Endophytic Beauveria bassiana increases galling of ‘Rutgers’ tomato roots with Meloidogyne incognita

Beauveria bassiana is endophytic in many plant species and has been shown to protect host plants against insect pests and plant pathogens. However, less is known about its activity against plant-parasitic nematodes. In vitro and plant assays were conducted to determine the effect of B. bassiana 11-98 (Bb) on Meloidogyne incognita (root-knot nematode; RKN). Beauveria bassiana was confirmed as an endophyte in ‘Rutgers’ tomato and colonization patterns of Bb in ‘Rutgers’ (highly susceptible to RKN) were compared with those in ‘Mountain Spring’ (less susceptible to RKN). In greenhouse tests with ‘Rutgers’ at 30 and 60 days after treatment (DAT) with RKN and Bb, there were few differences in plant growth variables among treatments in repeated trials. However, RKN root galling and egg count/root system were enhanced in plants treated with Bb at 60 DAT. In an in vitro assay with egg masses from greenhouse tests, the percentages of hatched eggs, and mobile and immobile nematodes did not differ significantly for RKN and RKN+Bb treatments. The presence of viable Bb from roots was confirmed by collecting egg suspensions from root galls and plating them on selective medium. Colonies of Bb were verified on agar medium, but no parasitism of RKN eggs was observed. Research is needed to investigate factors responsible for increased galling by RKN in the presence of endophytic Bb in ‘Rutgers’ tomato

Sciadopitys verticillata Resin: Volatile Components and Impact on Plant Pathogenic and Foodborne Bacteria

Sciadopitys verticillata (Sv) produces a white, sticky, latex-like resin with antimicrobial properties. The aims of this research were to evaluate the effects of this resin (Sv resin) on bacterial populations and to determine the impact of its primary volatile components on bioactivity. The impact of sample treatment on chemical composition of Sv resin was analyzed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) coupled with principal component analysis. The presence and concentration of volatiles in lyophilized resin were determined using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Changes in bacterial population counts due to treatment with resin or its primary volatile components were monitored. Autoclaving of the samples did not affect the FTIR spectra of Sv resin; however, lyophilization altered spectra, mainly in the CH and C=O regions. Three primary bioactive compounds that constituted \u3e90% of volatiles (1R-α-pinene, tricyclene, and β-pinene) were identified in Sv resin. Autoclaved resin impacted bacterial growth. The resin was stimulatory for some plant and foodborne pathogens (Pseudomonas fluorescens, P. syringae, and Xanthomonas perforans) and antimicrobial for others (Escherichia coli, Bacillus cereus, Agrobacterium tumefaciens, and Erwinia amylovora). Treatment with either 1R-α-pinene or β-pinene reduced B. cereus population growth less than did autoclaved resin. The complex resin likely contains additional antimicrobial compounds that act synergistically to inhibit bacterial growth

Functional enhancer elements drive subclass-selective expression from mouse to primate neocortex

Viral genetic tools to target specific brain cell types in humans and non-genetic model organisms will transform basic neuroscience and targeted gene therapy. Here we used comparative epigenetics to identify thousands of human neuronal subclass-specific putative enhancers to regulate viral tools, and 34% of these were conserved in mouse. We established an AAV platform to evaluate cellular specificity of functional enhancers by multiplexed fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) and single cell RNA sequencing. Initial testing in mouse neocortex yields a functional enhancer discovery success rate of over 30%. We identify enhancers with specificity for excitatory and inhibitory classes and subclasses including PVALB, LAMP5, and VIP/LAMP5 cells, some of which maintain specificity in vivo or ex vivo in monkey and human neocortex. Finally, functional enhancers can be proximal or distal to cellular marker genes, conserved or divergent across species, and could yield brain-wide specificity greater than the most selective marker genes

The Gene Ontology in 2010: extensions and refinements

The Gene Ontology (GO) Consortium (http://www.geneontology.org) (GOC) continues to develop, maintain and use a set of structured, controlled vocabularies for the annotation of genes, gene products and sequences. The GO ontologies are expanding both in content and in structure. Several new relationship types have been introduced and used, along with existing relationships, to create links between and within the GO domains. These improve the representation of biology, facilitate querying, and allow GO developers to systematically check for and correct inconsistencies within the GO. Gene product annotation using GO continues to increase both in the number of total annotations and in species coverage. GO tools, such as OBO-Edit, an ontology-editing tool, and AmiGO, the GOC ontology browser, have seen major improvements in functionality, speed and ease of use.This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by the author(s) and published by Oxford University Press. The published article can be found at: http://nar.oxfordjournals.org/

Response of bitter and sweet Chenopodium quinoa varieties to cucumber mosaic virus: Transcriptome and small RNASeq perspective.

Saponins are secondary metabolites with antiviral properties. Low saponin (sweet) varieties of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) have been developed because seeds high in saponins taste bitter. The aim of this study was to elucidate the role of saponin in resistance of quinoa to Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV). Differential gene expression was studied in time-series study of CMV infection. High-throughput transcriptome sequence data were obtained from 36 samples (3 varieties × +/- CMV × 1 or 4 days after inoculation × 3 replicates). Translation, lipid, nitrogen, amino acid metabolism, and mono- and sesquiterpenoid biosynthesis genes were upregulated in CMV infections. In 'Red Head' (bitter), CMV-induced systemic symptoms were concurrent with downregulation of a key saponin biosynthesis gene, TSARL1, four days after inoculation. In local lesion responses (sweet and semi-sweet), TSARL1 levels remained up-regulated. Known microRNAs (miRNA) (81) from 11 miR families and 876 predicted novel miRNAs were identified. Differentially expressed miRNA and short interfering RNA clusters (24nt) induced by CMV infection are predicted to target genomic and intergenic regions enriched in repetitive elements. This is the first report of integrated RNASeq and sRNASeq data in quinoa-virus interactions and provides comprehensive understanding of involved genes, non-coding regions, and biological pathways in virus resistance

Review of nematode interactions with hemp (Cannabis sativa)

The many decades during which the cultivation of Cannabis sativa (hemp) was strongly restricted by law resulted in little research on potential pathogenic nematodes of this increasingly important crop. The primary literature was searched for hemp-nematode papers, resulting in citations from 1890 through 2021. Reports were grouped into two categories: (i) nematodes as phytoparasites of hemp, and (ii) hemp and hemp products and extracts for managing nematode pests. Those genera with the most citations as phytoparasites were Meloidogyne (root-knot nematodes, 20 papers), Pratylenchus (lesion nematodes, 7) and Ditylenchus (stem nematodes, 7). Several Meloidogyne spp. were shown to reproduce on hemp and some field damage has been reported. Experiments with Heterodera humuli (hop cyst nematode) were contradictory. Twenty-three papers have been published on the effects of hemp and hemp products on plant-parasitic, animal-parasitic and microbivorous species. The effects of hemp tissue soil incorporation were studied in five papers; laboratory or glasshouse experiments with aqueous or ethanol extracts of hemp leaves accounted for most of the remainder. Many of these treatments had promising results but no evidence was found of large-scale implementation. The primary literature was also searched for chemistry of C. sativa roots. The most abundant chemicals were classified as phytosterols and triterpenoids. Cannabinoid concentration was frequently reported due to the interest in medicinal C. sativa. Literature on the impact of root-associated chemicals on plant parasitic nematodes was also searched; in cases where there were no reports, impacts on free-living or animal parasitic nematodes were discussed