Evolution of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. vasinfectum Races Inferred from Multigene Genealogies

ABSTRACT Fusarium wilt of cotton is a serious fungal disease responsible for significant yield losses throughout the world. Evolution of the causal organism Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. vasinfectum, including the eight races described for this specialized form, was studied using multigene genealogies. Partial sequences of translation elongation factor (EF-1alpha), nitrate reductase (NIR), phosphate permase (PHO), and the mitochondrial small subunit (mtSSU) rDNA were sequenced in 28 isolates of F. oxysporum f. sp. vasinfectum selected to represent the global genetic diversity of this forma specialis. Results of a Wilcoxon Signed-Ranks Templeton test indicated that sequences of the four genes could be combined. In addition, using combined data from EF-1alpha and mtSSU rDNA, the phylogenetic origin of F. oxysporum f. sp. vasinfectum within the F. oxysporum complex was evaluated by the Kishino-Hasegawa likelihood test. Results of this test indicated the eight races of F. oxysporum f. sp. vasinfectum appeared to be nonmonophyletic, having at least two independent, or polyphyletic, evolutionary origins. Races 3 and 5 formed a strongly supported clade separate from the other six races. The combined EF-1alpha, NIR, PHO, and mtSSU rDNA sequence data from the 28 isolates of F. oxysporum f. sp. vasinfectum recovered four lineages that correlated with differences in virulence and geographic origin: lineage I contained race 3, mostly from Egypt, and race 5 from Sudan; lineage II contained races 1, 2, and 6 from North and South America and Africa; lineage III contained race 8 from China; and lineage IV contained isolates of races 4 and 7 from India and China, respectively.     

The response of specific conductance to environmental conditions in the everglades National Park,Florida

The specific conductance of surface delivery waters to the Shark River Slough (Everglades National Park, Florida) has increased significantly since the completion of Levee 29 (L-29) and the S-12 water delivery system in the early 1960's. In order to document the response of specific conductance in the slough to changing environmental conditions, it was monitored continuously for a period of 12 mo at a location in central Shark approximately 17 km south of the water delivery site. In addition, variability in isoconductivity patterns throughout the slough was assessed by conducting biweekly surveys at 97 locations. Specific conductance was found to respond to a variety of natural and manmade environmental changes and proved to be an important management tool serving as an early indicator of potentially broad changes in water quality. Factors important in determining overall isoconductivity patterns in Shark Slough include:

1. the ionic composition of surface delivered to Shark Slough via the S-12 delivery structures.
2. the quantitative relationship between the amount of surface water delivered to the slough and the amount of precipitation falling directly upon the slough.
3. the effects of evapotranspiration and concentration of biological organisms during seasonal periods of extreme drawdown.

     

Diet and dog characteristics affect major and trace elements in hair and blood of healthy dogs

Veterinary Research Communications - Obtaining correct amounts of essential elements, and avoiding toxic metals are key factors in dog health. Through analyzing major and trace elements in hair and...     

Enzymatic Activity of the Mycelium Compared with Oospore Development During Infection of Pea Roots by Aphanomyces euteiches

ABSTRACT To describe the disease cycle of the root pathogen Aphanomyces euteiches, enzymatic activity in the mycelium was compared with the development of oospores in pea roots. Plants were inoculated with two zoospore concentrations to achieve different disease levels. Hyphae were stained for fungal alkaline phosphatase activity in the roots. Additionally, enzyme activity was measured after electrophoresis of an A. euteiches-specific glucose-6-phosphate isozyme. Development of oospores in the roots was measured after staining the oospores with trypan blue. In plants inoculated with the higher zoospore concentration, the enzymatic activity of the pathogen mycelium peaked 10 to 14 days after inoculation, when oospore formation was initiated. Oospore formation was associated with a gradual increase in disease symptoms. At the last harvest, plants inoculated with the higher zoospore concentration had died. In these plants, oospores were found in 90% of the root length, while the enzymatic activity of the mycelium was low. This suggests that the pathogen mycelium is only active on living plants and does not grow saprophytically on dead plant material.     

Galapagos hydrothermal mounds: stratigraphy and chemistry revealed by deep-sea drilling

The Galápagos mounds sea-floor hydrothermal system is at least 300,000 years old and once produced manganese-poor sediments, which nearly blanketed the area of the present mounds field. Present-day mound deposits are limited manganese-rich exposures, suggesting that the system has changed from rock-to water-dominated and has diminished in intensity with time.     

Low lake stands in lakes Malawi and tanganyika, East Africa, delineated with multifold seismic data

Seismic data reveal that water level in Lake Malawi, East Africa, was 250 to 500 meters lower before about 25,000 years ago. Water levels in Lake Tanganyika at that time were more than 600 meters below the current lake level. A drier climate appears to have caused these low stands, but tectonic tilting may also have been a contributing factor in Lake Malawi. High-angle discordances associated with shallow sequence boundaries suggest that these low stands probably lasted many tens of thousands of years. Because of its basement topography, the Lake Tanganyika basin had three separate paleolakes, whereas the Lake Malawi basin had only one. The different geographies of these paleolakes may be responsible in part for the differences in the endemic fish populations in these lakes.     

Population genetics of Phytophthora infestans in Denmark reveals dominantly clonal populations and specific alleles linked to metalaxyl‐M resistance

Control of the potato late blight pathogen Phytophthora infestans relies heavily on chemicals. The fungicide metalaxyl‐M (Mefenoxam) has played an important role in controlling the disease, but insensitivity to the fungicide in certain isolates is now of major concern. A genetic basis for resistance to metalaxyl suggests the possibility for linking resistance phenotypes to specific population genetic markers, but in order to do this, the population genetic structure and mode of reproduction in a population must first be well described. The dynamics of metalaxyl‐M resistance in the Danish population of P. infestans was characterized over the course of the 2013 growing season, as was the population genetic structure, using simple sequence repeat (SSR) genotypes and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)‐based mitochondrial haplotyping of over 80 isolates. Both mating types A1 and A2 were present in most fields, but tests for recombination showed that clonal reproduction dominates in Danish populations. Genotype was not linked to haplotype and no differentiation was observed at the haplotype level, but rather between fields. Resistance phenotypes were linked to specific SSR alleles, demonstrating the potential for a more precise SNP‐based marker system for predicting resistance to metalaxyl‐M.     

Effects of fungicides on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi: differential responses in alkaline phosphatase activity of external and internal hyphae

 The effect of four fungicides on alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity in internal and external hyphae of an arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungus was examined. Four-week-old plants were treated with an aqueous solution of the fungicides and then harvested 3 days later. Fungicides were applied at a low and a high level corresponding to 1 and 100 times the recommended field application dose. The fungicides were the two abundantly used sterol inhibitors, fenpropimorph and propiconazole, as well as a commercial mixture of them. Benomyl served as a positive control, as this fungicide is known for its deleterious effect on AM fungi. At harvest, roots and hyphae extracted from the soil were stained for ALP activity. Benomyl inhibited fungal ALP activity of both internal and external hyphae at the low application level (1 μg g^–1 soil) corresponding to the recommended field dose. Fenpropimorph had an intermediate effect, inhibiting both internal and external hyphae but only at the high application level (125 μg g^–1 soil). Propiconazole decreased the activity of the external hyphae at the low application level (0.21 μg g^–1 soil) but did not affect the internal activity at any application level. The effect of Tilt Top was similar to that of fenpropimorph. The results showed that the external hyphae were more sensitive than internal hyphae to application of fungicides. Received: 26 May 1999