Studies on mutlispecific resistance of gastrointestinal nematodes to benzimidazoles on dairy-goat farms

Multispecific resistance to benzimidazoles was studied in three selected farms. These farms had bred dairy goats for more than 15 years. The helminths were introduced with the goats at the establishment of the farms which afterwards remained isolated. Nematode resistance could then be related to their own management practices. Faecal egg count tests and egg hatch assays were performed to assess intensity of resistance. The generic (infective larvae in faecal cultures) and specific richness (adult worms) were assessed. The resistant species were Trichostrongylus colubriformis, Teladorsagia circumcincta, Haemonchus contortus and Oesophagostomum venulosum. Faecal egg count reduction tests and egg-hatch assays did not match exactly. Faecal larval counts after treatments gave a distorted picture of multispecific resistance: Haemonchus and Oesophagostomum were very largely over represented. The number of species found in the three farms was relatively low compared with other reports in goat farms of the area. This reduction of diversity might also be due in part to characteristics of breeding management and history (use of permanent pasture and introduction of goats at the establishment of farm).     

中国结缕草属(Zoysia spp.)植物抗寒性评价

在广泛收集结缕草属(ZoysiaWild.)种质资源基础上,按照形态类型和地理分布,选取40份种质,采用电导法(EL)对其抗寒性进行初步评价。以半致死温度(LT50)为评价指标,在参试材料中除大穗结缕草和来自台湾岛海边沙地的沟叶结缕草外,其它种质都较天堂-419(对照)抗寒;在结缕草属内,抗寒性具有明显的种间差异,耐寒性依次为日本结缕草>中华结缕草>沟叶结缕草>细叶结缕草>长花中华结缕草>大穗结缕草,其中细叶类型的沟叶结缕草和细叶结缕草抗寒性变异较大;日本结缕草和中华结缕草抗寒性变异与地理分布之间没有显著关系,但分布在海边的种类和种质抗寒性明显较低;结缕草属及其中华结缕草的抗寒性与叶长、叶宽以及叶背面被毛之间均存在显著的负相关关系,但这种关系不体现在日本结缕草上。实验结果还表明,EL方法是评价结缕草属抗寒性较为可靠的方法之一。     

海南半干旱地区芒果间作柱花草及作物效益初探

1998～2001年在海南东方干旱半干旱燥红土芒果与柱花草及作物间作示范区的实践表明，在芒果园间作扁豆、柱花草、番薯和花生可显著提高芒果挂果率，芒果收入比芒果单种分别增加97．79％、98．53％、54．41％和48．28％，果园综合收入比芒果单种分别增加108．55％、98．53％、97．98％和91．58％，同时，果园间作可显著提高果园土壤有机质、全氮、速效磷的含量和土壤pH值，间作扁豆使土壤有机质含量增加53．3％，间作柱花草使土壤全氮增加43．92％，速效磷增加78．16％，从而达到了以短养长、增加农民收入、提高土壤肥力和持续管理利用的目的。     

棉花枯、黄萎病菌营养亲和性研究进展

介绍了棉花枯、黄萎病菌营养亲和性研究方法和营养体亲和群研究,并着重总结了利用营养亲和群结合DNA多态性技术,研究尖孢镰刀菌(FusariumoxysporumSchlechtend:Fr)专化型、生理小种、亲和群之间的关系,以及棉花黄萎病菌(VerticilliumdahliaeKleb.)亲和群与致病型关系的研究进展。     

Acquired resistance triggered by elicitins in tobacco and other plants

Elicitins are a family of proteins excreted byPhytophthora spp. They exhibit high sequence homology but large net charge differences. They induce necrosis in tobacco plants which then become resistant to the tobacco pathogenPhytophthora parasitica var.nicotianae. In stem-treated plants, resistance was not restricted to the site of elicitin application, but could be demonstrated by petiole inoculation at all levels on the stem. Resistance was already maximum after two days and lasted for at least two weeks. It was effective not only towardsP. p. var.nicotianae infection, but also against the unrelated pathogenSclerotinia sclerotiorum. In contrast to dichloroisonicotinic acid, an artificial inducer of systemic acquired resistance, which was increasingly effective with doses ranging from 0.25 to 5mole per plant, the basic elicitin cryptogein exhibited a threshold effect, inducing near total resistance and extensive leaf necrosis above 0.1 nmole per plant. Between 1 and 5 nmole, acidic elicitins (capsicein and parasiticein) protected tobacco plants with hardly any necrotic symptom. Elicitins exhibited similar effects in various tobacco cultivars andNicotiana species, although with quantitative differences, but induced neither necrosis nor protection in other SolanaceÆ (tomato, petunia and pepper). Among 24 additional species tested belonging to 18 botanical families, only some BrassicaceÆ, noticeably rape, exhibited symptoms in response to elicitins, in a cultivar-specific manner. Elicitins appear to be natural specific triggers for systemic acquired resistance and provide a tool for unraveling the mechanisms leading to its establishment.Abbreviations AR acquired resistance - HR hypersensitive response - INA 2,6-dichloroisonicotinic acid - Ppn Phytophthora parasitica var.nicotianae - SAR systemic acquired resistance     

Effect of plant roots on the germination of microsclerotia ofVerticillium dahliae

Induction of germination of microsclerotia by exudates from plant roots may be important for the control ofV. dahliae. Laboratory experiments with root observation boxes were carried out to assess the influence of root tips of seven crop species and cultivars on the germination of microsclerotia ofVerticillium dahliae in soil under controlled conditions. The root density of crops was measured in a field experiment. The results of the laboratory experiments and the field experiment were combined to estimate the total effect of crops on the population of microsclerotia in the field. Germination of microsclerotia was stimulated by all crops compared to a control without a crop. Among crops, roots of potato cvs Element and Astarte had a larger stimulation effect on microsclerotia than that of potato Ostara, pea, flax, sugar beet or onion. The number of hyphae per microsclerotium decreased with distance from the root surface regardless of the crop species or cultivar. Differences in root densities, in the affected root zones and in the stimulation effect on germination of microsclerotia caused large differences among crops in the effect on the population of microsclerotia in the soil. However, growing a rop with the special purpose to reduce the level ofV. dahliae inoculum in the soil is an inefficient control measure, because only a small part of the total soil volume is affected by roots and the number of hyphae per microscleroium affected is too low.Abbreviations MS microsclerotia, microsclerotium     

Dynamics ofRhizoctonia solani (black scurf) in successive potato crops

The position of plants withRhizoctonia solani sclerotia (black scurf) on progeny tubers was mapped for an experimental field at Haren where potatoes were grown continuously and in rotation with other crops for five successive years, and for another field at Borgercompagnie with a 12 frequency of potatoes during three potato crops. Initially, the distribution of plants with black scurf on both fields was rather dense and homogeneous. In the following years the distribution became heterogeneous and patchy. The local decline ofR. solani AG 3 (the common potato pathogen) in Haren was apparently caused by an unknown factor selectively suppressingR. solani AG 3, while simultaneouslyR. solani AG 5 increased in mass. This AG 5 type proved to be an inferior competitor of AG 3 on the potato plant in a laboratory experiment. The specificR. solani antagonistVerticillium biguttatum did not play a role. A similar factor could have reduced the formation of black scurf in the experimental field at Borgercompagnie, whereV. biguttatum was also too infrequent to account for the decline.R. solani AG 5 was not present here and could not indicate the presence of a selective factor against AG 3.     

Contribution to the taxonomy and pathogenicity of fungicolous Verticillium species. II. Pathogenicity

In recent years in the Netherlands a second mushroom species,Agaricus bitorquis, which prefers higher temperatures thanA. bisporus and is less susceptible to certain diseases, is often commercially grown.Verticillium fungicola var.fungicola, the causal agent of dry bubble, is responsible for considerable damage in crops ofA. bisporus. InA. bitorquis, however, dry bubble has hardly been noticed, but brown spots due toV. fungicola var.aleophilum resulted in inferior mushroom quality. The latter variety also caused brown spots ina. bisporus, but to a minor degree. In variety Les Miz 60 ofA. bisporus, however, it also induced fruit-body deformation in a way different from dry bubble. Verticillium psalliotae, isolated fromA. bitorquis in England, induced more confluent brown spots inA. bitorquis. In the netherlands, where moreA. bitorquis is grown than in other countries,V. psalliotae has not yet been encountered in crops ofA. bitorquis. V. psalliotae, which has a high temperature optimum for mycelial growth, likeV. fungicola var.aleophilum andA. bitorquis, did not infectA. bisporus in our trials.Artificial infection ofA. bisporus orA. bitorquis could not be accomplished with the following related and/or fungicolous fungi:Verticillium lamellicola, V. fungicola var.flavidum, V. biguttatum, Nectriopsis tubariicola, Acremonium crotocinigenum andAphanocladium album.Samenvatting Vooral in Nederland wordt sinds een aantal jaren naastAgaricus bisporus ook de warmteminnende champignonsoortAgaricus bitorquis geteeld, die minder vatbaar is voor bepaalde ziekten. TerwijlVerticillium fungicola varfungicola in de teelt vanA. bisporus droge mollen en daardoor veel schade veroorzaakt, komen in de teelt vanA. bitorquis geen droge mollen voor maar wel bruine vlekken, die tot kwaliteitsverlies en dus schade leiden. De vlekken bleken veroorzaakt te worden doorV. fungicola var.aleophilum. Deze schimmel veroorzaakte ook inA. bisporus bruine vlekken, hoewel in minder ernstige mate, maar in het ras Les Miz 60 vanA. bisporus bovendien misvormde champignons, die wel op droge mollen leken, maar daaraan niet gelijk waren.OokV. psalliotae, in Engeland geïsoleerd vanA. bitorquis met vlekken, veroorzaakte wat meer samenvloeiende, bruine vlekken inA. bitorquis. In Nederland, waar meerA. bitorquis geteeld wordt dan in andere landen, isV. psalliotae nog niet aangetroffen in teelten vanA. bitorquis. InA. bisporus kon geen kunstmatige infectie worden verkregen metV. psalliotae, die net alsV. fungicola var.aleophilum enA. bitorquis warmteminnend genoemd zou kunnen worden.Met de volgendeVerticillium-achtige of van paddestoelen geïsoleerde schimmels kon evenmin op kunstmatige wijze een infectie worden opgeroepen inA. bisporus ofA. bitorquis: Verticillium lamellicola, V. fungicola var.flavidum, V. biguttatum, Nectriopsis tubariicola, Acremonium crotocinigenum enAphanocladium album.     

Phytotoxicity on cotton ex-plants of an 18.5 kDa protein from culture filtrates of Verticillium dahliae

A phytotoxic protein that evokes the typical symptoms of Verticillium wilt disease in seedlings of Gossypium hirsutum L. (Upland cotton) was isolated from culture filtrates of Verticillium dahliae. The protein was purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation, Sephadex-G100 fractionation, and native PAGE. The 18.5 kDa protein, designated VD18.5, appears to be a single subunit protein with an isoelectric point between 3 and 5. VD18.5 induces symptoms of leaf dehydration, chlorosis, necrosis and stem discoloration in seedlings of the disease susceptible cotton cultivar Siokra 1–4. The LD₅₀ of VD18.5 on protoplasts of Siokra 1–4 was 18 μg mL⁻¹. VD18.5 had no noticeable effect on Pima S-7, which is a disease resistant cultivar. Phytotoxic activity was partially destroyed at high temperature and was abolished by digestion with proteinase K. Mass spectrometry fingerprinting and protein sequence data from VD18.5 yielded no significant matches when submitted to the Mascot search engine and NCBI non-redundant protein databases, respectively. These results suggest that VD18.5 is a novel protein that may be involved in the development of some of the symptoms associated with Verticillium wilt disease in the cotton plant.