Pre-treatment of soybean plants with calcium stimulates ROS responses and mitigates infection by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum.

Considering the high incidence of white mold caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum in a variety of field crops and vegetables, different control strategies are needed to keep the disease under economical threshold. This study assessed the effect of foliar application of a calcium formulation on disease symptoms, oxalic acid production, and on the oxidative stress metabolism in soybean plants inoculated with each of two isolates of the pathogen that have contrasting aggressiveness (HA, highly-aggressive versus WA, weakly-aggressive). Changes in reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels in soybean plants inoculated with S.

A cupin domain-containing protein with a quercetinase activity (VdQase) regulates Verticillium dahliae's pathogenicity and contributes to counteracting host defenses.

We previously identified rutin as part of potato root responses to its pathogen Verticillium dahliae. Rutin was directly toxic to the pathogen at doses greater than 160 μM, a threshold below which many V. dahliae pathogenicity-related genes were up-regulated.

Plants versus fungi and oomycetes: pathogenesis, defense and counter-defense in the proteomics era.

Plant-fungi and plant-oomycete interactions have been studied at the proteomic level for many decades. However, it is only in the last few years, with the development of new approaches, combined with bioinformatics data mining tools, gel staining, and analytical instruments, such as 2D-PAGE/nanoflow-LC-MS/MS, that proteomic approaches thrived. They allow screening and analysis, at the sub-cellular level, of peptides and proteins resulting from plants, pathogens, and their interactions.

Chitosan in plant protection.

Chitin and chitosan are naturally-occurring compounds that have potential in agriculture with regard to controlling plant diseases. These molecules were shown to display toxicity and inhibit fungal growth and development. They were reported to be active against viruses, bacteria and other pests.

Toxin-based in-vitro selection and its potential application to date palm for resistance to the bayoud Fusarium wilt.

Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is qualified as a 'tree' of great ecological and socio-economical importance in desert oases. Unfortunately, it is being decimated, especially in Morocco and Algeria, by a fusariosis wilt called bayoud and caused by Fusarium oxysporum f.

[Phenotypic and genetic variability of three natural populations of Atriplex halimus].

Three natural populations of Atriplex halimus, located in three different climatic contexts, were studied using leaf characteristics (leaf area, leaf length-to-maximum-width ratio, average width of the leaves and leave-to-branch ratio) and isoenzymatic markers. The study showed the existence of a highly significant phenotypical variability. This variability is all the more significant, as populations are geographically distant and located in different climates.