Genetic variation in susceptibility to pine wilt disease of maritime pine (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Pinus pinaster</Emphasis> Aiton) half-sib families

Key message

This paper presents a greenhouse study for assessing the genetic variation in maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Aiton) in response to pinewood nematode (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus (Steiner et Buhren) Nickle), which is a causal agent of pine wilt disease. Fifteen out of 96 half-sib families were selected as less susceptible. This experiment is an important first step for creating a resistance breeding program.

Context

Pine wilt disease is caused by the pinewood nematode (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus (Steiner et Buhren) Nickle), a quarantine pest, and is a concern to maritime pine (Pinus pinaster) in Portugal due to its economic, environmental, and social impacts. This disease is regarded as a major threat to European forests.

Aims

This paper aimed to evaluate the genetic variation in maritime pine families that were inoculated with pinewood nematode, identify the most resistant families, and establish the guidelines for a resistance improvement program.

Methods

Two-year-old half-sib progenies obtained from 96 plus trees were inoculated. The plants were monitored for survival on four different dates. The statistical analysis followed the mixed model theory.

Results

Genetic variability of the susceptibility to pine wilt disease was observed. At 157 days after inoculation, the 15 highest genetic ranking families out of 96 were selected, having a predicted survival mean of 15.6% instead of 11.0% on average for the all 96 families.

Conclusion

This study allows for the implementation of an improvement program to help control pine wilt disease.

     

Screening of alternative products for integrated pest management of cucurbit powdery mildew in Sweden

Cucurbit powdery mildew (CPM) is one of the most important plant protection problems in Swedish cucumber production. CPM fungi have developed resistance to the commonly used fungicide (Imazalil) rendering its current use less effective. We therefore screened a selection of alternative products, evaluating their ability to control CPM in seven small-scale, semi-commercial, greenhouse experiments. Products were screened for their ability to suppress CPM on a susceptible cultivar, in 2013. In 2015, the best treatments were tested in different combinations, in different intervals on a susceptible and a partially resistant cultivar. The treatment that gave the best CPM control was Sakalia in combination with wetting agent Yuccah, (based on Reynoutria sachaliensis and Yucca schidigera respectively) applied at 7-day intervals. This treatment was highly efficient on both cucumber cultivars. Sakalia mixed with Yuccah applied at 14-day intervals had an almost equally controlling effect on CPM. The microbial pesticides, Polyversum (Pythium oligandrum) and AQ10 (Ampelomyces quiscalis) and the fungicide Imazalil, provided no to poor control of CPM compared to control treatments. Hortistar (Silicon) partially reduced CPM infections and was more efficient on the partially resistant cultivar. We conclude that Sakalia in combination with wetting agent Yuccah could efficiently control the disease even under the severe conditions caused by artificial inoculation. Further testing of this combination in commercial greenhouses will enable evaluation of the potential effects on yield and beneficial or pest insects. The knowledge gained from this study can be used to develop IPM tools for commercial production systems.     

Infection process of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Gilbertella persicaria</Emphasis> in papaya (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Carica papaya</Emphasis> L.) fruits

Gilbertella persicaria is a pathogenic fungus recently reported as a causative agent of soft rot in papaya fruits. Here the interactions between G. persicaria and papaya fruits was analyzed under laboratory conditions using histological techniques and optical microscopy to elucidate the process of pathogenesis. Healthy and disinfested fruits of papaya cv. Maradol were also inoculated with a suspension of sporangiospores of G. persicaria. Tissue sections were cut, which were subjected to differential staining with safranin-fast green for different times. Sporangiospores presumably adhered to the cuticle of the fruit by 3 h post inoculation (hpi) and germinated by 6 hpi; invasive intracellular hyphae were growing in host cells by 9 hpi. By 15 hpi, fruit epidermis was macerated, presumably by enzymatic activity reported for mucoral fungal species and appeared as a wet-looking lesion on the cuticle. Fruit mesocarp was colonized by 30 hpi, and asexual reproduction structures had formed by 48 hpi. This process of infection and disease development of G. persicaria in papaya fruits corresponds to that used by pathogens with a necrotrophic lifestyle.     

Nitrogen mineralization dynamics in acid vineyard soils amended with bentonite winery waste

An excess of available nitrogen (N) in vineyard soil is considered detrimental for vine growth, making a thorough assessment of N mineralization dynamics in vineyard soils before the addition of winery waste necessary. This study assesses the changes in N mineralization in acid vineyard soils amended with bentonite winery waste (BW). Non-amended soil (control), BW and soil-waste mixtures (SBWM) with a low (+L) or high (+H) dose of BW were incubated for six weeks. After 7, 14, 21 and 42 days of incubation, the control soils, BW and SBWM were analysed for net ammonified N, net nitrified N and net mineralized N. Parameters related to the kinetics of N mineralization were also determined. The addition of BW increased the potentially mineralizable N (N₀) in the amended soils (58–144% for the highest BW dose), although the mineralization rate was governed by the soil characteristics. Mineralizable N was only a small fraction (<4%) of the total organic nitrogen added to the soil through the BW addition, mainly due to the dominance of the nitrification process in the BW amended soils. These experimental results suggest that the addition of BW may be a suitable amendment for nitrogen fertilization in acid vineyard soil.     

Tracking the Limnoecological History of Lake Hiidenvesi (Southern Finland) Using the Paleolimnological Approach

We examined a sediment record from Lake Hiidenvesi in southern Finland using paleolimnological methods to trace its limnoecological history. In our record, beginning from the 1940s, chironomid (Diptera) assemblages shifted from typical boreal taxa towards mesotrophic community assemblages at ~?1960–1980 CE being finally replaced by eutrophic taxa from the 1990s onward. The diatom (Bacillariophyceae) assemblages reflected relatively nutrient rich conditions throughout the record showing a further increase in eutrophic taxa from the 1970s onward. A chironomid-based reconstruction of late-winter hypolimnetic dissolved oxygen (DO) conditions suggested anoxic conditions already in the 1950s, probably reflecting increased inlake production due to allochthonous nutrient inputs and related increase in biological oxygen consumption. However, the reconstruction also indicated large variability in long-term oxygen conditions that appear typical for the basin. With regard to nutrient status, chironomid- and diatom-based reconstructions of total phosphorus (TP) showed a similar trend throughout the record, although, chironomids indicated a more straightforward eutrophication process in the benthic habitat and seemed to reflect the intensified human activities in the catchment more strongly than diatoms. The DO and TP reconstructions were mostly similar in trends compared to the measured data available since the 1970s/1980s. However, the increase in TP during the most recent years in both reconstructions was not visible in the monitored data. The results of our multiproxy study emphasize the significance of including both epilimnetic and hypolimnetic systems in water quality assessments and provide important long-term limnoecological information that will be useful in the future when setting targets for restoration.     

Modelling relative abundance of Oligoryzomys flavescens,an Orthohantavirus reservoir,in an endemic hantavirus pulmonary syndrome zone

Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) is a zoonotic emerging infectious disease caused by New World orthohantaviruses (family Hantaviridae) hosted by rodents of the family Cricetidae. In Argentina, one of its main hosts is the sigmodontine rodent Oligoryzomys flavescens, a widely distributed mouse of the Pampas, Delta and Espinal ecoregions of central-east Argentina. Because the abundance of the reservoir and its proportion in the rodent community affects both virus prevalence and human exposure risk, its estimation throughout its known geographical distribution is of key importance for the design of public health strategies to prevent HPS. The aim of this study was therefore to model the relative abundance of O. flavescens in most of the Pampas ecoregion within Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, where hantavirus pulmonary syndrome is endemic. To do this we used owl-pellet samples collected between 2006 and 2008 from 51 sites distributed throughout most of Buenos Aires province. Mammalian prey in each pellet was identified to the lowest possible taxonomic level by examination of the skulls, dentaries and molars. We modelled the frequency of O. flavescens found in each sample as a function of climatic, environmental, and topographic data of each site. The two best models were applied to a Geo referential Information System to build maps of estimated frequency (as a proxy of relative abundance) within Buenos Aires province. Estimated relative abundance of O. flavescens in Buenos Aires province was significantly associated with annual mean temperature, annual precipitation and presence of freshwater bodies, and varied among sub-regions, with the Inland and Rolling Pampas being the regions with highest frequencies. Knowing in which areas O. flavescens abundance is expected to be higher can be used to concentrate limited sanitary efforts in those areas that are most needed in order to reduce transmission and increase detection.     

Proteolytic Enzymes in Germinating Rye Grains

The proteolytic activities during rye (Secale cereale L. ‘Humbolt’) grain germination were monitored using in‐solution methods and one‐ and two‐dimensional PAGE with gels that contained incorporated substrate proteins. The total proteolytic activity increased during the first three days of germination, but not after that. The proteinase activity was measured at pH 3.8, 6.0, and 8.0 in the presence and absence of class‐specific proteinase inhibitors. This indicated that enzymes from all four proteinase classes were present during the germination process. Germinated rye grain contained mainly aspartic and cysteine proteinase activities that are especially active at pH 3.8. Serine‐ and metallo‐proteinases were less abundant. Overall, the pattern of hydrolysis was very similar to that observed during barley and wheat germination.