Abstract: Foot rot disease caused by Phytophthora capsici is one of the major production constraints in black pepper (Piper nigrum) in India. RAPD profile of moderately resistant and susceptible lines indicated the presence a unique band of 360 base pair in moderately resistant lines with the primer OPA-01. The DNA fragment associated with these lines was cloned, sequenced and
converted into a SCAR marker. The SCAR primer was tested on plants that were classified as moderately resistant and susceptible. SCAR primers amplified DNA invariably from resistant plants only. The sequence of the unique band matched with stress related gene sequences reported in several eukaryotes including Arabidopsis thaliana.
Abstract: The phytoalexin resveratrol (trans-3,5,4prime-trihydroxy-stilbene), a natural component of resistance to fungal diseases in many plants, is synthesized by the enzyme trihydroxystilbene synthase (stilbene synthase, EC 2.3.1.95), which appears to be deficient or lacking in susceptible plants. Earlier workers isolated a stilbene synthase gene (Vst1) from grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.), which has subsequently been introduced as a transgene into a range of species to increase resistance of hosts to pathogens to which they were originally susceptible. Papaya (Carica papaya L.) is susceptible to a variety of fungal diseases, including root, stem, and fruit rot caused by the pathogen Phytophthora palmivora. Since resveratrol at 1.0 mM inhibited mycelium growth of P. palmivora in vitro, we hypothesized that papaya resistance to this pathogen might be increased by transformation with the grapevine stilbene synthase construct pVst1, containing the Vst1 gene and its pathogen-inducible promoter. Multiple transformed lines were produced, clonally propagated, and evaluated with a leaf disk bioassay and whole plant response to inoculation with P. palmivora. RNA transcripts of stilbene synthase and resveratrol glycoside were induced in plant lines transformed with the grapevine pVst1 construct shortly after pathogen inoculation, and the transformed papaya lines exhibited increased resistance to P. palmivora. The immature transformed plants appear normal and will be advanced to field trials to evaluate their utility.
Abstract: In breeding for resistance to late blight, (Phytophthora infestans Mont. de Bary), an economically important disease affecting potatoes, the search for new sources of durable resistance includes the non-host wild Solanum species. The aim of this work was to evaluate the resistance to P. infestans in the somatic hybrids between S. nigrum L. and diploid potato clone ZEL-1136. Sixteen somatic hybrids, their fusion parents, and three standard potato cultivars were screened for resistance to P. infestans in two types of tests--on whole plants and detached leaves--with two highly aggressive and virulent isolates of P. infestans, US8 and MP322. In the whole plant assay, the foliage of the somatic hybrids showed no symptoms of infection, while the foliage of the potato fusion parent and the standard cultivars was infected with P. infestans. In the detached leaflet assay, the breaking-down of resistance of the S. nigrum L. parent and the variable response of individual hybrid clones were noted. Nine S. nigrum L. (+) ZEL-1136 hybrids showed a resistance that was significantly higher than that of S. nigrum, while six clones expressed a resistance to P. infestans similar to that of S. nigrum. The results confirm the effective transfer of late blight resistance of S. nigrum into its somatic hybrids with potato.
Abstract:Banksia attenuata plants were treated with soil drenches or foliar sprays of benzoic acid (BZA) to determine induced resistance to Phytophthora cinnamomi. Stems of B. attenuata were inoculated with the pathogen 1 week after treatment with BZA. Resistance was estimated by measuring P. cinnamomi lesions on stems. Treatment with 0.10 mM, 0.25 mM or 0.50 mM BZA caused a reduction in lesion size with 0.50 mM BZA applied as a soil drench being the most effective treatment at suppressing the development of lesions. This is the first report of BZA induced host resistance in any plant species to any pathogen.
Abstract: Seed-grown trees and six clonal lines of 3·5–4·5-year-old Eucalyptus marginata (jarrah) growing in a rehabilitated bauxite mine site in the jarrah forest were underbark-inoculated on lateral branches (1995) or simultaneously on lateral branches and lateral roots (1996) with isolates of Phytophthora cinnamomi in late autumn. Individual seedlings from which the clonal lines were derived had previously been assessed as either resistant (RR) or susceptible (SS) to P. cinnamomi. At harvest, the acropetal lesion and colonization lengths were measured. Overall, the length of colonization in roots and branches was more consistent as a measure of resistance than lesion length, because colonization length recorded the recovery of P. cinnamomi from macroscopically symptomless tissue ahead of the lesion which, on some occasions, was up to 6 cm. In both trials, one RR clonal line was able to contain the P. cinnamomi isolates consistently, as determined by small lesion and colonization lengths in branches and roots. In contrast, the remaining two RR clonal lines used in both trials were no different from the SS line in their ability to contain lesions or colonization. These latter two RR lines may therefore not be suitable for use in rehabilitation of P. cinnamomi-infested areas. Differences in lesion and colonization lengths among P. cinnamomi isolates occurred only in the 1995 trial. Colonization and lesion lengths in branches were up to eight times greater in 1996 than in 1995, but the relative rankings of clonal lines were consistent between trials. Although colonization was always greater in branches than roots, the relative rankings of the lines were similar between branch and root inoculations. Branch inoculations are a valid option for testing the resistance and susceptibility of young jarrah trees to P. cinnamomi.
Abstract: The present paper provides a review of data from literature sources and results of research carried out at the Institute of PlantIndustry with the aim of identifying genetic centres of formation of late blight resistant genotypes. For the research results, speciesfrom the potato collection of VIR were used.
Abstract: Resistance of transgenic cultivars based on the expression of one or more resistance genes is sooner or later broken by pathogens whose race-producing rates are high. Thus, combining transgenesis with elicitor-induced resistance is a promising approach. The elicitor-induced resistance is based on the expression of multiple resistance genes, which can prevent the adaptation of pathogens to transgenic cultivars, maintain the stability of cultivars, and increase their lifespan. In this work, we used transgenic potato cultivars Temp and Superior transformed with Bacillus thuringiensis Delta-endotoxin gene and Luk'yanovskii transformed with leukocyte interferon gene. Arachidonic acid (10–8 M) and soluble chitosan (5 kDa, 100 mgrg/ml) were used as elicitors for tuber treatment. Our data showed that pretreatment with elicitors causes a 15–25% increase in both the systemic prolonged resistance of potato tubers to Phytophthora infestans and their ability to repair mechanical damage.
Abstract: A 90 kDa protein elicitor, PB90, was purified from the culture filtrate of Phytophthora boehmeriae. Procedures including hydrophobic interaction and ion-exchange chromatography were used to purify the protein. PB90 induced hypersensitive reaction in tobacco leaves at a concentration as low as 200 pM and induced systemic acquired resistance (SAR) to TMV, Alternaria alternata, P. parasitica and Ralstonia solanacearum. In addition, it also caused hypersensitive necrosis in leaves of Chinese cabbage and induced SAR to Collectorium higginsianum in the plant. Tobacco leaves infiltrated with 200 pM of the elicitor exhibited an enhanced phenylalanine ammonia lyase activity and peroxidase activity. The behavior on ion-exchange columns indicated that PB90 is an acidic protein. It is stable to heat, acidic and alkaline conditions, but sensitive to ProteaseK. An antiserum raised against the pure protein allowed localization of PB90 by immunogold labeling on the cell wall of the mycelia and encysting zoospores when the fungus is grown in vitro. It was implied that there is a novel protein elicitor secreted by P. boehmeriae, which has a broad activity spectrum. The characters of PB90 distinguished it clearly from the other elicitors previously identified from Phytophthora spp. The possible implications of such a novel elicitor in plant–microbe interactions are discussed.
Abstract: The relationship between superoxide radical generation, the accumulation of the phytoalexin capsidiol and hypersensitive cell death has been examined in Nicotiana tabacum following challenges by compatible and incompatible races of Phytophthora nicotianae, and the non-host species Phytophthora palmivora. Challenging suspension cell cultures of N. tabacum with zoospores of incompatible isolates of P. nicotianae elicits a biphasic burst of superoxide release. The maximum rate of capsidiol accumulation between 9 and 12 h after challenge coincides with the second oxidative burst and the onset of hypersensitive cell death. Addition of superoxide dismutase or Mn (III) desferal, which scavenge superoxide anions and quench the superoxide burst, suppresses both phytoalexin accumulation and hypersensitive cell death. Mevastatin, an inhibitor of the sesquiterpenoid biosynthesis enzyme HMG-CoA reductase, has no effect on the oxidative burst or hypersensitive cell death, but abolishes capsidiol accumulation. Zoospores of the non-host pathogen P. palmivora also elicit superoxide release, but in a single, broad burst between 3 and 12 h after challenge. Capsidiol accumulates to levels similar to those seen in incompatible host reactions, although the onset of capsidiol accumulation is more rapid in the non-host interaction. As in the incompatible interaction, phytoalexin accumulation and hypersensitive cell death are both inhibited by superoxide scavengers, although scavenging does not render host cells susceptible to infection by non-host zoospores. Our findings indicate that phytoalexin accumulation and hypersensitive cell death in both incompatible and non-host interactions are regulated by pathways that diverge downstream of superoxide release. While hypersensitive cell death and phytoalexin accumulation appear to be necessary for gene-for-gene resistance, other factors cause non-host infection to fail.
Abstract: Immunoblot analysis and immunogold labeling of PR-1 protein (pathogenesis-related protein 1) in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) were performed to examine the temporal and spatial expression patterns of PR-1 protein induced by Phytophthora capsici infection. Soluble proteins with molecular masses of 10, 17, 25, 27 and 75 kDa were induced and accumulated in P. capsici-infected stem tissues during the compatible and incompatible interactions. Western blot analysis revealed that expression of PR-1 protein (17 kDa), at 12 to 24 h after inoculation, occurred earlier in the incompatible than in the compatible interaction. Immunogold labeling of PR-1 proteins occurred over cell walls and cytoplasm of the host and the oomycete pathogen and at the interface between host and oomycete cell walls at 24 h after inoculation in the compatible interaction. In the incompatible interaction, numerous PR-1 proteins accumulated predominantly over oomycete cell walls and at the interface between host and oomycete cell walls. The quantity of PR-1 proteins deposited in both host and oomycete cells was much less in the compatible than the incompatible interaction. Healthy tomato stem tissue was nearly free of immunogold labeling of PR-1 proteins.
Abstract