-
Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) Aug 2021The root-endophytic fungus (=) has been revealed for its growth-promoting effects and its capacity to induce resistance in a broad spectrum of host plants. However, the...
The root-endophytic fungus (=) has been revealed for its growth-promoting effects and its capacity to induce resistance in a broad spectrum of host plants. However, the bioefficacy of this fungus had not yet been tested against any pathogen affecting onion (). In this study, the biocontrol potency of against onion leaf blight, an impacting disease caused by the necrotrophic fungal pathogen , was evaluated. First, it was proved that colonisation of onion roots by was beneficial for plant growth, as it increased leaf development and root biomass. Most relevantly, was also effective in reducing Stemphylium leaf blight (SLB) severity, as assessed under greenhouse conditions and confirmed in field trials in two consecutive years. These investigations could also provide some insight into the biochemical and molecular changes that treatment with induces in the main pathways associated with host defence response. It was possible to highlight the protective effect of colonisation against peroxidative damage, and its role in signalling oxidative stress, by assessing changes in malondialdehyde and HO content. It was also showed that treatment with contributes to modulate the enzymatic activity of superoxide dismutase, catalase, phenylalanine ammonia-lyase and peroxidase, in the course of infection. qPCR-based expression analysis of defence-related genes , , , , , and provided further indications on ability to induce onion systemic response. Based on the evidence gathered, this study aims to propose application as a sustainable tool for improving SLB control, which might not only enhance onion growth performance but also activate defence signalling mechanisms more effectively, involving different pathways.
PubMed: 34578118
DOI: 10.3390/pathogens10091085 -
Microbiological Research Jun 2018Plant tissues host complex fungal and bacterial communities, and their composition is determined by host traits such as tissue age, plant genotype and environmental...
Plant tissues host complex fungal and bacterial communities, and their composition is determined by host traits such as tissue age, plant genotype and environmental conditions. Despite the importance of bark as a possible reservoir of plant pathogenic microorganisms, little is known about the associated microbial communities. In this work, we evaluated the composition of fungal and bacterial communities in the pear (Abate and Williams cultivars) and apple (Golden Delicious and Gala cultivars) bark of three/four-year-old shoots (old bark) or one-year-old shoots (young bark), using a meta-barcoding approach. The results showed that both fungal and bacterial communities are dominated by genera with ubiquitous attitudes, such as Aureobasidium, Cryptococcus, Deinococcus and Hymenobacter, indicating intense microbial migration to surrounding environments. The shoot age, plant species and plant cultivar influenced the composition of bark fungal and bacterial communities. In particular, bark communities included potential biocontrol agents that could maintain an equilibrium with potential plant pathogens. The abundance of fungal (e.g. Alternaria, Penicillium, Rosellinia, Stemphylium and Taphrina) and bacterial (e.g. Curtobacterium and Pseudomonas) plant pathogens was affected by bark age and host genotype, as well as those of fungal genera (e.g. Arthrinium, Aureobasidium, Rhodotorula, Sporobolomyces) and bacterial genera (e.g. Bacillus, Brevibacillus, Methylobacterium, Sphingomonas and Stenotrophomonas) with possible biocontrol and plant growth promotion properties.
Topics: Bacteria; Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; Biodiversity; DNA, Bacterial; DNA, Fungal; DNA, Plant; Fruit; Fungi; Genotype; Malus; Microbial Consortia; Microbiota; Phylogeny; Plant Development; Plant Diseases; Plant Shoots; Pyrus
PubMed: 29705206
DOI: 10.1016/j.micres.2018.04.002 -
Frontiers in Plant Science 2017Lentil ( Medik.) is a diploid (2n = 2x = 14), self-pollinating, cool-season, grain legume that is cultivated worldwide and is highly valuable due to its high protein... (Review)
Review
Lentil ( Medik.) is a diploid (2n = 2x = 14), self-pollinating, cool-season, grain legume that is cultivated worldwide and is highly valuable due to its high protein content. However, lentil production is constrained by many factors including biotic stresses, majority of which are fungal diseases such as ascochyta blight (AB), fusarium wilt, rust, stemphylium blight, anthracnose, and botrytis gray mold. Among various diseases, AB is a major -problem in many lentil-producing countries and can significantly reduce crop production. Breeding for AB resistance has been a priority for breeding programs across the globe and consequently, a number of resistance sources have been identified and extensively exploited. In order to increase the efficiency of combining genes from different genetic backgrounds, molecular genetic tools can be integrated with conventional breeding methods. A range of genetic linkage maps have been generated based on DNA-based markers, and quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for AB resistance have been identified. Molecular markers linked to these QTLs may potentially be used for efficient pyramiding of the AB disease resistance genes. Significant genomic resources have been established to identify and characterize resistance genes, including an integrated genetic map, expressed sequence tag libraries, gene based markers, and draft genome sequences. These resources are already being utilized for lentil crop improvement, to more effectively select for disease resistance, as a case study of the Australian breeding program will show. The combination of genomic resources, effective molecular genetic tools and high resolution phenotyping tools will improve the efficiency of selection for ascochyta blight resistance and accelerate varietal development of global lentil breeding programs.
PubMed: 28706526
DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2017.01136 -
Polymers Oct 2021The accelerated ageing of wood in terms of heating or iron rusting has a potential effect on the physio-mechanical, chemical and biological properties of wood. The...
The accelerated ageing of wood in terms of heating or iron rusting has a potential effect on the physio-mechanical, chemical and biological properties of wood. The effects of accelerated ageing on the mechanical, physical and fungal activity properties of some wood materials (, , , and ) were studied after several cycles of heating and iron rusting. The fungal activity was assayed against the growth of , , and . In addition, the mechanical and optical properties of paper sheets produced from those wood pulps by means of Kraft cooking were evaluated. The mechanical and chemical properties of the studied wood species were affected significantly ( < 0.05) by the accelerated ageing, compared to control woods. With Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, we detected an increase in the intensity of the spectra of the functional groups of cellulose in the heated samples, which indicates an increase in cellulose content and decrease in lignin content, compared to other chemical compounds. For pulp properties, woods treated by heating showed a decrease in the pulp yield. The highest significant values of tensile strength were observed in pulp paper produced from untreated, heated and iron-rusted wood and they were 69.66, 65.66 and 68.33 N·m/g, respectively; we calculated the tear resistance from pulp paper of untreated (8.68 mN·m/g) and (7.83 mN·m/g) and rusted (7.56 mN·m/g) wood; we obtained the values of the burst strength of the pulp paper of untreated woods of (8.19 kPa·m/g) and (7.49 kPa·m/g), as well as the fold number of the pulp paper of untreated, heated and rusted woods from , with values of 195.66, 186.33 and 185.66, respectively. After 14 days from the incubation, no fungal inhibition zones were observed. Accelerated ageing (heated or iron-rusted) produced significant effects on the mechanical and chemical properties of the studied wood species and affected the properties of the produced pulp paper.
PubMed: 34685242
DOI: 10.3390/polym13203483 -
Scientific Reports Jun 2017Lens ervoides, a wild relative of lentil is an important source of allelic diversity for enhancing the genetic resistance of the cultivated species against economically...
Lens ervoides, a wild relative of lentil is an important source of allelic diversity for enhancing the genetic resistance of the cultivated species against economically important fungal diseases, such as anthracnose and Stemphylium blight caused by Colletotrichum lentis and Stemphylium botryosum, respectively. To unravel the genetic control underlying resistance to these fungal diseases, a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population (n = 94, F) originating from a cross between two L. ervoides accessions, L01-827A and IG 72815, was genotyped on the Illumina HiSeq 2500 platform. A total of 289.07 million 100 bp paired-end reads were generated, giving an average 7.53-fold genomic coverage to the RILs and identifying 2,180 high-quality SNPs that assembled in 543 unique haplotypes. Seven linkage groups were resolved among haplotypes, equal to the haploid chromosome number in L. ervoides. The genetic map spanned a cumulative distance of 740.94 cM. Composite interval mapping revealed five QTLs with a significant association with resistance to C. lentis race 0, six QTLs for C. lentis race 1 resistance, and three QTLs for S. botryosum resistance. Taken together, the data obtained in the study reveal that the expression of resistance to fungal diseases in L. ervoides is a result of rearrangement of resistant alleles contributed by both parental accessions.
Topics: Ascomycota; Chromosome Mapping; Chromosomes, Plant; Colletotrichum; Crosses, Genetic; Disease Resistance; Genes, Plant; Genotype; Haplotypes; Hybrid Vigor; Lens Plant; Plant Diseases; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; Quantitative Trait Loci; Species Specificity
PubMed: 28607439
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-03463-9 -
Toxins Apr 2022To cope with the rising food demand, modern agriculture practices are based on the indiscriminate use of agrochemicals. Although this strategy leads to a temporary...
To cope with the rising food demand, modern agriculture practices are based on the indiscriminate use of agrochemicals. Although this strategy leads to a temporary solution, it also severely damages the environment, representing a risk to human health. A sustainable alternative to agrochemicals is the use of plant metabolites and plant-based pesticides, known to have minimal environmental impact compared to synthetic pesticides. is a shrub growing in Algeria's desert areas, where it is commonly used in traditional medicine because of its antiseptic and antipyretic properties. Furthermore, its allelopathic features can be exploited to effectively control phytopathogens in the agricultural field. In this study, six compounds belonging to isoflavones and flavones subgroups have been isolated from the dichloromethane extract and identified using spectroscopic and optical methods as alpinumisoflavone, hydroxyalpinumisoflavone, laburnetin, licoflavone C, retamasin B, and ephedroidin. Their antifungal activity was evaluated against the fungal phytopathogen using a growth inhibition bioassay on PDA plates. Interestingly, the flavonoid laburnetin, the most active metabolite, displayed an inhibitory activity comparable to that exerted by the synthetic fungicide pentachloronitrobenzene, in a ten-fold lower concentration. The allelopathic activity of metabolites against parasitic weeds was also investigated using two independent parasitic weed bioassays to discover potential activities on either suicidal stimulation or radicle growth inhibition of broomrapes. In this latter bioassay, ephedroidin strongly inhibited the growth of radicles and, therefore, can be proposed as a natural herbicide.
Topics: Allelopathy; Biological Control Agents; Fabaceae; Herbicides; Humans; Plant Weeds
PubMed: 35622558
DOI: 10.3390/toxins14050311 -
Frontiers in Microbiology 2021Wine production in Cyprus has strong cultural ties with the island's tradition, influencing local and foreign consumers' preferences and contributing significantly to...
Wine production in Cyprus has strong cultural ties with the island's tradition, influencing local and foreign consumers' preferences and contributing significantly to Cyprus' economy. A key contributor to wine quality and sensorial characteristics development is the microbiota that colonizes grapes and performs alcoholic fermentation. Still, the microbial patterns of wines produced in different geographic regions () in Cyprus remain unknown. The present study investigated the microbial diversity of five in Cyprus, two from the PGI Lemesos region [Kyperounta (PDO Pitsilia) and Koilani (PDO Krasochoria)], and three from the PGI Pafos region [Kathikas (PDO Laona Akamas), Panayia, and Statos (PDO Panayia)], of two grape varieties, Xynisteri and Maratheftiko, using high-throughput amplicon sequencing. Through a longitudinal analysis, we examined the evolution of the bacterial and fungal diversity during spontaneous alcoholic fermentation. Both varieties were characterized by a progressive reduction in their fungal alpha diversity (Shannon index) throughout the process of fermentation. Additionally, the study revealed a distinct separation among different in total fungal community composition (beta-diversity) for the variety Xynisteri. Also, Kyperounta had a distinct total fungal beta-diversity from the other for Maratheftiko. Similarly, a significant distinction was demonstrated in total bacterial diversity between the PGI Lemesos region and the PGI Pafos for grape juice of the variety Xynisteri. Pre-fermentation, the fungal diversity for Xynisteri and Maratheftiko was dominated by the genera , , , , , , , , and . During and post-fermentation, the species , , , and , became the predominant in most must samples. Regarding the bacterial diversity, and were the predominant genera for both grape varieties in all stages of fermentation. During fermentation, an increase was observed in the relative abundance of some bacteria, such as , , and . Finally, the study revealed microbial biomarkers with statistically significant higher relative representation, associated with each geographic region and each grape variety, during the different stages of fermentation. The present study's findings provide an additional linkage between the grape microbial community and the wine .
PubMed: 34630353
DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.726483 -
Journal of Clinical Laboratory Analysis Jul 2021Superficial and cutaneous fungal infections are common in tropical areas. The aim of this study was to provide a basic database of superficial and cutaneous mycoses and...
BACKGROUND
Superficial and cutaneous fungal infections are common in tropical areas. The aim of this study was to provide a basic database of superficial and cutaneous mycoses and the most common etiological agents among patients.
METHODS
Between 2015 and 2019, a total of 1807 patients suspected of superficial and cutaneous mycosis referring to the mycology laboratory of Shiraz medical school, Fars, Iran were evaluated. Specimens were taken from the patients' affected area, and clinical samples were examined by direct microscopy and culture. The epidemiological profile of the patients was collected.
RESULTS
A total of 750 patients were confirmed with mycoses. Positive samples totaled 750 cases consisting of the nail (373/49.7%), skin (323/43%), head (47/6.26%), and mucosal membrane (4/0.5%). The yeasts group included 304 Candida spp. (70.3%), 123 Malassezia spp. (28.47%), and 5 Rhodotorula spp. (1.1%). The filamentous fungi were distributed as 34.8% dermatophytes and 7.5% non-dermatophyte. The clinical types of dermatophytosis were tinea unguium (110/261), tinea capitis (50/261), tinea pedis (48/261), tinea corporis (37/261), and tinea cruris (16/261). Non-dermatophyte molds included A. flavus 17, A. niger 4, Aspergillus spp. 15, Penicillium. 10, Fusarium 6, Mucor 2, Stemphylium 1, and Alternaria 1.
CONCLUSION
This study provides useful data for the study trends of superficial and cutaneous fungal infections in a specific area. The mycological data confirmed higher incidence of candidiasis (mainly onychomycosis) and dermatophytosis in patients affected by fungal pathogens, which helped to better understand the epidemiological aspects of these mycoses.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Age Distribution; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Child; Child, Preschool; Female; Fungi; Humans; Infant; Iran; Male; Middle Aged; Mycoses; Prevalence; Retrospective Studies; Skin Diseases; Young Adult
PubMed: 34028857
DOI: 10.1002/jcla.23850 -
Plant Disease Jan 2024In August 2021, severe leaf blight symptoms were observed on onion ( L. cvs Francia and Askari F1 hybrid) in commercial fields located in Mauritius, namely La Forêt...
In August 2021, severe leaf blight symptoms were observed on onion ( L. cvs Francia and Askari F1 hybrid) in commercial fields located in Mauritius, namely La Forêt (20°19'56.1"S57°30'04.9"E), St Aubin (20°29'47.0"S57°32'29.4"E) and Chapiron (20°20'46.8"S 57°29'12.8"E). Infected leaves displayed small circular to oblong yellow-pale-brown and spindle shaped lesions which later coalesced and formed necrotic areas with black sporulation. Three fields were selected from each region, and along a W-pattern across the fields a disease incidence ranging 53-93% and a severity of 9-28% were recorded. Ten symptomatic leaves were collected in each region and small pieces of infected tissue were surface disinfected using 1% NaOCl for 2 min, rinsed with sterile distilled water, air-dried, transferred to potato dextrose agar (PDA) and incubated for 7 days at 20°C under a 12-h light/dark cycle. Fungal cultures with uniform appearance forming multi-septated conidia typical of the genus (Simmons 1969) were consistently isolated. Monosporic colony of isolates SVCWLF24/3, SVSSA23/1 and SVCWLMC26/1 developed similar olivaceous green to light and dark grey mycelium with an average daily growth rate of 6.5 mm at 25°C in the dark. Conidiophores were straight, light brown with a distinct swollen apex on which olive brown to dark brown, oblong to ovoid, septate conidia formed with dimensions 16.2-44.7 × 8.0-22.9 μm (av. 29.5 x 14.7 μm; n = 50) typical of (Wallr) E.G. Simmons 1969 (Woudenberg et al. 2017). Genomic DNA of the three isolates was extracted from fungal mycelium (Ranghoo and Hyde 2000).. The ITS, cmdA and gapdh genes of the isolates were amplified with primers ITS4/ITS5 (White et al. 1990), CALDF1/CALDR1 (Lawrence et al. 2013) and Gpd1/Gpd2 (Beerbee et al. 1999) and sequenced. Sequences were submitted to GenBank under accession numbers OR131271, ON620213, OR188702 (ITS), OR350623, OR350622, OR166368 (cmdA) and OR684516, OR684517, OR684518 (Gapdh). The BLAST search of the sequences showed 100% similarity with strain CBS 155.24 under accession numbers KU850555 (ITS), KU850702 (Gapdh) and KU850845 (cmdA) (Woudenberg et al. 2017). Phylogenetic trees inferred from the ITS, cmdA and Gapdh concatenated datasets with the maximum-likelihood algorithm allowed clustering of the isolates within clade, confirming the morphological identification. Pathogenicity tests were performed using all three isolates, cultured on PDA at 25°C in a 12-h dark/light cycle. Ten 60-day-old onion plants (cv. Francia) were spray inoculated each with 10 ml of conidial suspension (1 × 104/ml) of each isolate while 10 healthy plants sprayed with sterile distilled water served as control. They were incubated in a greenhouse at 25°C with a 12-h photoperiod and > 80% humidity. Necrotic circular lesions appeared on leaves after 7-10 days while control plants remained symptomless. Re-isolations made from symptomatic leaf tissues on PDA consistently yielded cultures with similar morphology as the original isolates, thus fulfilling Koch's postulates. This is the first report of as the causal agent of leaf blight of onion in Mauritius. It is a re-emerging fungal disease (Hay et al. 2021) with a wide host range threatening local onion production. This finding will contribute to early detection of leaf blight, implementation of surveillance and integrated disease management in affected regions.
PubMed: 38175657
DOI: 10.1094/PDIS-11-23-2431-PDN -
Plant Disease Mar 2023Red clover () is becoming increasingly important in grassland systems (sheep and beef) due to its high productivity, protein content and nitrogen-fixing ability which...
Red clover () is becoming increasingly important in grassland systems (sheep and beef) due to its high productivity, protein content and nitrogen-fixing ability which allows lower N fertilizer use (Murray et al. 2007). In June 2021, an unidentified foliar disease occurred seriously in experimental fields of red clover (25.61°N, 102.48°E) in Kunming city, Yunnan Province, China. Disease incidence was approximately 55% with an average disease severity of 41.1% in the fields (about 1.5 ha). Initially, the symptoms consisted of cicular to oval leaf spots with dark brown edges. In severely diseased plots, the diseased spots continued to expand and fuse along the leaf veins, forming long and narrow leaf spots, and the middle of the leaves were decayed and hollow. To isolate the pathogen, small pieces (3×3 mm) from the margin of infected lesions were surface-sterilized in 75% ethanol solution for 30 s, 1% NaClO solution for 90 s, rinsed three times with sterilized distilled water, air dried, and plated onto potato dextrose agar (PDA). The same fungus was isolated in 90% of the samples and purified by transferring the hyphal tip from the edge of colonies to fresh PDA plates. The colonies produced relatively dense light-grayish aerial mycelium in the early stage, which turned grayish upon mature, and then dark brown on the back of the colonies with dense small black patches. Conidiophores were unbranched, straight or flexuous, accompanied by slight or obvious swelling of its apical cells. Conidia were olive brown, irregularly round, 1 to 3 transverse septa, 0 to 2 longitudinal or oblique septa, and measured 16.0 - (24.8)- 30.1 × 13.9 - (21.4) - 28.6 µm (n = 50). Morphological characteristics were consistent with those described for (Simmons, 1967). For molecular identification, total genomic DNA was isolated from mycelia collected from 6 day-old colonies of three representative isolates LZQF-1-LZQF-3 using the Omega D3195 fungal genomic DNA extraction kit. Fragments of three genes, including those encoding the ITS region of rDNA, calmodulin gene (cmdA), and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (gpd) regions of isolates LZQF-1-LZQF-3 were amplified by the primers described previously (Woudenberg et al. 2017) and sequenced. Resulting sequences of representative strain LZQF-1 were deposited in GenBank with accession numbers of OL615093 (ITS), OL624541 (cmdA) and OL624538 (gpd), respectively. A nucleotide BLAST search revealed ITS, cmdA and gpd sequences to be 100%, 100% and 99.0% similar to the corresponding sequences (accessions numbers KU850563.1, KU850853.1 and KU850710.1) of ex-type strain CBS 370.51 of . The three locus datasets were combined by SequenceMatrix 1.8 (Vaidya et al. 2011), and the strain LZQF-1-LZQF-3 and (CBS 192.86, CBS 370.51 and CBS 205.82) formed a subclade with 99% bootstrap support. Pathogenicity tests were performed on LZQF-1 in a greenhouse at 18 °C-26 °C with 75% relative humidity. Three pots each containing three 50-day-old red clover were sprayed with the conidial suspension (3 × 105 conidia/ml) while another three pots were sprayed with sterile water as a control. Two weeks later, the inoculated leaves showed oval leaf spots with dark brown edges, distinctive symptoms of infection. was reisolated and confirmed by morphological and molecular features. There were no symptoms on the control leaves. as a pathogen causing leaf spot disease has been reported on red clover in Canada (Jasalavich et al. 1995) and in Russia (Babuschkina et al. 1995). To our knowledge, this is the first report of leaf spot of red clover caused by in China. The identification of leaf spot lays the groundwork for future investigations into epidemiology and management of on red clover.
PubMed: 36916847
DOI: 10.1094/PDIS-12-22-2929-PDN