Effect of Pathogen Synergistic Pathogenicity on Severity of Verticillium Wilt of Cotton

Verticillium dahliae is a soil-borne and vascular pathogen causing Verticillium wilt of cotton, which is one of the most severe diseases affecting cotton production in China. Recently, a soil-inhabiting opportunistic pathogen was isolated and identified as Scopulariopsis gossypii; it could infect the host through wounds and increase disease severity in combination with V. dahliae. S. gossypii was able to form conidia in a nutritionally poor substrate and had similar biological characteristics to other vascular pathogens, while ultrastructure observation also confirmed that it was present in vascular tissue of cotton plants and produced conidia. Nematode activity in soil could cause wounds on the surface of cotton roots resulting in infection by the pathogens. On the basis of our analysis of the biological characteristics and infection process of S. gossypii and its interactions with other pathogens in cotton plants, we propose establishing a research program for multipathogen-host interactions in the cotton rhizosphere, which will enable detailed investigation of the synergistic pathogenesis of S. gossypii and V. dahliae.     

香蕉枯萎病菌4号生理小种cat1基因敲除与表型分析

前期蛋白质组学研究发现尖孢镰刀菌古巴专化型4号生理小种(Foc4)中的过氧化氢酶1(cat1)基因受到巴西蕉诱导上调表达,为研究cat1基因在Foc4侵染香蕉过程中的作用,利用同源重组方法敲除Foc4的cat1基因,并对获得的敲除突变体开展表型分析和致病性测定。结果表明:cat1基因缺失对Foc4的菌丝、孢子形态、菌落生长、抗渗透压胁迫和细胞壁选择性压力等没有影响;但引起菌株抵抗外源氧胁迫、细胞壁穿透能力、纤维素利用能力减弱和对巴西蕉的致病性减弱。显示cat1基因的产物通过清除香蕉分泌的活性氧在Foc4对香蕉的致病过程中起作用,并参与病原菌对寄主纤维素成分的代谢。此结果为进一步深入研究香蕉枯萎病菌的致病机理奠定基础。     

Paraphoma root rot of alfalfa (Medicago sativa) in Inner Mongolia,China

Root rot symptoms were observed in fields of alfalfa in Chifeng city, Inner Mongolia, China in 2016. Disease incidences of seven alfalfa varieties planted in 2014 ranged from 56% to 95%, while incidence of Gongnong No. 1 planted in 2016 was 8%, 31% and 76% in 2016, 2017 and 2018, respectively. Paraphoma isolates were consistently recovered from black necrotic root tissues of diseased plants with a frequency of 77.1%. Based on morphological characters and phylogenetic analysis of rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS), elongation factor 1-α (EF1-α) and β-tubulin (TUB), this fungus was identified as Paraphoma radicina. Glasshouse pathogenicity experiments showed that P. radicina significantly reduced above- and below-ground biomass of alfalfa plants 2 months after inoculation. Paraphoma radicina infected 70% of the plants inoculated with a root dip in conidia, and these symptoms were consistent with the symptoms in the field. Paraphoma radicina was successfully reisolated from disease roots of the inoculated alfalfa plants. This is the first report of P. radicina as the causal agent of alfalfa root rot in China.     

江浙地区葡萄霜霉病菌的致病性差异研究

为明确江苏、浙江不同地区葡萄霜霉病菌的致病性分化情况,采用单斑分离法和叶盘接种法,对分离得到的不同葡萄霜霉病菌单斑菌株进行致病性测定。结果表明,分离获得的80个葡萄霜霉病菌株都有致病性,且2个省份均有半数以上的菌株的病情指数在40~60之间。致病力聚类分析表明,2个省份的菌株都可以聚类为强、中、弱3种致病力类型,江苏以强致病力菌株为优势菌株,浙江以中等致病力菌株为优势菌株。对同一省份的菌株进行致病力分析发现,江苏树山和浙江永福的菌株致病力明显强于同省其他地区,而江苏新坊和浙江上钱的菌株与同省其他地区相比,致病力最弱。同时,构建菌株的系统发育树,结果显示,同源性相同的菌株间有致病力不同的情况,致病力相同的菌株间也存在rDNA-ITS序列有差异的情况。综上,江苏、浙江的葡萄霜霉病菌都存在致病力分化现象,这种分化现象与菌株的亲缘关系远近没有相关性,但同一省份不同地区间的菌株致病力差异与菌株的地理来源有一定的相关性。     

Cherry picking by pseudomonads: After a century of research on canker,genomics provides insights into the evolution of pathogenicity towards stone fruits

Bacterial canker disease is a major limiting factor in the growing of cherry and other Prunus species worldwide. At least five distinct clades within the bacterial species complex Pseudomonas syringae are known to be causal agents of the disease. The different pathogens commonly coexist in the field. Reducing canker is a challenging prospect as the efficacy of chemical controls and host resistance may vary against each of the diverse clades involved. Genomic analysis has revealed that the pathogens use a variable repertoire of virulence factors to cause the disease. Significantly, strains of P. syringae pv. syringae possess more genes for toxin biosynthesis and fewer encoding type III effector proteins. There is also a shared pool of key effector genes present on mobile elements such as plasmids and prophages that may have roles in virulence. By contrast, there is evidence that absence or truncation of certain effector genes, such as hopAB, is characteristic of cherry pathogens. Here we highlight how recent research, underpinned by the earlier epidemiological studies, is allowing significant progress in our understanding of the canker pathogens. This fundamental knowledge, combined with emerging insights into host genetics, provides the groundwork for development of precise control measures and informed approaches to breed for disease resistance.     

云南、广西三七黑斑病病原链格孢菌的鉴定

正黑斑病是三七栽培生产中常见的一大病害,叶片受害产生近圆形或不规则水浸状病斑,常导致成株落叶、幼苗生长点及茎秆顶端腐烂枯死。其病原一般认为是链格孢属真菌人参链格Alternaria panax Whetzel~([1,2]),也有相关研究证明黑斑病病原为细链格孢Alternaria tenuis Nees~([3]),后定名为链格孢Alternaria alternata Keissl~([4])。本研究利用ITS序列和histone 3部分编码序列的PCR鉴定,结合形态学鉴定,分析三七主产区黑斑病菌的组成和分布情况及几种病原菌的致病力差异,以期为三七黑斑病防治提供理论依据。     

稻瘟病菌CAAX蛋白酶MoRce1的功能研究

 蛋白质的翻译后异戊烯化修饰(CAAX修饰)能够介导真核生物中许多重要蛋白质的亚细胞定位以及蛋白与蛋白间的相互作用。稻瘟病菌(Magnaporthe oryzae)引致的稻瘟病是水稻最重要病害之一,造成全球水稻严重减产。为深入了解稻瘟病菌致病机理,更好地防控稻瘟病,我们研究了异戊烯修饰是否影响稻瘟病菌的生长发育和致病性。首先从稻瘟病菌基因组数据库中鉴定到一个稻瘟病菌的异戊烯蛋白酶MoRce1,同源比对发现MoRce1保守结构域在各物种之间变化较大,猜测在不同物种中该蛋白可能出现了功能分化。经同源重组方法敲除MoRCE1基因,发现MoRCE1缺失突变体在胁迫培养条件下细胞壁完整性明显缺陷,但是对营养生长、产孢、萌发以及致病性没有明显影响,说明MoRce1蛋白可能通过参与稻瘟病菌细胞壁合成相关蛋白的异戊烯化修饰进而影响该菌细胞壁的完整性,其具体机制还有待深入研究。     

虾源哈维氏弧菌的致病性与生物学特性比较分析

哈维氏弧菌(Vibrio harveyi)是导致养殖对虾暴发弧菌病的重要病原之一。从我国南方养殖凡纳滨对虾(Penaeus vannamei)分离、鉴定了10株哈维氏弧菌(Vh00947、Vh00949、Vh11011、Vh11014、Vh21217、Vh21218、Vh21220、Vh21229、Vh21231和Vh31487),分别肌注感染健康凡纳滨对虾后发现,菌株Vh21229致病性很弱,Vh00949其次,其它菌株毒力较强;对8种哈维氏弧菌常见毒力基因(Vh1、Vh2、Vh3、Vh4、tox S、hcp、zot和pap6)的检测显示,南方虾源哈维氏弧菌无论强弱毒株都很少携带zot、pap6、toxs和4种Vh基因(≤10%),表明这10个菌株的致病性与这7种常见毒力因子的相关度很低;hcp基因在所有菌株中均有检出,其中强毒株中检出率较高(50%),在较弱毒株(Vh00949)中也存在,表明hcp基因与这些菌株的致病性密切相关,但不是决定性因子。因此,这10株南方虾源哈维氏弧菌菌株的致病性差异应由这8种常见毒力因子以外的未知或未检测到的因子所决定。生化特征分析显示,所有菌株中只有弱毒株Vh21229不能利用D-甘露糖、蔗糖、D-海藻糖,而且只有其赖氨酸脱羧酶反应至阳性,而其它菌株均为阴性,推测导致哈维氏弧菌菌株生化特性改变的某种因子可能对菌株的致病性也产生了影响。药敏实验表明,10株哈维氏弧菌均对环丙沙星、氯霉素、恩诺沙星、美罗培南、头孢曲松、多西环素、头孢吡肟、诺氟沙星敏感,而对氨苄西林耐受性强,表明在虾类养殖过程中应当严格规范和控制抗菌药物尤其是青霉素类药物的使用。     

肉牛源细极链格孢菌的分离鉴定

为鉴定肉牛皮肤病病原及其致病性并筛选其敏感药物,本研究取患皮肤病肉牛病变部位皮屑、毛发和痂皮进行病原菌的分离,并对分离菌株进行了形态学鉴定、ITS序列分析、小鼠致病性试验和药敏试验。结果显示分离到1株形态特征与细极链格孢菌极其相似的菌株(PY2-1-2);经PCR扩增、测序和BLAST序列比对,结果显示分离株(PY2-1-2)的ITS基因序列与细极链格孢菌(MG975630.1)的ITS基因序列的相似性为99%,分离株PY2-1-2的ITS基因序列长度为543 bp,该片段包括ITS1、5.8S rDNA和ITS2的全部基因序列以及18S rDNA和28S rDNA的部分基因序列,提交GenBank(MH656780.1)。根据形态学结合ITS基因序列分析结果确定该分离株为细极链格孢菌。小鼠致病性试验结果显示该菌对小鼠有致病性。药敏试验结果显示:该菌对灰黄霉素、氟康唑、伊曲康唑、酮康唑的最小抑菌浓度(MIC)值分别为0.5μg/mL、4μg/mL、1μg/mL、1μg/mL。本研究为今后进一步探究细极链格孢菌引起的皮肤病诊治提供科学有效的参考。     

Identification and distribution of fungal pathogens associated with seedling blight of rice in the southern United States

Surveys were conducted in the five southern rice-producing states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Texas in the United States during the 2018 and 2019 cropping seasons to determine the distribution and pathogenicity of fungal pathogens associated with seedling blight in rice. A total of 349 pathogenic fungal isolates were collected and identified as belonging to four genera: Rhizoctonia solani, Fusarium spp., Sclerotium rolfsii and Marasmius graminum based on morphological characteristics, molecular analysis and Koch's postulates. R. solani (252 out of 349 pathogenic isolates) was the most prevalent fungus isolated from diseased samples. Of the 252 pathogenic R. solani isolates, 245 were further classified as anastomosis group 11 (AG-11) and 7 as AG-4. Isolates of R. solani AG-4 and M. graminum were the most aggressive, with the highest stand loss (63% to 100%) and median disease rating (DR; 5.0), followed by isolates of R. solani AG-11 (stand loss = 4% to 100% and DR = 0.6 to 5.0), Fusarium spp. (stand loss = 26% to 48% and DR = 2.0 to 5.0) and S. rolfsii (stand loss = 33% to 48% and DR = 2.0 to 3.0) in causing seedling blight in rice. R. solani (62% to 83% of total pathogenic isolates) and Fusarium spp. (10% to 24% of total pathogenic isolates) were predominant in all the five states surveyed. S. rolfsii and M. graminum were present only in Louisiana and Texas. The results of this first systematic survey of rice seedling diseases in the southern United States will help develop effective fungicide seed treatment strategies for control of stand loss caused by seedling blight, one of the major factors limiting rice production.