Relative significance of nursery infections and orchard inoculum in the development and spread of apple canker (Nectria galligena) in young orchards

Three nurseries produced apple rootstocks (M9) and budwood (cv. Royal Gala), which they exchanged at the end of the first year. Each nursery then budded its own budwood onto the rootstocks it had produced and that from the other two nurseries. Budded trees were grown on for a further year before being planted at HRI, East Malling in southern England; NIHPBS, Loughgall in Northern Ireland; and ADAS, Rosemaund in the West Midlands of England. Canker development was monitored twice a year. The position of the infected trees within the orchard was recorded, as was the position of the canker on each tree (main-stem or peripheral). Nectria galligena was isolated from representative cankers and analysed using molecular techniques. At the sites in Northern Ireland and HRI there was a strong positional effect, especially of peripheral cankers, indicating that most of the inoculum was external and had been spread from neighbouring orchards. There was little or no positional effect on main-stem cankers at any of the three sites. The proportions of different isolates taken from peripheral cankers was different in Northern Ireland from that in England, suggesting different populations associated with the geographic areas. In contrast, the populations of N. galligena obtained from main-stem cankers were very similar in England and Northern Ireland. It was concluded that a small proportion of trees developing canker were infected during propagation, with no symptom development until after planting. In a second trial it was demonstrated that trees infected during the propagation phase, and particularly at budding and heading back, could develop canker up to 3 years later. While it is clear that some canker developing in the orchard can be associated with the nursery of production, in climatic conditions conducive to the formation and dissemination of conidia, inoculum from surrounding infected orchards is the primary source of the pathogen. Aerial spread is therefore an essential element of the epidemiology of N. galligena, and its control is a crucial part of any canker-control programme.     

PCR–RFLP and Sequence Data Delineate Three Diaporthe Species Associated with Stone and Pome Fruit Trees in South Africa

Diaporthe species include canker pathogens on a wide variety of hosts. In South Africa, Diaporthe canker of apple, pear and plum rootstocks has been attributed to Diaporthe ambigua. Recently, we recognized that isolates of D. ambigua exhibited different morphological features and thus questioned the identity of these isolates. A small set of isolates was thus chosen for comparison using DNA-based methods. Polymerase chain reaction amplification of ribosomal DNA, Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphisms and DNA sequencing revealed that isolates which had been regarded as D. ambigua in the past were three distinct species. These are D. ambigua, D. perjuncta and an unknown Phomopsis sp. This discovery has special relevance to research done on a dsRNA virus previously thought to occur in D. ambigua and now shown to infect D. perjuncta.     

Seasonal changes in susceptibility of Quercus suber to Botryosphaeria stevensii and Phytophthora cinnamomi

Monthly inoculations of both intact plants and excised shoots of Quercus suber with the pathogenic species Botryosphaeria stevensii and Phytophthora cinnamomi were performed to investigate seasonal changes in susceptibility of this forest tree species in relation to environmental parameters and plant water status. Infection symptoms were mainly detected on seedlings inoculated from spring to autumn (April through October) with either pathogen. Mean canker sizes also showed a seasonal pattern, the higher values being recorded in the same period as above. Lesion lengths were significantly ( P  < 0·001) related to environmental minimum temperature. Mean daily minimum temperatures within the range of 5–12°C clearly inhibited lesion development of P. cinnamomi , whereas B. stevensii showed a less pronounced decrease in canker expansion at the same temperature range. In excised shoots of Q. suber inoculated monthly with B. stevensii , a negative linear relationship was found between the studied range of plant relative water content (81–91%) and canker length. In contrast, the lesions caused by P. cinnamomi were not significantly ( P  = 0·32) related to any seasonal change in water content. Some control measures for the diseases caused by both pathogens are discussed on the basis of the seasonal changes in host susceptibility observed in this study.     

Effects of Severity and Timing of Stem Canker (Leptosphaeria maculans) Symptoms on Yield of Winter Oilseed Rape (Brassica napus) in the UK

The relationships between yield loss and incidence (% plants with stems affected) or severity (mean stem score, 0–4 scale) of stem canker in winter oilseed rape were analysed using data from experiments at Rothamsted in 1991/92, Withington in 1992/93, Boxworth in 1993/94 and Rothamsted in 1997/98. Critical point models and area under disease progress curve (AUDPC) models were better than multiple point models for describing relationships between yield (tha^–1) and incidence or severity of stem canker for the four experiments. Since yield is influenced by many factors other than disease, % yield loss was calculated and critical point models and AUDPC models relating % yield loss to stem canker were constructed. The critical point models for % yield loss on stem canker incidence for three of the four experiments were similar, but differed from that for Rothamsted in 1991/92. There were also no differences between models of % yield loss on AUDPC of both incidence and severity for these three experiments. Therefore, general models of % yield loss (L) against AUDPC of incidence (X) or severity (S) of stem canker from growth stages 4.8 to 6.4 were derived from the combined data sets for the three experiments: L=–0.76+0.0075X (R²=35%, p<0.001), L=0.26+0.53S (R²=37%, p<0.001). The relationships between % yield loss and % plants with different stem canker severity scores at different growth stages were also analysed; the greatest yield losses were generally associated with the largest severity scores, for plants assessed at the same crop growth stage, and were also associated with the early development of stem lesions. Further analyses showed that % yield loss was related to incidence or severity of both basal stem cankers and upper stem lesions in experiments at Boxworth in 1993/94 and at Rothamsted in 1997/98.     

7种杀菌剂对3种林木腐烂病菌的毒力测定及活性评价

林木腐烂病是苹果树、梨树和杨树等林木枝干的重要真菌性病害。为了筛选出对苹果树腐烂病菌Valsa mali var. mali、梨树腐烂病菌V. mali var. pyri和杨树腐烂病菌V. sordida等3种不同寄主腐烂病菌都能有效防控的杀菌剂,本研究开展室内毒力试验比较了7种杀菌剂对3种腐烂病病原菌菌丝生长和分生孢子萌发的抑制效果,并进一步通过田间活性测定试验比较7种杀菌剂对梨树腐烂病病斑扩展和分生孢子发生的防治效果,同时测定了增效剂8.6%聚乙二醇(PEG)对7种杀菌剂的增效作用。毒力测定结果表明,苯醚甲环唑、戊唑醇、吡唑醚菌酯和丙唑·多菌灵对3种腐烂病病原菌菌丝生长和分生孢子萌发的抑制作用较强,其中EC50平均值最低的是苯醚甲环唑,而戊唑醇的MIC平均值最低,在0.33 mg/L浓度下对3种腐烂病病原菌的菌丝生长和分生孢子萌发抑制率均达到100%。田间试验结果表明,45%苯醚甲环唑SC、43%戊唑醇SC和35%丙唑·多菌灵SE对梨树腐烂病病斑扩展和分生孢子萌发的防治效果突出,其中45%苯醚甲环唑SC 30.00 mg/L对病斑扩展防治效果达到82.23%,孢子萌发抑制效果达到85.96%,田间防治效果最好。10%丙硫唑SC+8.6% PEG处理组对病斑扩展防治效果提高了15.39百分点,达到73.46%,分生孢子萌发抑制率提高了23.75百分点,达到83.06%,增效作用显著。本研究为苹果树、梨树和杨树等3种寄主腐烂病的化学防控提供了科学依据。     

Traumatic resin-canal formation caused by inoculation withCistella japonica in secondary phloem ofChamaecyparis obtusa

In the resinous lesion development caused by the inoculation withCistella japonica onChamaecyparis obtusa stem, numerous traumatic resin-canals were formed at certain radial intervals in the secondary phloem. These formation started in the ring grown in the current or the previous year of inoculation and the resin-canals were subsequently formed in the newly grown rings. The resin-canals were arranged in tangential series in one to two lines in an annual-ring. Artificially induced resin-canal formation was similar to that in naturally infected resinous stem canker. The results from the present study reconfirmed thatCi. japonica is the causal agent of the disease.     

苹果轮纹病和炭疽病发生规律的研究

苹果轮纹病和炭疽病均引起苹果烂果 ,本研究发现轮纹病是导致苹果烂果的主要原因。采收期病果中轮纹病占 82 .99%～ 91 .0 8% ,炭疽病占 6.87%～ 9.4 8%。贮藏期病果轮纹病占 78.50 %～ 80 .56%。两病均具有前期侵染、后期发病、潜伏期长的特点。苹果轮纹病菌的侵染初期在 5月 ,侵染盛期在 7～ 8月 ;苹果炭疽病菌的侵染盛期为 6～ 8月。果园内 4～ 9月均有孢子活动。孢子散发初盛期为 5～ 6月 ,盛期在 7～ 8月 ,田间孢子散发盛期与病菌侵染盛期相吻合。果实感病率幼果期至果实膨大期高于成熟期。采收前 3 0d和贮藏 3 5d内为果实发病高峰期。降雨是决定两病当年发病早晚和发生程度的决定性因素。病菌孢子释放、侵染及田间果实发病均与降雨密切相关。温度只影响孢子散发的初始期 ,而对病情发展无明显影响。     

“海沃德”猕猴桃细菌性溃疡病田间分布型研究

本研究利用经典的聚集度指标法和回归分析法对该病害的空间分布型进行测定,探明猕猴桃溃疡病的田间分布情况。结果表明,猕猴桃溃疡病病株在大田呈聚集分布,分布的基本形式为个体群。分别计算了猕猴桃溃疡病大田抽样的最适理论抽样数和序贯抽样数,确定了该病害抽样的最佳样方大小,通过上述研究有效提高调查抽样的效率,为提高该病害田间调查的准确性和制定有效的防治措施提供依据。     

Pathogenicity and Gene Expression Pattern of the Exocrine Protein LtGH61A of Grape Canker Fungus

【Objective】Grape canker disease, caused by Botryosphaeria genus fungi, occurs in a wide range of grape-producing areas in China and seriously threatens the yield and quality of grape. The objective of this study is to analyze the function of a hypothetical exocrine protein, LtGH61A, in grape canker fungus Lasiodiplodia theobromae, and to lay a foundation for in-depth analysis of the pathogenic mechanism and disease control of grape canker fungus.【Method】The signal peptide of LtGH61A protein was predicted by SignalP 4.0. The function of LtGH61A protein was predicted by the homologous comparison and functional annotation. The exocrine characteristic of LtGH61A protein was analyzed by yeast complementary experiment. The quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to analyze the expression of LtGH61A in vegetative hyphae and different infection processes. The expression of LtGH61A was inhibited through RNA interference (RNAi). The effect of LtGH61A protein on the pathogenicity of L. theobromae was analyzed by in vitro inoculation test of grape shoots. The effect of LtGH61A protein on the hyphal growth rate of L. theobromae was analyzed by comparing the colony diameter.【Result】Amino acid sequence analysis predicts that the N-terminal of the LtGH61A protein contains a signal peptide with a length of 18 amino acids. The gene function annotation suggests that LtGH61A belongs to glycoside hydrolase family 61 (GH61) and can degrade cellulose as a substrate. Yeast complementary experiments showed that the signal peptide of LtGH61A protein could guide the secretion of invertase of yeast YTK12. Compared with the vegetative hyphae, the expression of LtGH61A was increased significantly at the infectious stages, and the mRNA accumulation of LtGH61A at 48 h post inoculation was 19 times of that in the vegetative hyphae. Moreover, RNAi lines were constructed for LtGH61A and two lines RNAi-LtGH61A1 and RNAi-LtGH61A2 were confirmed by qRT-PCR. The results of in vitro inoculation test of wild-type and RNAi transformants on wounded grape shoots showed that the lesion length caused by both RNAi-LtGH61A1 and RNAi-LtGH61A2 was significantly shorter than that of wild type (WT) CSS-01s, which was about 55% of WT, indicating that LtGH61A affected the pathogenicity of L. theobromae. The colony diameter comparison showed that compared with WT, the colony diameter of RNAi-LtGH61A1 and RNAi-LtGH61A2 transformants became smaller, about 85% of WT, indicating that LtGH61A affected the hyphal growth rate of L. theobromae.【Conclusion】LtGH61A affects the pathogenicity and hyphal growth of grape canker pathogen. LtGH61A protein can be secreted outside the cell. The expression level of LtGH61A during infectious stages is significantly increased, suggesting that LtGH61A can destroy the host plant tissue by exerting its own enzyme activity function, thus promoting pathogen infection.     

HrpG regulates type II secretory proteins in Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri

HrpG, a two-component response regulator-like protein, is a key regulator of the type III secretion system (T3SS) in Xanthomonas spp. In X. campestris pv. vesicatoria, HrpG with a single amino acid substitution (HrpG*) gains the ability to induce the expression of T3SS-related genes even under nutrient-rich conditions. In this study, we investigated the role of HrpG in the synthesis of the secretory protein using HrpG* in strain NA-1 of X. axonopodis pv. citri (Xac NA-1), a causal agent of citrus canker. Eleven proteins secreted via a type II secretion system (T2SS) were induced by HrpG*. In proteomic analyses, six of the 11 proteins were identified as extracellular enzymes, and the others as a fimbrial biogenesis-related protein, a type IV-related protein, two hypothetical proteins, and a conserved hypothetical protein. Further analysis of these proteins revealed that the genes coding all 11 proteins were upregulated by HrpG*, even though they had different expression patterns for HrpXct-dependency. The data indicated that HrpG, a key regulator of T3SS, also acts as a positive regulator of certain proteins secreted via a T2SS in Xac NA-1.