Fusarium infections were concentrated on the subcrown internodes, crown roots and culm bases, and occurred with equal frequency on wheat and barley. Bipolaris infections were more numerous on barley than on wheat, and were concentrated on culm bases and subcrown internodes. Recoveries of each of the four fungi showed a pattern of infection that was neither randomly nor evenly distributed. Each fungus had preferences for certain sites which resulted in a stratified distribution over the roots and crown. When two barley cultivars were compared, the patterns of infection were different; the subcrown internode was attacked more severely, and there was a substantial increase in the amount of infection by all four fungi on one of the cultivars. Pathogenicity tests on barley and oats showed that all four species of fungi were capable of causing damage to roots, but there were differences between isolates of each fungus and differences in their ability to damage barley and oats.     

Cytological events in tomato leaves inoculated with conidia of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Blumeria graminis</Emphasis> f. sp. <Emphasis Type="Italic">hordei</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Oidium neolycopersici</Emphasis> KTP-01

Leaves of tomato and barley were inoculated with conidia of Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei race 1 (R1) or Oidium neolycopersici (KTP-01) to observe cytological responses in search of resistance to powdery mildew. Both conidia formed appressoria at similar rates on tomato or barley leaves, indicating that no resistance was expressed during the prepenetration stage of these fungi. On R1-inoculated tomato leaves, appressoria penetrated the papillae, but subsequent haustorium formation was inhibited by hypersensitive necrosis in the invaded epidermal cells. On the other hand, KTP-01 (pathogenic to tomato leaves) successfully developed functional haustoria in epidermal cells to elongate secondary hyphae, although the hyphal elongation from some conidia was later suppressed by delayed hypersensitive necrosis in some haustorium-harboring epidermal cells. Thus, the present study indicated that the resistance of tomato to powdery mildew fungi was associated with a hypersensitive response in invaded epidermal cells but not the prevention of fungal penetration through host papilla.     

黄芪黄萎病病原菌鉴定

Astragalus membranaceus is one of the "ten most effective drugs". A new fungal disease of A. mongholicus was found in Dingxi, Gansu from 2017 to 2019. The symptoms in the field were premature death and the leaves did not fall off, the whole plant or its one side was ill, and the root vascular bundle became brown and necrosis. In order to identify the disease and its pathogenic fungi, the pathogen was isolated by tissue isolation method and identified by culture character, morphology, and rDNA-ITS. The result showed that the pathogen was Verticillium dahliae. This was the first report on A. verticillium and its pathogenic fungus, which provides a theoretical basis for controlling this disease in production.     

Infection of Nicotiana species by the anthracnose fungus, Colletotrichum orbiculare

Colletotrichum gloeosporioides f. sp. malvae, isolate Biomal®, ATCC 20767, was originally isolated from round-leaved mallow (Malva pusilla) and developed as a weed biocontrol agent. Ribosomal DNA sequence analysis was recently used to re-classify this fungus as C. orbiculare, which is an aggregate species with a number of formae speciales. Several morphological features of ATCC 20767 were examined that were consistent with those described for C. orbiculare, and inoculation of a number of Nicotiana species and several cultivars of N. tabacum showed that this fungus was pathogenic to many of these previously undescribed hosts. Spore germination and appressorium formation were higher on tobacco than previously observed on round-leaved mallow. The pathogen produced melanized appressoria on N. tabacum leaves that formed preferentially at the anticlinal epidermal cell wall. A symptomless phase of infection persisted for 72–96 h postinoculation, during which time the fungus first produced a spherical infection vesicle from an infection peg, and then large primary hyphae which grew through the epidermal cells. The large primary hyphae were highly constricted at the points of penetration of the host cell walls. Thin secondary hyphae appeared at 96–120 h postinoculation coinciding with the appearance of light green, water-soaked spots and the formation of acervuli. The infection of tobacco by C. orbiculare ATCC 20767 is not a non-specific interaction but appears to follow an intracellular hemibiotrophic infection process that is very similar to that established for the C. orbiculare infection of round-leaved mallow, cucurbits and beans.