Suppressive effects of a polymer sodium silicate solution on powdery mildew and root rot diseases of miniature rose

Sodium silicate was dissolved in water in either a monomer form or polymer form; the effects of both forms of sodium silicate aqueous solution on rose powdery mildew and root rot diseases of miniature rose were examined. Both forms of sodium silicate aqueous solution were applied to the roots of the miniature rose. Potassium silicate aqueous solution was used as a control and was compared to the effect of sodium silicate aqueous solution. The polymer sodium silicate aqueous solution was the most effective treatment against both powdery mildew and root rot diseases. Moreover, no inhibition effects of silicate solutions were observed in vitro on Pythium helicoides, the causal pathogen of rose root rot disease. The silicon contents in the roots of the miniature rose treated with polymer sodium silicate were significantly greater than that in plants treated with monomer sodium silicate. In conclusion, the suppressive effects of sodium silicate in the polymer form were confirmed against powdery mildew and root rot diseases of the miniature rose.Keywords: Podosphaera pannosa, Pythium helicoides, miniature rose, polymer and monomer sodium silicat

Mechanism of biological control of Rhizoctonia damping-off of cucumber by a non-pathogenic isolate of binucleate Rhizoctonia

The interaction of binucleate Rhizoctonia (BNR) anastomosis group (AG)-A isolate W7, Rhizoctonia solani AG-4 and cucumber seedlings were  investigated to elucidate the mechanism of biocontrol of Rhizoctonia solani by BNR. Hypocotyls of Cucumis sativus L. cv. Jibai were inoculated with a virulent isolate of R. solani AG-4 isolate C4 and examined with light microscopy and scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The hyphae of the virulent isolate colonized the outer surface of the hypocotyl and penetrated the epidermal and cortical cells to the pith of hypocotyls. The hyphae of a non-pathogenic species of BNR isolate W7 did not penetrate the cortical cells but instead colonized the outer epidermal cells 12 h after inoculation. Accumulation of mucilage occurred on the surface after dense colonization of the hypocotyls surface by the BNR. Observation of the hypocotyls surface pre-inoculated with BNR and challenged inoculated with R. solani showed constricted and deformed hyphae of R. solani, which were prevented to penetrate the epidermal cells. Pre-inoculating of BNR isolate caused profused formation of the mucilage which lysed BNR hyphae and restricted the growth of R. solani. The mucilage was identified as pectic substances. Analysis of pectin contents from dried hypocotyls tissues showed highly methylated pectin with low uronic acid contents in the seedlings inoculated with R. solani and unprotected by BNR while BNR- treated seedlings showed less methylated pectin and high amount of uronic acid. Furthermore, the BNR-inoculated seedlings showed significant (P = 0.05) increase in calcium, indicating high amount of wall-bound cations in cell walls. Pectic substances accumulation and increased calcium in the cucumber tissues greatly contributed in the protection of cucumber seedlings against Rhizoctonia damping off by a non-pathogenic species of Rhizoctonia.Keywords: Rhizoctonia solani, binucleate Rhizoctonia, cucumber, biological controlAfrican Journal of Biotechnology, Vol. 13(5), pp. 640-650, 29 January, 201

Prediction of transcriptional regulatory elements for plant hormone responses based on microarray data

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Phytohormones organize plant development and environmental adaptation through cell-to-cell signal transduction, and their action involves transcriptional activation. Recent international efforts to establish and maintain public databases of <it>Arabidopsis </it>microarray data have enabled the utilization of this data in the analysis of various phytohormone responses, providing genome-wide identification of promoters targeted by phytohormones.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We utilized such microarray data for prediction of <it>cis</it>-regulatory elements with an octamer-based approach. Our test prediction of a drought-responsive RD29A promoter with the aid of microarray data for response to drought, ABA and overexpression of DREB1A, a key regulator of cold and drought response, provided reasonable results that fit with the experimentally identified regulatory elements. With this succession, we expanded the prediction to various phytohormone responses, including those for abscisic acid, auxin, cytokinin, ethylene, brassinosteroid, jasmonic acid, and salicylic acid, as well as for hydrogen peroxide, drought and DREB1A overexpression. Totally 622 promoters that are activated by phytohormones were subjected to the prediction. In addition, we have assigned putative functions to 53 octamers of the Regulatory Element Group (REG) that have been extracted as position-dependent <it>cis</it>-regulatory elements with the aid of their feature of preferential appearance in the promoter region.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our prediction of <it>Arabidopsis cis</it>-regulatory elements for phytohormone responses provides guidance for experimental analysis of promoters to reveal the basis of the transcriptional network of phytohormone responses.</p