Relationship Among Genes Conferring Partial Resistance to Leaf Rust (Puccinia triticina) in Wheat Lines CI 13227 and L-574-1

ABSTRACT This study describes the segregation of genes for resistance to the fungus Puccinia triticina in a cross between partially resistant wheat lines L-574-1 and CI 13227 with two and four genes for resistance, respectively. The objectives of this study were to use parental, F(1), F(2), and backcross populations to quantify maternal effects, degree of dominance, and transgressive segregation, and to determine whether CI 13227 and L-574-1 share any resistance genes for long latent period or small uredinia. In two experiments conducted in the greenhouse, the uppermost leaf of adult wheat plants was inoculated prior to heading with P. triticina. On days 6 to 21 after inoculation, the number of uredinia that erupted from the leaf surface was counted and used to calculate the mean latent period (MLP). The length and width of five arbitrarily selected uredinia were measured and used to calculate uredinium area. Midparent values, degree of dominance, and broad-sense heritability were calculated for MLP and uredinium area. For experiment A, MLP values for CI 13227, L-574-1, F(1), and F(2) generations were 12.2, 10.5, 10.2, and 10.6 days, respectively. For experiment B, MLP values for CI 13227, L-574-1, F(1), F(2), backcross to CI 13227, and backcross to L-574-1 were 12.3, 10.0, 10.6, 10.8, 11.1, and 10.0 days, respectively. The inheritance of long latent period was partially recessive, and no maternal effect was present (P = 0.62 to 0.87 for the comparison of means in reciprocal crosses). Broad-sense heritability for MLP ranged from 0.72 to 0.74, and there was transgressive segregation in the F(2) and backcross populations. Uredinia of the F(1) generation were slightly larger than uredinia for CI 13227. The inheritance of uredinium size was partially dominant, and no maternal effect was present (P = 0.5 to 0.63). Broad-sense heritability for uredinium area ranged from 0.36 to 0.73 and transgressive segregation was present in the F(2) and backcross populations. The results for MLP indicate that lines CI 13227 and L-574 likely share one gene for resistance (based on F(1) values) but not two genes (based on the presence of transgressive segregation). CI 13227 and L 574-1 appear to have at least one gene difference for uredinium area. The linear relationship between uredinium area regressed onto MLP was significant (P < 0.001) and r(2) values ranged from 0.14 to 0.26. These results indicate that the resistance in CI 13227 and L-574-1 could be combined to create wheat cultivars with greater partial resistance than that possessed by either parent based on MLP or uredinium size.     

Heritability of Latent Period Estimated from Wild-Type and Selected Populations of Puccinia triticina

ABSTRACT Durability of partially resistant wheat cultivars to wheat leaf rust depends on the amount of genetic variation in parasitic fitness within populations of the pathogen Puccinia triticina. To assess the durability of partial resistance, selection experiments were used to explore quantitative variation in parasitic fitness of P. triticina. Fungal populations 881-WT and 882-WT were selected for shortened latent period on partially resistant cvs. CI 13277 and Sw 72469-6 for multiple generations. Fitness components were measured for wild-type and selected fungal populations. Responses to selection and selection differentials were calculated, and broad-sense, realized heritabilities for latent period were estimated for wild-type fungal populations on CI 13227 and on Sw 72469-6. Selected populations had fitness characteristics, not limited to latent period, that could provide greater fitness in nature. Generally, more cycles of selection had greater effects on fitness. In particular cases, selected populations on a partially resistant cultivar had values for latent period, uredinium area, and sporulation no different from those of a susceptible host-pathogen combination. Heritabilities of latent period of populations 881-WT and 882-WT on CI 13227 or populations 881-WT and 882-WT on Sw 72469-6 ranged from 0.65 to 0.76 and 0.17 to 0.24, respectively. Our results suggest the variation to overcome quantitative host resistance exists in extant populations of P. triticina. In addition, because more of the variation in latent period for populations of P. triticina on CI 13227 was genetic than for populations on Sw 72469-6, CI 13227 is likely to be more vulnerable to pathogen adaptation despite its exceptionally long latent period.     

Effects of growth stage, leaf position and temperature on adult-plant resistance of wheat infected by Puccinia recondita f.sp. tritici

Growth stage, leaf position and temperature effects on components of resistance to Puccinia recondita f.sp. tritici in wheat ( Triticum aestivum ) were studied. Inoculation of Era, Glenlea, Sinton and RL6044 plants at five growth stages showed that latent period increased and uredinium numbers decreased as each adult-plant-resistant wheat matured. Growth stage had little effect on latent period in the susceptible cultivar Morocco. No significant differences in latent period determined on the flag, flag -1 and flag -2 leaves of the same plant were observed for Era, Glenlea and RL6044. However, leaf age should be considered in assessing adult-plant resistance because the latent period of P. recondita f.sp. tritici in flag leaves of Sinton was shorter than that determined for the flag-1 and flag -2 leaves. Fewer uredinia developed on the flag -2 leaf of Glenlea than on the flag leaf. The latent period of leaf rust in Era, Glenlea, RL6044 and Morocco was significantly longer at 15°C than at 21°C, but temperature did not affect Sinton to the same degree. Uredinium size was a sensitive criterion of adult-plant resistance. Uredinium development in line RL6044 was significantly restricted at 15°C, but uredinia on Era, Glenlea and Sinton at 15°C were as large as those at 21°C. On the susceptible Morocco uredinia were larger at 15°C than at 21°C.     

Specificity of Prehaustorial Resistance to Puccinia hordei and to Two Inappropriate Rust Fungi in Barley

ABSTRACT To elucidate the specificity of prehaustorial resistance to inappropriate rust fungi, we studied two populations of recombinant inbred lines of barley that segregated for partial resistance (PR) to Puccinia hordei and for the resistance to the inappropriate rust species P. recondita f. sp. tritici and P. hordei-murini. PR to P. hordei is prehaustorial and nonhypersensitive, and its level can be assessed accurately by measuring the latent period of the fungus. The resistance to the inappropriate rust species is a combination of prehaustorial (nonhypersensitive) and posthaustorial (hypersensitive) mechanisms. The amount of nonhypersensitive, early abortion of P. recondita f. sp. tritici and P. hordei-murini sporelings reflects the degree of prehaustorial defense to the two inappropriate rust species. All lines showing a long latent period of P. hordei also had a relatively high level of early abortion of the growth of P. recondita f. sp. tritici and P. hordei-murini. This indicates that genes for PR to P. hordei are also effective against these two inappropriate rust species. The reverse was not necessarily true; some lines showing a high level of early abortion of P. recondita f. sp. tritici and P. hordei-murini had a low level of PR to P. hordei. Moreover, lines with a similar level of prehaustorial resistance to P. recondita f. sp. tritici could differ considerably in their prehaustorial resistance to P. hordei-murini. This indicates that genes for prehaustorial resistance may exhibit rust species specificity.     

小麦叶锈菌在感病寄主上发育的组织病理学和超微结构研究

 应用荧光显微技术、微分干涉技术和生物电镜技术,系统地研究了小麦叶锈菌在感病寄主上的发育过程及其超微结构特征。小麦叶锈菌在感病品种上的发育过程可分为几个明显的阶段,即孢子的萌发、附着胞的形成、气孔下囊的分化、初生菌丝和次生菌丝的形成和生长、吸器母细胞和吸器的形成、夏孢子床和夏孢子堆的产生以及夏孢子的形成。小麦叶锈菌的胞间菌丝呈丝状,生长和分枝通常沿寄主细胞壁进行。胞间菌丝与寄主细胞的接触诱导了吸器母细胞的分化,吸器母细胞在与寄主细胞壁的接触部位发育形成入侵栓,穿透寄主细胞壁后于细胞内形成吸器。胞间菌丝和吸器母细胞均含有双核,而成熟吸器则含有单核。经常规染色后,胞间菌丝和吸器母细胞的壁与隔膜均可分辨出由多层构成。     

Disease severity and pathotype dynamics of Puccinia striiformis f.sp. tritici in Denmark

Disease severity of wheat yellow rust, Puccinia striiformis f.sp. tritici , was analysed in Denmark from 1985 to 1999 in relation to the effects of weather on winter survival, distribution of host cultivars and pathotype dynamics. Below-average temperatures in January and February (midwinter) reduced yellow rust on the susceptible cv. Anja, and in three of four growth seasons following cold winters no yellow rust was observed on any cultivar under natural conditions. The agronomic consequences of dispersal of yellow rust urediniospores from external sources to Denmark, in a period during which large areas were planted with relatively few wheat cultivars, were demonstrated in several cases, most evidently when the Yr9 and Yr17 resistance genes became ineffective. Yr9 was overcome by the pathogen in a period with severe yellow rust epidemics on commercial cultivars, while virulence for Yr17 was first observed in a year with almost no yellow rust. In contrast, the resistance in cv. Kraka ( Yr1, CV ) was increasingly effective in controlling yellow rust, because pathotypes with the matching combination of virulence declined in the pathogen population. Pathotype frequency dynamics were thus influenced by selection forces within the country, and by selection forces in areas where spores were spread to Denmark from outside. The importance of a sufficient level of partial resistance in the wheat germplasm to prevent too much damage by yellow rust epidemics, in the event that the resistance genes are overcome by the pathogen population, is emphasized.     

小麦白粉菌无毒位点的遗传特性

 通过小麦白粉菌菌株之间的有性杂交,获得1个白粉菌杂交分离群体。对该群体中各个体在鉴别寄主上进行了无毒性/毒性反应的测定,结果表明:对应于小麦抗病基因Pm 4a、Pm4b和品种白免3号、Era抗性的小麦白粉菌无毒性分别由1对基因控制;对应于Pm 3b的无毒性/毒性分离在杂交群体中偏离1对或2对基因的分离比例。对应于Pm4a、Pm 4b和白免3号抗性的3个无毒位点之间完全连锁,在杂交群体中共分离;该3个位点与Era抗性对应的无毒位点之间不具有连锁性。     

Adaptation of Phytophthora infestans to Partial Resistance in Potato: Evidence from French and Moroccan Populations

ABSTRACT The use of partially resistant cultivars should become an essential component of a sustainable management strategy of potato late blight, caused by Phytophthora infestans. It is therefore important to determine to what extent P. infestans populations can be selected for increased aggressiveness by potato cultivars with different levels of partial resistance. To this end, we sampled P. infestans populations from France and Morocco, chosen as locations where late blight occurs regularly but which differ in the distribution of potato cultivars. Cross-inoculation experiments were used to determine the aggressiveness of all populations to potato cvs. Bintje (prevalent in France but not grown in Morocco) and Désirée (popular in Morocco but cultivated to a very small extent in France). French populations were more aggressive on cv. Bintje than on cv. Désirée, irrespective of the site they were sampled from. Their aggressiveness increased between early and late samplings, suggesting that both cultivars selected for increased aggressiveness during epidemics. By contrast, Moroccan populations were more aggressive on Désirée, regarded as partially resistant in Europe, than on Bintje, highly susceptible under European conditions. These data indicate that P. infestans populations adapt to locally dominant cultivars, irrespective of their resistance levels, and can therefore overcome polygenic, partial resistance. This adaptive pattern may render partial resistance nondurable if not properly managed.     

基因枪法导入GUS基因获得小麦条锈菌突变体

 采用基因枪转化法用带有β-葡糖醛酸酶(GUS)报告基因的质粒pGUS6L20转化小麦条锈菌,建立了优化的转化体系;在转化当代的条锈菌中得到了GUS基因瞬时表达的菌株;连续继代转接培养后,在转化后第1代(T1)和第2代(T2)条锈菌中检测到了GUS基因稳定表达的菌株;利用GUS报告基因和毒性标记相结合的方法,经过3代筛选鉴定,在小麦条锈菌中国鉴别寄主尤皮Ⅱ号和抗引655上,各获得1个稳定的毒性突变体,经PCR及PCR-southern blot证实外源片段已整合到毒性突变菌株的基因组中。该研究表明基因枪转化法是获得条锈菌毒性突变体的有效方法。     

Influence of competition and host plant resistance on selection in Phytophthora infestans populations in Michigan, USA and in Northern Ireland

Competition between genotypes of Phytophthora infestans was studied by inoculating potato cultivars with differing susceptibility to late blight in field experiments over three years in Northern Ireland, UK, and Michigan, USA. Multiple isolates of six genotype groups of P. infestans were chosen from the local populations in both N. Ireland and Michigan for inoculation of separate field trials planted in 2003, 2004 and 2005. Four cultivars were used in each trial; two (susceptible cv. Atlantic and the partially resistant cv. Stirling) were common to both locations, whereas the two additional cultivars (with partial resistance to late blight) were cvs Santé and Milagro in N. Ireland and cvs Pike and Jacqueline Lee in Michigan. Single-lesion isolates of P. infestans were obtained from leaves at 1% level of infection, characterized using pre-assigned markers and re-assigned to their respective genotype groups. Extreme selection occurred within the population of genotypes of P. infestans in N. Ireland in each year, with different genotype groups dominating the infection of different cultivars. Selection was observed on all cultivars tested, but was greatest on the more resistant cultivars. Over the 3 years, all of the 114 isolates obtained from cv. Milagro belonged to a single group, whereas among the 118 isolates from cv. Atlantic all six groups were represented. By contrast, in Michigan, the US-8 genotype dominated infection in all cultivars in each year; only 12 of 374 isolates characterized belonged to other genotypes (11 US-14 and a single US-10 isolate).     

我国小麦条锈菌体细胞遗传重组的分子证据

 小麦条锈病是影响我国小麦生产的重要病害之一,条锈菌毒性变异是引致小麦品种抗病性丧失的主要原因。本文应用SSR分子标记技术,研究了陇南越夏区小麦条锈菌群体遗传结构,以期寻找条锈菌群体遗传重组的分子证据。研究结果表明,陇南地区小麦条锈菌群体遗传多样性比较丰富而遗传分化较小,遗传变异主要存在于群体内部,而在群体之间,遗传多样性有显著的差异。在11对SSR引物中,有4对能够检测到陇南地区小麦条锈菌群体存在遗传重组,而且重组体出现的频率不同,CPS15揭示的条锈菌重组体出现的频率为20.0%,CPS34揭示的条锈菌重组体出现的频率为18.5%,RJ20揭示的条锈菌重组体出现的频率为12.8%,RJ18揭示的条锈菌重组体出现的频率为15.0%,陇南地区小麦条锈菌群体重组体出现频率平均为16.6%。本文揭示的遗传重组现象表明陇南地区条锈菌体细胞结合十分普遍,由此推测我国小麦条锈菌在自然条件下通过遗传重组而导致毒性变异的可能性。     

Phenology of Apothecium Production in Populations of Monilinia vaccinii-corymbosi from Early- and Late-Maturing Blueberry Cultivars

ABSTRACT Pseudosclerotia were evaluated for differences in timing of apothecium development in four controlled experiments conducted over a 2-year period. In a separate experiment, conidia from 10 randomly selected isolates from both of the fungal populations were used to inoculate open flowers. Germination of pseudosclerotia produced from these artificial inoculations also was evaluated. The timing and rate of shoot elongation for cvs. Weymouth and Jersey were assessed in one greenhouse and two field experiments. Average development times for the fungal population from cv. Weymouth were 8 to 15 days earlier or 33 to 42% less than those for the population from cv. Jersey. The fungal population from Weymouth also exhibited less variation in development times for each developmental stage measured. Similarly, germination of pseudosclerotia produced in artificial inoculations differed between populations. On average, pseudosclerotia derived from the Weymouth population produced apothecia 16 days earlier. During spring 1995 and 1996, vegetative and truss buds on cv. Weymouth developed 4 to 16 days earlier than those on cv. Jersey. These results demonstrate that M. vaccinii-corymbosi exhibits variation in timing of pseudosclerotia germination and apothecium development within and between populations. We hypothesize that differences observed in the timing of apothecium development are related to the fitness of the populations on their original host cultivars and were selected by host phenology.     

感染“中四”小麦条锈菌T4新菌系的致病范围测定

 为研究T4新菌系对我国条锈病流行区后备及生产品种、中四后代品种（系）的致病范围,预测T4新菌系对我国未来条锈菌群体结构的影响。在苗期和成株期,用T4菌系对供试品种进行了抗病性鉴定。结果表明：T4新菌系对我国条锈病流行区后备品种和陕西省生产品种致病范围较窄,毒性较弱;而对含有“中四”血缘的小麦品种（系）有较强的毒性,几乎能感染所有供试的“中四”衍生系品种。在现有生产品种大面积种植下,T4新菌系暂时不会构成对现有品种的威胁;但随着“中四”后代品种大面积种植,感染“中四”条锈菌新菌系将对我国条锈病持续控制构成潜在威胁,必须加强对新菌系的监测。     

Comparative Analysis of Indices in the Study of Virulence Diversity Between and Within Populations of Puccinia recondita f. sp. tritici in Israel

ABSTRACT Isolates of Puccinia recondita f. sp. tritici (n = 260) obtained from bread, durum, and wild emmer wheat leaf collections throughout Israel during 1993 to 1997 were analyzed for virulence on a set of wheat differentials. The overall frequency of virulence increased on differentials possessing resistance genes Lr1, Lr2a, Lr3, and Lr26 and decreased on Lr17, Lr21, and Lr30. Genes Lr9 and Lr24 were resistant, while Lr18 was susceptible (98% in 1996) to all tested leaf rust isolates and Lr10 and Lr23 were susceptible to more than 78% of the isolates. Diversity between populations (years) was assessed using Kosman's H(KB) (based on degrees of similarity among distinct phenotypes) and H(KDis) (based on frequencies of individual virulences) and Nei's and Rogers' distances. The greatest difference occurred between the 1993 and 1994 populations. Phenotypic diversity within each population (year) was analyzed using the Shannon's, Simpson's, and Kosman's indices. The highest diversity within years was recorded in 1994 and significantly increased from 1993 to 1994 for all indices. The variance in the diversity between populations can be only partially explained by differences between corresponding diversities within population. The comparative analysis of diversity between and within populations over the 5 years enabled a detailed study of changes in the pathogen population. The results show that the different measures do not yield the same rank order of diversity.     

A gene in European wheat cultivars for resistance to an African isolate of Mycosphaerella graminicola

Genes for specific resistance to European and American isolates of Mycosphaerella graminicola , the causal agent of septoria tritici blotch (STB) of wheat, have been identified and mapped in various cultivars and breeding lines and are distributed throughout the genome. The location of a gene for resistance to an Ethiopian isolate, IPO88004, which is currently the most widespread resistance present in European wheat cultivars, is reported. The resistance was mapped in the Swiss cultivar Arina which, besides high partial resistance to STB, also has specific resistance to IPO323, controlled by Stb6 and to IPO88004. An F5 recombinant inbred population from a cross between Arina and the susceptible cultivar Forno was tested in whole seedling trials. Using multiple QTL mapping (MQM), a gene for resistance to M. graminicola isolate IPO88004 in cv. Arina was located to chromosome 6AS. The gene is named Stb15 . Seedling tests on a double haploid population of cvs Arina × Riband indicated that the UK wheat cv. Riband also has Stb15 or another gene for specific resistance to IPO88004 allelic or closely linked to Stb15 .     

Elucidation of Septoria tritici x Wheat Interactions Using GUS-Expressing Isolates

ABSTRACT Isolate ISR398 of Septoria tritici (which produces none to few pycnidia on the wheat cv. Seri 82 and high coverage on cv. Shafir) and isolate ISR8036 (which is virulent on both cultivars) were genetically cotrans-formed using the selectable marker gene hph, which confers resistance to hygromycin B (hygB), and the reporter gene uidA, encoding beta-glucuronidase (GUS). Most of the genetically transformed isolates (98.8%) produced similar pycnidial coverage on seedlings of 'Seri 82' and 'Shafir' as the two wild-type isolates. Southern analysis of 25 randomly selected hygB(R)GUS(+) transformants probed with the uidA sequence revealed multiple insertion sites. GUS activity was determined fluorimetrically by measuring the conversion of 4-methylumbelliferyl beta-D-glucuronide (MUG) to 4-methylumbelliferone (MU). The high GUS-expressing transformants 398D97 and 8036E27 were used to elucidate fungal development within inoculated leaf tissue by using GUS activity to estimate the fungal proteins content in planta. Increase in fungal biomass was recorded in 'Shafir' inoculated with the GUS-expressing transformants 398D97 and 8036E27 following a 12-day latent period. A 15-day latent period was recorded in 'Seri 82' inoculated with 8036E27, whereas an 18-day latent period was recorded on 'Seri 82' inoculated with 398D97 and the two mixtures 398D97 + ISR8036 and ISR398 + 8036E27. The rate of fungal development and the estimated level of fungal proteins at the pycnidia maturation stage was high in leaves of 'Shafir' and moderate to low on 'Seri 82', even in cases in which no significant differences were recorded in pycnidial coverage. An endogenous capacity to hydrolyze beta-1,4-D-glucuronidase was recorded in leaves inoculated with wild-type isolates. The latent periods in MU production of the uidA-expressing transformants mimicked those recorded for the wild-type isolates. However, at all stages, the levels of MU produced in wheat inoculated with wild-type isolates were markedly lower than those produced by GUS-expressing transformants. The mode of interaction (compatible or incompatible) determined the onset of the induction, rate, and level of enzyme production.     

Cultivar preference exhibited by two sympatric and genetically distinct populations of the soybean fungal pathogen Phialophora gregata f.sp. sojae

Phialophora gregata f.sp. sojae , a soilborne vascular pathogen causing brown stem rot of soybean, has been divided into A and B populations based on variation in the intergenic spacer region of nuclear rDNA (rDNA marker). The A and B populations correlate with defoliating and nondefoliating pathotypes, respectively. In this study, eight additional polymorphic anonymous marker loci (five inter simple sequence repeat loci and three long-primer random amplified polymorphic DNA loci) were identified and applied to a total of 189 isolates. Alleles of these eight loci were invariant within, but different between the A and B populations, providing further evidence that the rDNA marker identifies genetically distinct populations. The two populations were sympatric, residing not only in the same field, but also in the same plants under field conditions. Representative strains of the two populations, when used individually in inoculations, infected both resistant cv. Bell and susceptible cv. Sturdy. However, when the same representatives of the two populations were mixed in a 1 : 1 ratio and used as a mixed inoculum in a competitive bioassay, differential cultivar preference was revealed using PCR detection of populations in infected plants. Population A was detected significantly more often (18 out of 24 plants) in the susceptible cv. Sturdy, whereas population B was detected significantly more often (17 out of 24 plants) in the resistant cv. Bell, corroborating earlier field studies. This is the first controlled experiment to demonstrate a differential host preference of P. gregata f.sp. sojae toward different cultivars of the same host species. Unification of terminologies used in P. gregata f.sp. sojae is discussed.     

Emergence of a novel population of Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici in Eastern United States

The geographic range of stripe rust of wheat, caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici, has increased dramatically since 2000 in the United States. Yield losses to the disease have been most severe in the eastern United States, where measurable yield loss had been rare prior to 2000. The objective of this study was to examine the phenotypic and genotypic variation among isolates of P. striiformis f. sp. tritici collected from populations in the eastern United States before and since 2000. Virulence phenotype and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers were used to examine 42 isolates collected between 1960 and 2004. In addition, the genetic structure of 59 isolates collected in 2005 using a hierarchical sampling strategy was examined. The data indicated that the contemporary isolates (collected since 2000) were very distinct from older isolates (collected before 2000) based on virulence and AFLP markers, and that the old population prevalent before 2000 may have been replaced by the contemporary population. The old and new populations appear to be genetically distinct and may represent an exotic introduction rather than a mutation in isolates of the old population.     

Susceptibility of German spring barley cultivars to loose smut populations from different European origins

Forty-two registered spring barley cultivars from the German official list were tested under natural infection conditions for susceptibility to loose smut (Ustilago tritici f.sp. hordei) during two test cycles at two locations. Only cv. Steffi was found to be resistant to the local loose smut population. Cultivar Sigrid showed lowest susceptibility because of flowering inside the leaf sheath. Less than 1% infection at all sites showed up in cvs Auriga, Jacinta and Hendrix. Twenty-one cultivars had an infection rate of less than 2%. Cultivar Danuta displayed the highest susceptibility with an average of 12.6%. Another 23 spring barley accessions with expected loose smut resistance were inoculated artificially with loose smut populations obtained from 11 locations in Germany and neighbouring countries. Only Jet with the resistance Un3/6, CDC Freedom with Un8, CIho9973 with quantitative resistance, as well as Lino and GangTuoQuingKeHao1 remained disease-free. In addition to these, another eight accessions in this test group are recommended to become part of a differential tester set to distinguish origins of loose smut. Statistical analysis showed that for scoring of cultivars more importance has to be given to the number of locations for infestation than to the number of test locations to determine the degree of attack. In view of the existing inspection limits for production of certified seed in European countries, the currently registered German barley cultivars put organic seed producers and breeders at high risk in respect to loose smut infection, if the number of generations for multiplication under organic farming increases.     

Reproductive fitness and pathogenicity of selected Radopholus populations on two banana cultivars

Ten populations of Radopholus similis from various locations and one population of Radopholus sp. from Indonesia were tested for their reproductive fitness and specific pathogenicity on Musa AAA, Cavendish cv. Poyo under controlled experimental conditions in a constant environment chamber. In addition, five of these populations were tested on Musa AAA, Ibota cv. Yangambi. Reproductive fitness of the populations tested on the two cultivars, measured as the ratio of the final number of nematodes per root system (P_f) to the number of nematodes inoculated (P_i), differed significantly. Greatest fitness was observed among R. similis populations collected from banana in different African countries (Cameroon, Uganda and the Ivory Coast) and one population from arecanut in Sri Lanka. In contrast, a population from tea in Sri Lanka and the population of Radopholus sp. from turmeric in Indonesia were the least fit. Specific pathogenicity was estimated at 8 weeks and 12 weeks after inoculation using three plant growth parameters: fresh root weight, fresh shoot weight and plant height, compared to uninfected control plants. Reduction in plant root weight was the best indicator of pathogenicity. While the R. similis populations from Uganda and the Ivory Coast were highly pathogenic, other populations with great reproductive fitness (i.e. isolates from Cameroon and Sri Lanka) did not significantly reduce root weight. In cv. Poyo, no linear correlation was found between final numbers of nematodes per gram of root (P_f) and the decrease of root weight.