Assessing resistance of rubber tree clones to <Emphasis Type="Italic">Microcyclus ulei</Emphasis> in large-scale clone trials in Ecuador: a less time-consuming field method

Resistance of rubber tree clones to South American Leaf Blight (SALB) caused by the fungus Microcyclus ulei is normally assessed in specific large-scale clone trials, which in general entail a considerable amount of work. Four variables are observed monthly on each tree over many years: disease severity and conidial sporulation intensity on young leaves, and severity and stroma density on mature leaves. In order to simplify this field assessment method, we tested the resistance of eight rubber tree clones to M. ulei in Ecuador in a Fisher block design with four replicates per treatment. Three months after planting, monthly observations were made for a period of 12 months on the foliage focusing on the four variables, in order to quantify disease development. Given the correlations between the four variables, assessment of conidial sporulation intensity on young leaves and stroma density on mature leaves should be sufficient. The most suitable period to start the assessment was 6 months after planting, for a duration of six to nine months. As repeated observations on the same trees were autocorrelated, it was possible to reduce the assessment frequency to once every 2 months. To conclude, assessing the resistance of rubber tree clones to SALB in large-scale clone trials can be optimized to reduce the number of observation times by 50%.     

Photosynthetic performance of Hevea brasiliensis affected by South American Leaf Blight under field conditions

South American Leaf Blight (SALB), caused by the fungus Pseudocercospora ulei, is the principal rubber crop disease in Latin America. Several studies have focused on the genetics of resistance and the epidemiology of this disease, but few have analyzed the physiological alterations caused by SALB in Hevea brasiliensis. In addition, changes under field conditions are poorly understood. The present study aimed to analyze changes in gas exchange and chlorophyll a fluorescence traits in leaflets with different leaf stages and SALB severity levels from two H. brasiliensis clones with distinct susceptibility to disease in juvenile plants grown under field conditions (clonal garden). The photosynthetic performance was strongly limited in the high susceptibility clone (FX 3864), mainly in the young leaflets with maximum SALB severity (‘3’ and ‘4’), as compared to the low susceptibility clone (FX 4098). The principal alterations included a reduction in the photosynthetic rate (>?79%), stomatal conductance (>?85%), extrinsic water use efficiency (>?85%), and ability to capture, use and dissipate light energy in photosystem II, as compared to healthy leaflets. The damage was less intense in mature leaflets from both rubber tree clones. The favorable performance observed in clone FX 4098 means it is a potential candidate for commercial scale use under non-SALB escape conditions in the Amazon region.

     

橡胶树重要品系对胶孢炭疽菌抗性评价

橡胶树抗性种质的鉴定与利用是控制橡胶树炭疽病的一项重要措施。采用室内离体橡胶叶接种法、田间种质圃人工接种和自然发病条件下定期田间病害调查方法, 2011-2012年在海南省儋州开展46份重要橡胶树种质对胶孢炭疽菌病抗性鉴定和评价。把抗炭疽病程度划分为高度抗病(HR)、抗病(R)、中度感病(MS)、感病(S)和高度感病(HS)共5个级别,根据抗性评价结果分析得出：高度抗病(HR)类型的0份;抗病(R)类型8份, 占17.39%; 中度感病(MS)类型19份,占41.30%;感病(S)类型16份,占34.78%;高度感病(HS)类型3 份,占6.52%。筛选出的抗病品种,是今后可利用的抗性种质资源。本研究结果为炭疽病抗性种质资源的利用、培育及病害管理提供参考数据。     

Role of ascospores and conidia in the initiation and spread of South American leaf blight in a rubber tree plantation

Microcyclus ulei, the fungus causing South American leaf blight (SALB) on rubber tree leaves, produces two main types of spores: ascospores and conidia. To assess their respective epidemiological role, a field experiment was conducted in French Guiana over 3 years. Tree phenology, disease severity and climate variables were recorded while airborne spores were trapped and quantified. Ascospores were shown to play an essential role in the perpetuation of the disease outside the host's growth periods, in the resumption of epidemics, and in the spread of the disease to disease‐free zones. Conidia were trapped in visibly infected plots only, during periods of host growth. Disseminated over short distances and present only temporarily on leaves, the conidia enabled the disease to spread stepwise when the climate was conducive. Segmentation analysis revealed that the duration of high relative humidity was the climatic variable most related to ascospore trapping. Ascospore release did not require low temperatures. Considering the essential role of the ascospores in the initiation and spread of disease, artificial defoliation as a means of reducing the inoculum pressure during tree refoliation is proposed to control SALB. To check the validity of this method, a survey over several years of natural defoliation–refoliation in relation to climate and other leaf diseases is needed.     

巴西橡胶树品系对棒孢霉落叶病的抗病性鉴定

采用巴西橡胶树棒孢霉落叶病病原菌的分生孢子接种和其毒素接种分别测定了国内天然橡胶主产区9个主栽品系的抗病性,结果表明过滤灭菌毒素划伤接种橡胶离体小叶片可以产生与分生孢子接种相似的症状,而不划伤接种则不产生病害症状;121℃、20 min湿热灭菌毒素接种无论划伤与否均不产生病害症状;分生孢子和病原菌毒素两种接种方法所测橡胶品系的抗病性之间有很好的一致性,说明毒素接种可以用来代替病原菌接种测定橡胶品系的抗病性。抗病性测定结果显示,供试9个巴西橡胶树品系中,PB86、热研88-13、南华1、PR107、热研7-33-97对病原菌表现出高抗,而RRIM600、南强1-97、热研44-9则表现高感,GT1则表现中感。     

Single-chain variable fragments antibody specific to <Emphasis Type="Italic">Corynespora cassiicola</Emphasis> toxin,cassiicolin, reduces necrotic lesion formation in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Hevea brasiliensis</Emphasis>

Corynespora leaf disease poses a serious threat to rubber cultivation because infected leaves develop necrotic lesions and abscise, leaving the tree unproductive. The destructiveness of Corynespora cassiicola has been largely attributed to cassiicolin, a protein toxin secreted by the fungus. Recombinant antibody technology offers hope to curtail the disease whereby single-chain variable fragments (scFv) specific to cassiicolin could bind and deactivate the toxin in genetically modified rubber trees that harbour the antibody gene. A scFv phage library was constructed from heavy and light variable chains of IgG from cassiicolin immunized Balb/C mice spleen. Biopanning of the phage library yielded a scFv clone with high specificity to cassiicolin. The nucleotide sequence and deduced amino acid sequence information of the scFv were obtained. Hemagglutinin (HA)-tagged scFv expressed in Escherichia coli is discerned as a band at ca. 30 kDa on SDS-PAGE, and the corresponding band was detected by anti-HA IgG on a Western immunoblot. Deactivation of cassiicolin by the affinity-purified scFv was demonstrated in a detached-leaf bio-assay on selected susceptible Hevea clones (PB 260, RRIM 2020, RRIM 901 and RRIM 929). The assay was also performed on clones that are relatively more resistant to the fungus (RRIM 600 and GT-1), and the results were as expected. Thus, we have successfully demonstrated that the cassicolin-specific scFv can effectively reduce cassicolin toxicity.     

Characterization of Venturia inaequalis pathogenicity on leaf discs of apple trees

Characterization of pathogenicity on whole plants is required to study host-pathogen interactions between Malus × domestica and Venturia inaequalis. We studied the reliability of an in vitro test of pathogenicity on leaf discs. Three strains of V. inaequalis (races 1, 6 and an English race) were inoculated in vitro onto a range of 16 Malus sp. clones including susceptible and resistant clones. The results were compared to those previously obtained in vivo. Resistant clones contained the main major known genes, i.e. Va, Vb, Vbj, Vf, Vg, Vm and Vr. Scab severity and the sporulation of the fungus were assessed 21 days after the inoculation date. The results indicated that it was possible to reproduce incompatible and compatible situations in vitro. A null severity corresponded to the avirulence of the strain for the clone considered. The resistance given by the Vb, Vbj, Vf, Vg, Vm and Vr genes were expressed in vitro. Only the clone carrying the Va gene and inoculated with the race 6 strain presented a compatible situation which was inconsistent with the observations on the whole plant. Improving this test will facilitate studies on the pathogenicity of V. inaequalis populations in relation to resistance genes of the host expressed in vitro as well as its genetic determinism.     

Factors Influencing Transmission of Didymella rabiei (Ascochyta Blight) from Inoculated Seed of Chickpea Under Controlled Conditions

Ascochyta blight of chickpea (Cicer arietinum), caused by the fungus Didymella rabiei, has the potential to cause 100% crop loss in severe epiphytotics. Management of this disease often involves reducing sources of inoculum. The influence of sowing depth, host resistance, seed infection level and soil temperature on disease transmission was investigated in a series of glasshouse and growth room trials using seed artificially inoculated with D. rabiei. A positive correlation (R²=0.9992) was observed between rate of seed infection and the incidence of disease on seedlings. Disease transmission to seedlings was not significantly influenced by sowing depth (1, 3 and 6 cm) in separate trials on two cultivars. Susceptibility of the host showed no obvious influence on the frequency of disease transmission in two trials conducted using four cultivars ranging from highly susceptible to moderately susceptible/moderately resistant. Trials conducted in controlled conditions showed that there was no obvious relationship between soil temperature (5, 9, 14 and 19 °C) and the incidence of disease on seedlings.     

Relationship between resistance to pine wilt disease and the migration or proliferation of pine wood nematodes

To study the relationship between resistance to pine wilt disease and the migration or proliferation of pine wood nematodes (PWN) (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus), we conducted experiments using clonally-propagated Japanese black pines (Pinus thunbergii) with pre-evaluated individual resistance levels. Bark including the cortical resin canals—one of the main migration pathways of PWN—was removed by girdling, but neither the migration of PWN nor symptom development of pine wilt disease were inhibited by this treatment in non-resistant clones. Histological observations showed no significant differences in the lumen area or the number of cortical- and xylem- axial resin canals between resistant and susceptible clone groups from a half-sib family. A bioassay using methanol extracts from resistant and susceptible clones showed that extracts from both clones showed similar attractant effects to PWN, but neither had repellent effects. The resistant clones were multi-inoculated with PWN into three split points to mimic migration in the stem. The proportion of damaged plants was not significantly different from that in single-inoculated plants (control). In this experiment, the number of PWN detected from partially-damaged plants was much higher than that from non-damaged plants. An inoculation test using stem cuttings showed that the population of PWN increased in susceptible cuttings at 1–20 days after inoculation (dai), while it remained unchanged or gradually decreased in resistant cuttings. These findings suggested that the factors contributing to resistance were associated with inhibiting the proliferation of PWN, rather than inhibiting their migration.     

Regulation of defense-related enzymes associated with bacterial spot resistance in Tomato

Twenty tomato (Solanum lycopersicon) cultivars were screened for resistance against bacterial spot disease incited byXanthomonas axonopodis pv.vesicatoria under field conditions with and without pathogen infection. Screening was done by artificially inoculating aX. axonopodis pv.vesicatoria suspension to 4-week-old tomato seedlings and observing them for typical symptoms of the disease. Seedlings were categorized into highly resistant, resistant, susceptible and highly susceptible cultivars on the basis of disease incidence. Tomato cultivars were screened for defense-related enzymes, total phenols and lignin contents. The temporal patterns of all these enzymes were estimated with a moderately susceptible tomato cultivar. Native PAGE analysis of both peroxidase (POX) and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) was carried out for the time course of enzyme activities and also by selecting three different tomato cultivars, following infection with the pathogen. Based on the inducible amounts of these enzymes upon pathogen infection, the tomato cultivars were correlated with the disease incidence under field conditions. A significant (P≤0.05) correlation was observed between the degree of host resistance and the enzyme levels. In highly resistant tomato cultivars the enzyme levels, total phenols and lignin contents were increased in comparison with highly susceptible tomato cultivars. Isoform analysis of POX and PPO enzymes indicated a clear difference between resistant and susceptible tomato cultivars in the number of isoforms and also in the intensity of each isoform in the presence of pathogen infection. The possible regulation of defense-related enzymes in imparting host resistance is discussed. http://www.phytoparasitica.org posting March 11, 2008.     

橡胶树白粉菌Oidium heveae侵染寄主拟南芥的筛选

为筛选出橡胶树白粉菌Oidium heveae Steimnann新的寄主载体,通过接种野生型拟南芥Col-0、突变体Sr1-4D及eds1,观察了橡胶树白粉菌侵染不同拟南芥突变体的过程,PCR扩增测序法验证相关致病基因,构建橡胶树白粉菌-拟南芥互作体系。结果表明,在Col-0、Sr1-4D叶片上面,橡胶树白粉菌产生部分菌丝后停止生长,不能形成典型的橡胶树白粉病症状;但能成功侵染eds1叶片,在叶片的正、背面有银白色辐射状菌丝,后期在病斑上出现一层粉层,表现橡胶树白粉病的典型症状。组织染色和显微观察结果显示,在突变体eds1叶片上橡胶树白粉菌完成了侵染过程。PCR扩增测序结果表明接种后突变体eds1叶片上及组织中病菌均为橡胶树白粉菌;使用橡胶树白粉菌3个致病相关基因作为靶标,验证了eds1和橡胶树上白粉菌基因组中的3个致病相关基因相似度均达到99%~100%。表明橡胶树白粉菌可侵染拟南芥突变体eds1。     

Segmentation applied to weather-disease relationships in South American leaf blight of the rubber tree

South American leaf blight (SALB) is a severe threat to world rubber production. One way of controlling it is to set up plantations in zones not conducive to the disease. Such zones are known once a plantation has been set up, but few data are available on how climate affects the disease, especially in the Amazon region. With better knowledge of conditions that are favourable to SALB epidemics it would be possible to more accurately identify risk zones in Asia and Africa, continents that are still SALB-free. Based on a trial design involving detailed and frequent observations, and with a method rarely used in plant epidemiology, the segmentation method, the results presented in this article make it possible to list, in order of importance, climatic factors that influence disease severity under conditions where the climate varies little over the year.     

我国46个棉花品种对木尔坦棉花曲叶病毒的抗性鉴定

为明确我国主要棉花品种对木尔坦棉花曲叶病毒(Cotton leaf curl Multan virus,CLCuMuV)的抗性水平,采用烟粉虱田间自然传毒和CLCuMuV侵染性克隆人工接种方法分别对收集的46个棉花品种进行抗性鉴定。结果显示:46个棉花品种田间播种后90 d,新海21号、新海31号、新37号及112-2号4个品种自然发病的病株率为41.70%~100.00%,病情指数为39.81~100.00;新陆早36号、新陆中52号、中棉35号、中棉43号、鲁棉研36号、金宏祥10号6个品种的病株率为8.30%~16.70%,病情指数为0.93~9.26;其余品种未见发病。46个棉花品种人工接种CLCuMuV后60 d,新海21号、新海31号、新海37号和112-2号4个品种的病情指数为75.00~100.00,表现为高感;新陆中66号和新陆早46号病情指数分别为20.83和20.37,表现为中感;新陆早62号等10个品种的病情指数为10.46~15.87,表现为中抗;新陆早47号等14个品种的病情指数为5.26~9.26,表现为抗病;豫棉15号等11个品种的病情指数为2.22~4.86,表现为高抗;新陆早13号、新陆早61号、新陆中32号、新陆中56号和中棉41号病情指数均为0,表现为免疫。     

Susceptibility of Broccoli Cultivars to Bacterial Head Rot: In Vitro Screening and the Role of Head Morphology in Resistance

Head rot is a major disease of broccoli caused by the soft rot pathogens Pseudomonas fluorescens and Erwinia carotovora. Two in vitro pathogenicity tests were evaluated as a methods to identify broccoli cultivars susceptible or resistant to bacterial head rot. One test used mature heads excised from the plant and inoculated with squares of cotton lint which had been soaked in a bacterial suspension. The other test involved stab-inoculating axenically grown seedlings. With the excised head test, susceptible cultivars showed a black soft rot, whilst less susceptible or moderately resistant cultivars showed only watersoaking, or browning and slight softening of the tissue. No cultivar was completely resistant. Ten cultivars were tested, and their susceptibility ratings corresponded with previously recorded field data, with one exception. This laboratory test could be used to screen for susceptibility to head rot in broccoli breeding programmes. The seedling test distinguished differences in aggressiveness among bacterial isolates but not cultivar susceptibility. Increasing head size correlated negatively with disease resistance. Head shape, i.e. cultivars which showed a domed shape rather than a flat shape, was positively correlated with disease resistance. Thus small domed heads are more resistant to head rot than large flat heads. Other morphological characteristics, viz. floret prominence and number, and sepal stomatal number were not correlated with host resistance.     

Cacao leaf procyanidins increase locally and systemically in response to infection by Moniliophthora perniciosa basidiospores

Flavan-3-ol monomers and oligomers from dimers to decamers were quantitatively determined by HPLC-FLD in leaves of four Theobroma cacao varieties. Cacao flush leaves had higher procyanidin content than mature leaves. Moniliophthora perniciosa basidiospore infection results in an increase in cacao leaf procyanidins in the inoculated leaves, as well as in the uninoculated, adjacent, older leaves on an actively growing branch, resulting in both a local and systemic increase in procyanidin content in response to infection. Procyanidin oligomers increased significantly in leaves of the less susceptible genotype Scavina 6 upon infection, and total procyanidin levels were higher than in Cacao Comum a more disease susceptible genotype. Selection of genotypes with high constitutive and/or inducible content of procyanidins in young flush leaves may be a strategy to develop witches’ broom disease resistant cultivars.     

国内橡胶树主要种质对棒孢霉落叶病的抗性评价

棒孢霉落叶病是近年来我国橡胶树新发病害, 发生面积和危害程度有逐年加重的趋势, 已经成为相关产业发展的潜在限制性因素。培育和种植抗病种质是防治该病最经济有效的控制措施, 而育种材料的抗性评价是相关工作的前提。在前期工作基础上, 本研究通过4种方法对国内46份橡胶树主要种质进行了抗病性评价。结果发现, 不同接种方法获得的抗病性评价结果基本一致, 且抗感种质间的差异达到了极显著水平。在供试的46份橡胶种质中, 高抗(HR)种质3份, 占6.52%, 中抗(MR)种质13份, 占28.26%, 轻感(S)和中感(MS)种质各11份, 分别占23.92% , 高感(HS)种质8份, 占17.40%。     

Assessment of resistance to <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ceratocystis cacaofunesta</Emphasis> in cacao genotypes

Ceratocystis wilt of cacao (caused by Ceratocystis cacaofunesta) is a dangerous disease and results in the death of the plant. This fungus was recently identified in the major cacao-producing regions of Brazil, and was observed to be more aggressive than isolates from other geographical locations. The objective of this study was to develop and test a consistent method to assess cacao genotype response to C. cacaofunesta, based on young plants (seedlings or cuttings). The fungus was inoculated by the deposition of propagule suspensions on cut stems. The parameters to assess disease progress were (a) disease incidence, (b) differences in mortality between the most contrasting cacao genotypes for resistance and susceptibility, (c) disease index, (d) consistency of response over time and (e) relative lesion heights. When seedlings were used for the analyses, the ICS-1 and TSH-1188 genotypes proved to be useful as genetic standards for susceptibility and resistance to C. cacaofunesta, respectively. Inoculum concentrations between 10⁴ and 10⁵ propagules ml⁻¹ and the moment at which the disease incidence stabilized provided appropriate conditions for genotypic comparison. When ten cacao genotypes propagated by cuttings (clones) were assessed, the results confirmed TSH-1188 as the reference genotype for resistance to C. cacaofunesta, while the remaining clones could be grouped as resistant (CEPEC-2008), moderately resistant (CEPEC-2002, CEPEC-2007) and susceptible (CEPEC-2009, CCN-10, CCN-51, HW-25, PH-16, SJ-02). The analytical concepts and results were discussed in terms of their application in breeding programmes aimed at developing genetic resistance to Ceratocystis wilt of cacao.     

Genetic diversity and aggressiveness of Erwinia psidii on Eucalyptus spp. in Brazil

The genetic variability and aggressiveness of Brazilian Erwinia psidii isolates from Eucalyptus spp. was studied and compared with reference isolates from guava (Psidium guajava). Repetitive element sequence (rep)-based PCR markers of 101 isolates from Eucalyptus spp. and five from guava showed that the populations of E. psidii displayed a relatively low genetic variability. No correlation of genetic clustering based on rep-PCR analysis with geographic origin or host of origin was observed, indicating that genome rearrangements associated with adaptation to a particular host were not detected by these molecular markers. A higher genotypic richness was detected in the Mato Grosso do Sul population, probably reflecting a pathogen dissemination associated with the recent expansion in eucalypt plantations. Wilcoxon and ANOVA tests of disease severity data indicated differences in aggressiveness among isolates and an isolate × clone interaction. The area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC) and disease severity for some isolates were significantly different between two susceptible clones tested. Notably, isolate LPF681 from guava was not able to cause disease on a susceptible Eucalyptus urophylla clone, suggesting that some co-evolution between pathogen and host has taken place. The variability in aggressiveness and virulence among isolates of E. psidii observed in this study will be important for the establishment of appropriate screening approaches to select for disease resistance.     

广东省甘薯疮痂病病原菌鉴定及国内主要菜用甘薯种质抗性评价

为明确广东省甘薯疮痂病病原菌种类及当前国内主要菜用甘薯种质对疮痂病的抗性,结合形态学特征和rDNA-ITS序列分析对病原菌进行鉴定,并通过病圃诱发结合人工喷雾接种法对来自9个省区30个菜用甘薯种质进行连续2年的抗性鉴定.结果 显示,共获得15株形态学特征及培养性状相似的菌株,其中代表菌株CRI-CJ的形态学特征与甘薯痂...     

Development of ascochyta blight (Ascochyta rabiei) in chickpea as affected by host resistance and plant age

Ascochyta blight caused by Ascochyta rabiei, is the most destructive disease in many chickpea growing countries. Disease development varies with the growth stage and host resistance. Hence, disease development was studied in cvs ICCX 810800 (resistant), ICCV 90201 (moderately resistant), C 235 (moderately susceptible), ICCV 96029 and Pb 7 (susceptible) under controlled environment (ICRISAT, Patencheru) and field conditions (Dhaulakuan, Himachal Pradesh) at seedling, post-seedling, vegetative, flowering and podding stages. Under controlled environment, the incubation period and terminal disease reaction (TDR) did not vary significantly at different growth stages against virulent isolate AB 4. Cultivars ICCX 810800, ICCV 90201 and C 235 showed a significantly longer incubation period than the susceptible cv. Pb 7. Cultivar ICCX 810800 showed slow disease progress and the least TDR. Field experiments were conducted during the 2003–2004 and 2004–2005 growing seasons. During 2003–2004, TDR was higher in plants inoculated at podding and the flowering stage and the lowest disease reaction was recorded in ICCX 810800. A severe epidemic during 2004–2005 was attributed to the favourable temperature, humidity and well distributed high rainfall. TDR did not differ significantly at any of the growth stages in susceptible cvs ICCV 96029 and Pb 7. With respect to seeding date and cultivar, the highest yield was recorded in the early-sown crop (1,276.7 kg ha⁻¹) and in ICCV 90201 (1,799.3 kg ha⁻¹), respectively. The yields were greatly reduced in all the cultivars during 2004–2005 and the highest yield was recorded in ICCX 810800 (524.7 kg ha⁻¹). Integrated disease management using resistant cultivars, optimum sowing period and foliar application of fungicides will improve chickpea production. The experiment under controlled environment and field conditions (during the epidemic year) showed a similar disease development.