Puccinia psidii in Queensland,Australia: disease symptoms,distribution and impact

Puccinia psidii has long been considered a significant threat to Australian plant industries and ecosystems. In April 2010, P. psidii was detected for the first time in Australia on the central coast of New South Wales (NSW). The fungus spread rapidly along the east coast and in December 2010 was found in Queensland (Qld) followed by Victoria a year later. Puccinia psidii was initially restricted to the southeastern part of Qld but spread as far north as Mossman. In Qld, 48 species of Myrtaceae are considered highly or extremely susceptible to the disease. The impact of P. psidii on individual trees and shrubs has ranged from minor leaf spots, foliage, stem and branch dieback to reduced fecundity. Tree death, as a result of repeated infection, has been recorded for Rhodomyrtus psidioides. Rust infection has also been recorded on flower buds, flowers and fruits of 28 host species. Morphological and molecular characteristics were used to confirm the identification of P. psidii from a range of Myrtaceae in Qld and compared with isolates from NSW and overseas. A reconstructed phylogeny based on the LSU and SSU regions of rDNA did not resolve the familial placement of P. psidii, but indicated that it does not belong to the Pucciniaceae. Uredo rangelii was found to be con‐specific with all isolates of P. psidii in morphology, ITS and LSU sequence data, and host range.     

肖蒲桃叶绿体基因组结构特征及系统发育关系

【目的】肖蒲桃(Syzygium acuminatissimum)是我国南方高价值的硬木树种之一,适宜作为行道树或园景树。研究揭示肖蒲桃叶绿体基因组的结构特征及系统发育关系,对蒲桃属甚至桃金娘科的分类学研究具有重要意义。【方法】使用CTAB法提取肖蒲桃叶片基因组DNA。利用Illumina HiSeq X TEN平台进行高通量测序,在SPAdes v3.13.0上组装叶绿体基因组,并通过GeSeq注释肖蒲桃的完整叶绿体基因组。分析了肖蒲桃叶绿体基因组的结构特征、序列特征及系统发育关系。【结果】肖蒲桃完整的叶绿体基因组长度为159 352 bp,共有109个基因,包括78个蛋白质编码基因、27个tRNA基因和4个r RNA基因,其中17个基因具有内含子;检测到21 379个密码子,其中丝氨酸密码子最丰富、蛋氨酸密码子最匮乏;检测到47个RNA可编辑位点,其中ndhB基因最多(10个);检测到48个长片段重复序列,其中18个正向重复、6个反向重复、22个回文重复和2个互补重复;检测到230个简单重复序列,其中绝大多数为单核苷酸(205个)。基因组比较分析结果表明,4个蒲桃属植物的IR边界有较小差异,核苷酸多样性高于0.015的区间有7个。系统发育分析结果表明,肖蒲桃与丁香蒲桃(S. aromaticum)关系密切。【结论】研究结果有助于开展后续的蒲桃属系统发育研究和物种鉴定工作。     

Epidemiology of a Neotropical rust (Puccinia psidii): periodical analysis of the temporal progress in a perennial host (Syzygium jambos)

The epidemiology of the Neotropical rust caused by Puccinia psidii in the Indian Myrtaceae Syzygium jambos (rose apple) was investigated in central Brazil. Disease severities recorded during a 12-month period were fitted by a Fourier curve with three cyclic components or harmonics. The first, second and third harmonics accounted for 49·6, 25·9, and 1·5% of total disease measured, respectively. A highly significant linear correlation was observed between the first harmonic and the accumulated number of days having at least 6 h wetness, or a minimum of 90% relative humidity, combined with temperatures that ranged from 18 to 20°C. No significant correlation was observed between the second and third harmonics and the weather variables evaluated. Rose apple trees showed a flush of growth with new susceptible host tissue during the evaluation period, with two major outbreaks of rust of variable intensity. Host growth was fitted by a Fourier curve with two significant harmonics. The first and second harmonics accounted for 37·5 and 22·1% of total host growth measured, respectively. A highly significant negative linear correlation was observed between the first harmonic and daily maximum and minimum temperatures, rainfall, and duration of the light period. Inoculum availability was not a limiting factor for disease progress since urediniospores were present during most of the period studied. A major peak in numbers of rust spores followed the main peak of disease severity. Thus, rust epidemics on rose apple in central Brazil were shown to depend on the duration of leaf wetness in the dark, and also on night-time temperatures during that same wetness period. This study is the first example of a periodical analysis of an epidemic in a perennial crop.     

华南地区桃金娘科乡土植物的园林开发及应用探析

针对在全球景观、园林构建方面有广泛应用的桃金娘科植物,在华南地区桃金娘科乡土植物调查的基础上,筛选出具有景观、园林开发价值的6属14种植物。在对资源进行评价的基础上,进一步探讨其利用方式及相关案例,包括传统园林景观构建,生态园林营造,生态修复先锋树种等,并以深圳市为例,调查了深圳市桃金娘科乡土植物的具体利用情况。     

Chemical constituents of Baeckea frutescens leaves inhibit copper-induced low-density lipoprotein oxidation

Oxidative modification of LDL plays an important role in the genesis of arteriosclerosis. This study focused on the effects of the leaves of Baeckea frutescens in the prevention of arteriosclerosis. The leaves of B. frutescens have afforded, besides known flavonoid and chromone glycosides, a novel biflavonoid glycoside, characterized as 3-O-α-l-rhamnopyranosylmyricetinyl-(I-2″,II-2″)-3-O-α-l-rhamnopyranosylmyricetin on the basis of chemical and spectral evidence. This compound exhibited marked inhibition of copper-induced LDL oxidation.     

Phakopsora myrtacearum sp. nov., a newly described rust (Pucciniales) on eucalypts in eastern and southern Africa

Outbreaks of a rust disease in eucalypt forestry plantations and nurseries in Kenya, Mozambique and South Africa occurred between 2009 and 2014. The pathogen was identified using morphology and molecular phylogenetic analyses as an undescribed species in the Phakopsoraceae. A systematic study, based on nuclear ribosomal DNA, showed that it is a species of Phakopsora, herein named Phakopsora myrtacearum sp. nov. This new species of rust is the second validly described species on Eucalyptus, along with Puccinia psidii. Phakopsora myrtacearum is distinguished from P. psidii by leaf symptoms, morphology of the urediniospores and distinct phylogenetic placement. Phakopsora myrtacearum has been found on three species of Eucalyptus in Kenya, Mozambique and South Africa, and it may have future negative implications for commercial forestry in these areas.     

Infestation Density of Eucalyptus Gall Wasp,Leptocybe invasa Fisher and La Salle (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) on Five Commercially Grown Eucalyptus Species in Tanzania

This study explores infestation density of Leptocybe invasa on five commercially grown Eucalyptus species in Coastal, Plateaux, and Southern Highlands agroecological zones of Tanzania. Infestation density between agroecological zones, Eucalyptus species, age classes and tree crown parts, relationship between stand altitudes and the magnitude of infestation, damage index, species age, and abundance of L. invasa on different Eucalyptus species were examined. There were significant differences in infestation between zones and Eucalyptus species. Eucalyptus tereticornis was more affected, followed by E. camaldulensis, and E. saligna was the least while E. grandis and E. citriodora were not affected. No significant differences in damage between different crown parts were observed. Trees with age of 1–3 yr were damaged more than those of age 4–6 yr. Pest infestation increased with an increase of L. invasa abundance but decreased with an increase of altitudes. Control efforts needs to focus on controlling the spread of the pest, using silvicultural methods and planting resistant Eucalyptus species.     

Fumigant and contact toxicity of Myrtaceae plant essential oils and blends of their constituents against adults of German cockroach (Blattella germanica) and their acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity

Fumigant and contact toxicities of 11 Myrtaceae plant essential oils and their constituents against adult male and female Blattella germanica were evaluated. Of 11 Myrtaceae plant essential oils, Eucalyptus polybractea, Eucalyptussmithii, Eucalyptusradiata, Eucalyptusdives, Eucalyptusglobulus, and Melaleuca uncinata, showed 100% fumigant toxicity against adult male German cockroaches at a concentration of 7.5 mg/liter air concentration. In contact toxicity tests, E. polybractea, E. smithii, E. radiata, E. dives, E. globulus, Melaleucadissitiflora, and M. uncinata produced strong insecticidal activity against adult male and female German cockroaches. Of the essential oil constituents, terpinolene, α-terpinene, and terpinen-4-ol demonstrated strong fumigant toxicity against adult male and female B. germanica. Eugenol, isoeugenol, methyl eugenol, and terpinen-4-ol showed strong contact toxicity against adult male B. germanica. The toxicity of the constituent blends identified from M. dissitiflora essential oils indicated that terpinen-4-ol were major contributor to the fumigant activity or contact toxicity of the artificial blend. Only isoeugenol exhibited inhibition activity against male acetylcholinesterase. IC₅₀ values of isoeugenol were 0.22 mg/mL against male acetylcholinesterase.     

Developing a spectral disease index for myrtle rust (Austropuccinia psidii)

Since 2010 Australian ecosystems and managed landscapes have been severely threatened by the invasive fungal pathogen Austropuccinia psidii. Detecting and monitoring disease outbreaks is currently only possible by human assessors, which is slow and labour intensive. Over the last 25 years, spectral vegetation indices (SVIs) have been designed to assess variation in biochemical or biophysical traits of vegetation. However, diagnosis of individual diseases based on classical SVIs is currently not possible because they lack disease specificity. Here, a novel spectral disease index (SDI), the lemon myrtle–myrtle rust index (LMMR), has been developed. The index was designed from hyperspectral leaf-clip data collected at a lemon myrtle plantation in New South Wales, Australia. A total of 236 fungicide-treated (disease free) and 228 untreated (diseased) lemon myrtle leaves were sampled and a random forest classifier was used to show that the LMMR discriminates those classes with an overall accuracy of 90%. Compared to three classical SVIs (PRI, MCARI, NBNDVI), commonly applied for stress detection, the LMMR clearly improved classification accuracies (58%, 67%, 60%, respectively). If the LMMR can be validated on independent datasets from similar and different host species, it could enable land managers to reduce disease impact by earlier control. There might also be potential to collect useful data for epidemiology models. Calculating the LMMR based on hyperspectral data collected from aerial platforms (e.g. drones) would allow for rapid and high-capacity screening for disease outbreaks.     

蓝桉果实抗稻瘟菌成分的分离及其活性

 通过抗菌活性测定, 蓝桉(Eucalyptus globulus Labill.)果实乙醇提取物中抗稻瘟菌活性成分主要存在于石油醚萃取部分和乙酸乙酯萃取部分。从石油醚部分和乙酸乙酯部分分离到的15个化合物中, β-桉叶油醇和β-谷甾醇对稻瘟菌孢子萌发具有较强的抑制活性, 它们对稻瘟菌孢子萌发的半抑制浓度(IC₅₀)分别为62.9和141.4μg/mL。其它化合物对稻瘟菌孢子萌发只有轻微的抑制活性。