Amino acid substitution at position 95 in rabies virus matrix protein affects viral pathogenicity

We previously reported that rabies virus strain CE(NiM), but not the parental Ni-CE strain, killed mice after intracerebral inoculation. CE(NiM) and Ni-CE are genetically identical except for two amino acids at positions 29 and 95 in the M protein. In this study, to identify which residue determines the pathogenicity, we examined pathogenicities of two Ni-CE mutants, CE(NiM29) and CE(NiM95), which were established by replacement of an amino acid residue at position 29 or 95 in the Ni-CE M protein with the corresponding residue of CE(NiM), respectively. We found that CE(NiM95), but not CE(NiM29), killed mice, indicating that the amino acid at position 95 in the M protein is the pathogenic determinant.     

Control efficacy of the systemic acquired resistance (SAR) inducer acibenzolar-S-methyl against Venturia nashicola in Japanese pear orchards

Journal of General Plant Pathology - Scab caused by Venturia nashicola is one of the most serious diseases of Asian pears, and conventional fungicides used to control scab can lose their efficacy...     

Coleoptile cuticle of barley is necessary for the increase in appressorial turgor pressure of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Blumeria graminis</Emphasis> for penetration

To determine whether the cuticle of the barley coleoptile is responsible for a rise in appressorial turgor pressure in Blumeria graminis, we determined the appressorial turgor pressure by measuring cytorrhysis and plasmolysis in the presence of PEG6000. Appressorial turgor pressure significantly increased 13–14 h after inoculation. On the other hand, when the cuticle was completely removed from the barley coleoptile surface with diethyl ether, turgor pressure did not increase. Moreover, when we then recoated the surface with the exogenous barley cuticle fraction, appressorial turgor pressure significantly increased 12–13 h after inoculation. These results suggest that the cuticle on the surface of the barley coleoptile is necessary for the increase in the appressorial turgor pressure.     

The role of primary germ tubes (PGT) in the life cycle of Blumeria graminis: The stopping of PGT elongation is necessary for the triggering of appressorial germ tube (AGT) emergence

The conidia of Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei (Bgh), following contact with a host surface, first form a short germ tube, called the primary germ tube (PGT), and then an elongating germ tube emerges. It differentiates into an appressorial germ tube (AGT), and then the AGT elongates and swells. It forms a hooked, appressorial lobe that penetrates the epidermal cell wall of the host. In a series of infections, the positive role of PGT in the morphogenesis of the fungus is unclear except for the possibility reported by Carver and Ingerson that the growth of a long germ tube, with the potential to differentiate into an appressorium, seems to be dependent on the perception of a suitable host surface through contact with the PGT. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to further clarify the role of PGT in the morphogenesis of the fungus. When the conidia of Bgh were inoculated onto the coleoptile surface whose cuticle was removed with cellulose acetate, the emergence of the AGT was delayed. This delay was related to the length of the PGT. That is, on the cuticleless coleoptile surface the PGT tended to continue elongating without stopping. If there were gaps on the coleoptile surface such as a cell border on the more hydrophilic substratum like cuticleless coleoptile surface, the PGT stopped elongating there and after that the AGT emerged. Moreover, the length of PGT in the beginning of AGT emergence was same as that of the PGT after appressorium formation. This means that PGT elongation had stopped when AGT began to emerge. Therefore, it is necessary to stop the PGT elongation for the triggering of AGT emergence.     

Molecular mapping of Asian soybean rust resistance in soybean landraces PI 594767A,PI 587905 and PI 416764

Asian soybean rust (ASR), caused by Phakopsora pachyrhizi, is one of the most serious diseases of soybean. The soybean landraces PI 594767A, PI 587905 and PI 416764 previously showed high levels of resistance to a wide range of ASR fungus, while the genetic basis of the resistance has yet to be understood. In this study, the ASR resistance loci were mapped using three independent mapping populations, POP‐1, POP‐2 and POP‐3 derived from crosses BRS184 × PI 594767A, BRS184 ×  PI 587905 and BRS184 × PI 416764, respectively. In each population, the resistance to ASR segregated as a single gene, but the resistance was dominant in PI 594767A and PI 587905 and incompletely dominant in PI 416764. The resistance genes from both PI 594767A and PI 587905 were mapped on chromosome 18 corresponding to the same location as known resistance locus Rpp1. Quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis performed on POP‐3 identified the putative ASR resistance locus in PI 416764 on the defined region of chromosome 6 where Rpp3 was located. The QTLs detected by the mapping explained about 67–72% of the phenotypic variation in POP‐3. Cluster analysis based on disease reactions to 64 ASR populations demonstrated the presence of at least two types of functional resistant Rpp1 alleles: strong and weak allele(s), e.g. soybean accession PI 594767A and PI 587905 carry the strong resistant Rpp1 allele(s). Introducing or pyramiding strong Rpp1 allele(s) in elite soybean cultivars is expected to be useful against the South American rust population.     

Ant nestmate and non-nestmate discrimination by a chemosensory sensillum

In animal societies, chemical communication plays an important role in conflict and cooperation. For ants, cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) blends produced by non-nestmates elicit overt aggression. We describe a sensory sensillum on the antennae of the carpenter ant Camponotus japonicus that functions in nestmate discrimination. This sensillum is multiporous and responds only to non-nestmate CHC blends. This suggests a role for a peripheral recognition mechanism in detecting colony-specific chemical signals.