Impact of Elevated Atmospheric CO2 Level on Powdery Mildew (Blumeria graminis f.sp. tritici) Severity in Wheat Depends on the Pathotype × Genotype Interaction

AbstractDisease resistance is influenced by a variety of environmental factors. The rise in the atmospheric CO2 level affects plant metabolism, physiology and development; which has an impact on pathogen invasion and the disease progress. The aim of the present work was to investigate the effect of CO2 enrichment on powdery mildew (PM) infection in winter wheat. Disease severity caused by two PM pathotypes was studied in Conviron PGV-36 growth chambers at ambient (390ppm) and elevated (750 pm) CO2 levels on seven varieties with different levels of resistance.Elevated CO2 (EC) resulted in more severe PM infection by pathotype R51 in most genotypes (Bezosztaja 1, Ukrainka, Libellula, Mv Mambo, Mv Emma), compared to ambient CO2, while pathotype R76 caused similar or lower infection level depending on the genotype. The two pathotypes, however, affected Ukrainka in a different way, as R51 resulted in higher while R76 in less severe infection due to elevated CO2. In the case of Apache, neither pathotype caused any change in PM severity in response to EC. The resistant variety, Mv Regiment, remained resistant to either R51 or R76 even at EC.During the progress of PM infection, the stomatal conductance of infected wheat leaves increased in general, at both CO2 levels. Despite the fact that R51 has the most virulence factors (infecting all of the 8 wheat genotypes used in the Nover differential set for identification of PM pathotypes while R76 infects 7; Frauenstein et al. 1979), R76 usually caused more severe initial disease symptoms than R51 at ambient CO2 level. In three varieties (Bezosztaja 1, Ukrainka, Libellula), however, R51 lead to the most severe final infection level.These findings underline the importance of resistance traits against diseases in a future environment with elevated atmospheric CO2 levels.This research was supported by the National Scientific Research Fund OTKA K-105949

Rising atmospheric CO2 concentration may imply higher risk of Fusarium mycotoxin contamination of wheat grains

2 Abstract Increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration not only has a direct impact on plants but also affects plant-pathogen interactions. Due to economic and health-related problems, special concern was given thus in the present work to the effect of elevated CO2 (750 μmol mol-1) level on the Fusarium culmorum infection and mycotoxin contamination of wheat. Despite the fact that disease severity was found to be not or little affected by elevated CO2 in most varieties, as the spread of Fusarium increased only in one variety, spike grain number and/or grain weight decreased significantly at elevated CO2 in all the varieties indicating that Fusarium infection generally had a more dramatic impact on the grain yield at elevated CO2 than at the ambient level. Likewise, grain deoxynivalenol (DON) content was usually considerably higher at elevated CO2 than at ambient level in the single-floret inoculation treatment, suggesting that the toxin content is not in direct relation to the level of Fusarium infection. In the whole-spike inoculation, DON production did not change, decreased or increased depending on the variety × experiment interaction. Cooler (18°C) conditions delayed rachis penetration while 20°C maximum temperature caused striking increases in the mycotoxin contents, resulting in extreme high DON values and also in a dramatic triggering of the grain zearalenone contamination at elevated CO2. The results indicate that future environmental conditions, such as rising CO2 levels, may increase the threat of grain mycotoxin contamination. Keywords: deoxynivalenol, elevated CO2, Fusarium culmorum, mycotoxin, Triticum aestivum, zearalenon

Western corn rootworm ( \u3ci\u3eDiabrotica virgifera virgifera\u3c/i\u3e LeConte) population dynamics

1 The western corn rootworm Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte is a major insect pest of field maize, Zea mays L. Larvae can cause substantial injury by feeding on maize roots. Larval feeding may destroy individual roots or root nodes, and reduce plant growth, stability, and yield. Costs associated with managing corn rootworms in continuous maize are annually one of the largest expenditures for insect management in the United States Corn Belt. 2 Even though D. virgifera virgifera has been studied intensively for over 50 years, there is renewed interest in the biology, ecology, and genetics of this species because of its ability to rapidly adapt to management tactics, and its aggressive invasive nature. 3 This article provides a comprehensive review of D. virgifera virgifera population dynamics, specifically: diapause, larval and adult development, seasonality, spatial and temporal dynamics at local and landscape scales, invasiveness in North America and Europe, and non-trophic interactions with other arthropods. 4 Gaps in current knowledge are identified and discussed especially within the context of challenges that scientists in North America and Europe are currently facing regarding pest dynamics and the need to develop appropriate management strategies for each geographic area

Western corn rootworm (Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte) population dynamics

The western corn rootworm Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte is a major insect pest of field maize, Zea mays L. Larvae can cause substantial injury by feeding on maize roots. Larval feeding may destroy individual roots or root nodes, and reduce plant growth, stability, and yield. Costs associated with managing corn rootworms in continuous maize are annually one of the largest expenditures for insect management in the United States Corn Belt. Even though D. virgifera virgifera has been studied intensively for over 50 years, there is renewed interest in the biology, ecology, and genetics of this species because of its ability to rapidly adapt to management tactics, and its aggressive invasive nature. This article provides a comprehensive review of D. virgifera virgifera population dynamics, specifically: diapause, larval and adult development, seasonality, spatial and temporal dynamics at local and landscape scales, invasiveness in North America and Europe, and non-trophic interactions with other arthropods. Gaps in current knowledge are identified and discussed especially within the context of challenges that scientists in North America and Europe are currently facing regarding pest dynamics and the need to develop appropriate management strategies for each geographic area

Ritka öröklött és szerzett haemorrhagiás diathesisek molekuláris elemzése, a rendellenességek strukturális és funkcionális következményei = Molecular evaluation of rare inherited and acquired bleeding diatheses, structural and functional consequences of the disorders

Ritka trombocita funkciós zavarok és koagulopátiák vizsgálata molekuláris genetikai és fehérje szinten. Az alábbiakban a projekt három legfontosabb eredményét soroljuk fel: 1/Két új mutációnak a felfedezése a trombocita glikoprotein (GP) IIb-ben, melyek II-es típusú Glanzmann thrombastheniát okoztak. A mutáns fehérjék transzfektált sejtekben történő analízise rávilágított: a) a "thigh" domén szerepére a GPIIIa-val való komplex képződésben, b) a "calf-2" domén fontoságára a fehérje érési folyamatában és intracelluláris vándorlásában. 2/ A factor X (FX) génjében bekövetkezett homozigóta c.730G>A/p.Gly204Arg mutáció következtében a FX antigén hiányát észleltük egy súlyos vérzékenységben szenvedő gyermekben. Az aminósav csere destabilizálta a FX két láncát összetartó diszulfid hidat. A mutáns fehérje eltérül a normális szekréciós úttól, megakad a transz Golgi-késő endoszóma szinten, s így nem szekretálódik. 3/ Egy SLE-ben szenvedő betegen életet veszélyeztető vérzés alakult ki. A beteg vizsgálata a szerzett faktor XIII (FXIII) deficiencia egy új, eddig nem leírt formájának a felismeréséhez vezetett. A beteg plazmájában FXIII aktivitás, FXIII komplex, FXIII A és B alegység antigén nem volt kimutatható, míg trombocitákban a FXIII aktivitás és FXIII-A antigén normál volt. A súlyos vérzést egy autoantitest okozta, mely a komplexben lévő és szabad FXIII-B-hez egyaránt kötődött és nagyon kifejezetten meggyorsította eliminációjukat a keringésből. | Rare platelet function disorders and coagulopathies were investigated at molecular genetic and/or protein level. Below the three most important results of the project are described: 1/ Investigation of a patient with type II Glanzmann thrombasthenia led to the discovery of two novel causative mutations in the platelet glycoprotein (GP) IIb gene. Analysis of the mutant proteins in transfected cells shed light a) on the role of thigh domain in the complex formation with GPIIIa, b) on the involvement of calf-2 domain in the maturation and intracellular trafficking of the protein. 2/ Due to a homozygous novel c.730G>A/p.Gly204Arg mutation in the factor X (FX) gene no FX antigen was found in the plasma of a child with severe bleeding diathesis. The amino acid replacement destabilized the disulfide bond that holds the two FX chains together. The mutant protein could not be secreted; it was diverted from the normal secretory pathway and retained at the trans Golgi-late endosome level. 3/ In an SLE patient with life threatening bleeding a new form of acquired factor XIII (FXIII) deficiency was discovered. The patient had undetectable FXIII activity, FXIII complex, FXIII A and B subunit antigen levels in the plasma, while in platelets FXIII activity and FXIII-A antigen level was normal. It was revealed that the patient developed an autoantibody that bound to FXIII-B both in complex and free form and highly accelerated their elimination from the circulation