Effects of mutations in Drosophila nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunits on sensitivity to insecticides targeting nicotinic acetylcholine receptors

Several strains of Drosophila melanogaster possess mutant alleles in nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) subunits, Dα1 and Dβ2 that confer resistance to neonicotinoids such as imidacloprid and nitenpyram, and Dα6, that confers resistance to spinosyns. These mutant strains were bioassayed with a selected set of nAChR active insecticides including neonicotinoids, spinosad, and sulfoxaflor, a new sulfoximine insecticide. All of the neonicotinoids examined, except dinotefuran showed reduced insecticidal efficacy on larvae of the Dα1 mutant, suggesting that this subunit may be important in the action of these insecticides. All of the neonicotinoids, including dinotefuran, showed reduced insecticidal efficacy on larvae possessing the Dβ2 mutation. A similar pattern of broad neonicotinoid resistance to that of Dβ2 alone was also observed for larvae with both the mutations (Dα1 + Dβ2). The Dβ2 mutation exhibited a lower level of cross-resistance to sulfoxaflor (<3-fold) than to any of the neonicotinoids (>13-fold). In contrast, there was no cross-resistance for any of the neonicotinoids or sulfoxaflor in adult flies with the Dα6 mutation, which confers high levels of resistance to spinosad. Thus in the D. melanogaster strains studied, target site resistance observed for the neonicotinoids and the spinosyns does not translate directly to resistance towards sulfoxaflor.     

Variation in susceptibility of lettuce cultivars to fusarium wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. lactucae

Lettuce cultivars adapted to Californian growing conditions were screened for resistance to fusarium wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. lactucae in order to determine if differences in susceptibility among currently grown cultivars might contribute to management of this disease. Based on a preliminary evaluation of 46 cultivars, eight that were among the most resistant of their horticultural type (iceberg, romaine or leaf) were selected for further testing. The relative susceptibility of these cultivars was assessed by: (i) root-dip inoculation, (ii) sowing seeds into infested potting mix and (iii) transplanting seedlings into an infested field. Evaluations of disease severity showed that both methods (i) and (ii) produced cultivar rankings that were significantly correlated with rankings from field trials [method (iii)]. Two romaine and two leaf cultivars were highly resistant to fusarium wilt (mean disease severity rating of ≤1·3 on a 1–4 scale) under all test conditions. Other romaine and leaf cultivars, however, were highly susceptible in root–dip tests, so there was no consistent association between cultivar type and susceptibility to fusarium wilt. Likewise, there was considerable variation in susceptibility to wilt among iceberg cultivars, but all were significantly more susceptible than the most resistant romaine and leaf cultivars.     

Spatial and temporal analysis of coffee wilt disease caused by Fusarium xylarioides in Coffea canephora

Coffee wilt disease (CWD) caused by Fusarium xylarioides, considered to be a soil-inhabiting fungus, is endemic in several African countries, affecting commercially important coffee species and causing serious economic losses. Coffee wilt disease development in naturally infected Coffea canephora fields at the Coffee Research Institute in Uganda was assessed from April 2001 to March 2006 to generate information about temporal and spatial spread of the disease. Maps of diseased trees were also generated from the data. Semi-variance analysis was performed on the data to show the spatio-temporal structure of disease. Host influence on the spatio-temporal structure was deduced from the distribution pattern of diseased and healthy trees and analysis of variance. Results show that the temporal disease epidemic progress was slow. The disease was found to spread from initial infections to healthy neighbouring trees, resulting in an aggregated pattern. An infected tree could infect up to three healthy trees away, in any direction. Disease foci formed and expanded with time, coalescing but punctuated in spots planted with resistant hosts. There were varying levels of susceptibility among host genotypes, affecting the rates and levels of epidemic development. The implications of the findings to the control of CWD are discussed.     

Pathogenesis-related gene expression in rice is correlated with developmentally controlled Xa21-mediated resistance against Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae

Disease resistance mediated by the resistance gene Xa21 is developmentally controlled in rice. We examined the relationship between Pathogenesis Related (PR) defense gene expression and Xa21-mediated developmental disease resistance induced by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo). OsPR1a, OsPR1b, and OsPR1c genes were cloned and their induction was analyzed, in addition to the OsPR10a gene, at the juvenile and adult stages in response to a wildtype Xoo strain that induces a resistance response (incompatible interaction) and an isogenic mutant Xoo strain that does not (compatible interaction). We found that the adult stage leaves are more competent to express these OsPR1 genes and that the Xa21 locus is required for the highest levels of induction.     

Identification of divergent variants of Grapevine virus A

Eight isolates of Grapevine virus A (GVA), which induced different symptoms in leaves of Nicotiana benthamiana, were recovered from various grapevines. The dsRNA patterns of two isolates, which consistently induced mild vein clearing (referred here as mild isolates of GVA) were similar, but different from those of other isolates of GVA. Analysis based on overall nucleotide (nt) sequence identity in the 3 terminal part of the GVA genome, comprising part of ORF3 (putative movement protein, MP), entire ORF4 (capsid protein, CP), entire ORF5 and part of 3 UTR, revealed that GVA isolates separate into three groups (I, II, III), sharing 91.0–99.8% nt sequence identity within groups and 78.0–89.3% nt sequence identity between groups. Mild isolates of the virus were group III and shared only 78.0–79.6% nt sequence identity with the other isolates. The comparison of predicted amino acid sequences for MP and CP revealed many amino acid alterations, revealing distinct local net charges of these proteins for mild isolates of the virus. Based on both conserved and divergent nt regions in the CP and ORF5, oligonucleotide primers were designed for the simultaneous RT-PCR detection of all GVA isolates and for the specific detection of the most divergent virus variants represented here by mild isolates of the virus.     

Intra-specific variation and inheritance of BYDV-PAV transmission in the aphid <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sitobion avenae</Emphasis>

Vector efficiency of 44 clonal lines (clones) of Sitobion avenae belonging to 31 different genotypes (distinct patterns for five microsatellite loci) originating from Western France was evaluated by transmitting the isolate PAV4 of BYDV-PAV to barley seedlings. Variation in transmission rates from 3.7% to 92.5% was observed, with significant effects of the aphid clone, of the plant species on which clones were collected, and of the reproductive mode of the clones. When genotypes are considered instead of clones, a continuum in transmission rates was observed. A subset of S. avenae clones was tested for transmission of one (10 clones) and 13 (4 clones) other BYDV-PAV isolates, and a clear clone effect modulated by an isolate effect was observed. Crosses were made between clones with different vectoring phenotypes and their F1 progeny were tested for PAV4 transmission. The narrow sense heritability of the PAV transmission character was rather high in the F1 families (h²=0.5) and the segregation analyses suggested an oligo/polygenic determinism of this character. The possibility of generating new transmission variants by sexual reproduction and its consequences on transmission mechanism studies and on BYD epidemics are discussed.     

Biological Control of Sclerotinia Diseases of Rapeseed by Aerial Applications of the Mycoparasite Coniothyrium minitans

Indoor and field experiments were conducted to evaluate the efficacy of applying the mycoparasite Coniothyrium minitans to the aerial parts of rapeseed plants at the flowering stage to control sclerotinia diseases caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. Under controlled conditions, a petal inoculation technique was used to determine the effect of conidial suspensions of C. minitans on suppression of sclerotinia leaf blight. Results showed that C. minitans was effective in inhibiting infection initiated by ascospores of S. sclerotiorum on flower petals by restricting mycelial growth of the pathogen. Suppression of lesion development was related to the conidial concentration of C. minitans, with larger lesions at low concentration (5×10³conidia ml⁻¹), but smaller lesions at high concentration (5×10⁴ conidia ml⁻¹ or higher). When C. minitans-treated rapeseed leaves were inoculated with mycelia of S. sclerotiorum, C. minitans failed to prevent infection of leaves, but caused a significant reduction in number of sclerotia produced on the diseased leaves. No significant difference in efficacy was detected between the two isolates of C. minitans, LRC 2137 and Chy-1, on the two rapeseed cultivars, Westar (spring type) and Zhongyou 821 (winter type). Results of field trials showed a significant reduction of stem rot of rapeseed in four (1997, 1999, 2003 and 2004) out of five years by aerial application of C. minitans, compared with controls. No significant difference in suppressive efficacy was observed between the treatments of C. minitans (10⁶ conidia ml⁻¹), C. minitans (10⁶ conidia ml⁻¹) + benomyl (50 μg ml⁻¹) and benomyl (100 μg ml⁻¹) in 2003, and between the treatments of C. minitans (10⁶ conidia ml⁻¹), C. minitans (10⁶ conidia ml⁻¹) + vinclozolin (100 μg ml⁻¹) and vinclozolin (500 μg ml⁻¹) in 2004. Sclerotia of S. sclerotiorum collected from diseased plants in plots treated with C. minitans in 1999, 2000 and 2003, or with C. minitans + benomyl in 2003 were infected by C. minitans at frequencies ranging from 21.3 to 54.5%. This study concludes that aerial spraying of C. minitans is an effective method for controlling sclerotinia diseases of rapeseed.     

中国苜蓿品种对黄萎病抗病性鉴定

 黄萎病(Verticillium albo-atrum Reinke & Berthold)是苜蓿的毁灭性病害,在欧洲常于播种当年就有许多植株发病,第二年末或第三年会有大批植株死亡,使苜蓿地失去利用价值。1976年以后,本病在北美流行,并造成巨大经济损失。