An assessment of the species diversity and disease potential of Pythium communities in Europe.

Pythium sensu lato (s.l.) is a genus of parasitic oomycetes that poses a serious threat to agricultural production worldwide, but their severity is often neglected because little knowledge about them is available.

A reference genome of Commelinales provides insights into the commelinids evolution and global spread of water hyacinth (Pontederia crassipes).

Commelinales belongs to the commelinids clade, which also comprises Poales that includes the most important monocot species, such as rice, wheat, and maize. No reference genome of Commelinales is currently available. Water hyacinth (Pontederia crassipes or Eichhornia crassipes), a member of Commelinales, is one of the devastating aquatic weeds, although it is also grown as an ornamental and medical plant.

MicroRNAs constitute an additional layer in plant response to simultaneous bio- and abiotic stresses as exemplified by UV-B radiation and flg22-treatment on Arabidopsis thaliana.

Plants are confronted with various environmental stresses and develop sophisticated adaptive mechanisms. Our previous work demonstrated that the crosstalk of flg22 and ultraviolet (UV)-B-induced signalling cascades reprograms the expression of flavonol pathway genes (FPGs), benefiting plant defence responses. Although several transcription factors have been identified to be involved in this crosstalk, the underlying mechanism is largely unclear.

QTL mapping and transcriptome analysis identify novel QTLs and candidate genes in Brassica villosa for quantitative resistance against Sclerotinia sclerotiorum.

Novel QTLs and candidate genes for Sclerotinia-resistance were identified in B. villosa, a wild Brassica species, which represents a new genetic source for improving oilseed rape resistance to SSR. Sclerotinia stem rot (SSR), caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, is one of the most destructive diseases in oilseed rape growing regions.

RNAseq-Based Working Model for Transcriptional Regulation of Crosstalk between Simultaneous Abiotic UV-B and Biotic Stresses in Plants.

Plants adjust their secondary metabolism by altering the expression of corresponding genes to cope with both abiotic and biotic stresses. In the case of UV-B radiation, plants produce protective flavonoids; however, this reaction is impeded during pattern-triggered immunity (PTI) induced by pathogens. Pathogen attack can be mimicked by the application of microbial associated molecular patterns (e.

Population genomic analysis reveals domestication of cultivated rye from weedy rye.

Rye (Secale cereale) is an important crop with multiple uses and a valuable genetic resource for wheat breeding. However, due to its complex genome and outcrossing nature, the origin of cultivated rye remains elusive. The geneticist N.

MicroRNA840 (MIR840) accelerates leaf senescence by targeting the overlapping 3'UTRs of PPR and WHIRLY3 in Arabidopsis thaliana.

MicroRNAs negatively regulate gene expression by promoting target mRNA cleavage and/or impairing its translation, thereby playing a crucial role in plant development and environmental stress responses. In Arabidopsis, the MIR840 gene is located within the overlapping 3'UTR of the PPR and WHIRLY3 (WHY3) genes, both being predicted targets of miR840* and miR840, the short maturation products of MIR840. Gain- and loss-of-function of MIR840 in Arabidopsis resulted in opposite senescence phenotypes.

Dual-Localized WHIRLY1 Affects Salicylic Acid Biosynthesis via Coordination of ISOCHORISMATE SYNTHASE1, PHENYLALANINE AMMONIA LYASE1, and -ADENOSYL-L-METHIONINE-DEPENDENT METHYLTRANSFERASE1.

Salicylic acid (SA) influences developmental senescence and is spatiotemporally controlled by various mechanisms, including biosynthesis, transport, and conjugate formation. Altered localization of Arabidopsis WHIRLY1 (WHY1), a repressor of leaf natural senescence, in the nucleus or chloroplast causes a perturbation in SA homeostasis, resulting in adverse plant senescence phenotypes. loss-of-function mutation resulted in SA peaking 5 d earlier compared to wild-type plants, which accumulated SA at 42 d after germination.

Applications of CRISPR/Cas to Improve Crop Disease Resistance: Beyond Inactivation of Susceptibility Factors.

Current crop production systems are prone to increasing pathogen pressure. Fundamental understanding of molecular plant-pathogen interactions, the availability of crop and pathogen genomic information, as well as emerging genome editing permits a novel approach for breeding of crop disease resistance. We describe here strategies to identify new targets for resistance breeding with focus on interruption of the compatible plant-pathogen interaction by CRISPR/Cas-mediated genome editing.

Phytohormone crosstalk in the host-Verticillium interaction.

Functional genomics can be applied to shed light on the - Verticillium interaction. RNAseq data indicated already that abscisic acid (ABA) is apparently involved in the early oilseed rape response to fungal infection with isolate 43 (). A calreticulin (CRT1a) was identified as novel susceptibility factor for infecting both Arabidopsis and oilseed rape.

Loss of function of CRT1a (calreticulin) reduces plant susceptibility to Verticillium longisporum in both Arabidopsis thaliana and oilseed rape (Brassica napus).

Brassica napus is highly susceptible towards Verticillium longisporum (Vl43) with no effective genetic resistance. It is believed that the fungus reprogrammes plant physiological processes by up-regulation of so-called susceptibility factors to establish a compatible interaction. By transcriptome analysis, we identified genes, which were activated/up-regulated in rapeseed after Vl43 infection.

Suppression of abscisic acid biosynthesis at the early infection stage of Verticillium longisporum in oilseed rape (Brassica napus).

Verticillium longisporum infects oilseed rape (Brassica napus) and Arabidopsis thaliana. To investigate the early response of oilseed rape to the fungal infection, we determined transcriptomic changes in oilseed rape roots at 6 days post-inoculation (dpi) by RNA-Seq analysis, in which non-infected roots served as a control. Strikingly, a subset of genes involved in abscisic acid (ABA) biosynthesis was found to be down-regulated and the ABA level was accordingly attenuated in 6 dpi oilseed rape as compared with the control.

and Genes Pyramiding Enhanced Beet Cyst Nematode ( Schm.) Resistance in Oilseed Rape ( L.).

Beet cyst nematode ( Schm.) is one of the most damaging pests in sugar beet growing areas around the world. The and genes confer resistance to the beet cyst nematode, and both were cloned from sugar beet translocation line (A906001).

Suppression of UV-B stress induced flavonoids by biotic stress: Is there reciprocal crosstalk?

Plants respond to abiotic UV-B stress with enhanced expression of genes for flavonoid production, especially the key-enzyme chalcone synthase (CHS). Some flavonoids are antioxidative, antimicrobial and/or UV-B protective secondary metabolites. However, when plants are challenged with concomitant biotic stress (simulated e.

Echinochloa crus-galli genome analysis provides insight into its adaptation and invasiveness as a weed.

Barnyardgrass (Echinochloa crus-galli) is a pernicious weed in agricultural fields worldwide. The molecular mechanisms underlying its success in the absence of human intervention are presently unknown. Here we report a draft genome sequence of the hexaploid species E.

Analysis of transcriptional and epigenetic changes in hybrid vigor of allopolyploid Brassica napus uncovers key roles for small RNAs.

Heterosis is a fundamental biological phenomenon characterized by the superior performance of a hybrid compared with its parents. The underlying molecular basis for heterosis, particularly for allopolyploids, remains elusive. In this study we analyzed the transcriptomes of Brassica napus parental lines and their F hybrids at three stages of early flower development.

Investigation of the crosstalk between the flg22 and the UV-B-induced flavonol pathway in Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings.

In Arabidopsis cell culture, we have shown that flavonol metabolite accumulation depends on expression of the flavonol pathway genes (FPGs), which are up-regulated by UV-B irradiation but repressed during microbe-associated molecular pattern (MAMP) -triggered immunity (MTI) induced by the bacterial elicitor flg22. The suppression of flavonoid production during MTI is believed to allow the plant focusing its metabolism on the pathogen defense by directing phenylalanine resources from UV-B protective flavonol production towards production of phytoalexins and cell wall fortification by lignin incorporation. Here, we show that UV-B-induced FPGs are also suppressed by flg22 in Arabidopsis seedlings, demonstrating that this kind of 'crosstalk' is fully functional in planta.

Identification, evolution, and expression partitioning of miRNAs in allopolyploid Brassica napus.

The recently published genome of Brassica napus offers for the first time the opportunity to gain insights into the genomic organization and the evolution of miRNAs in oilseed rape. In this study, 12 small RNA libraries from two B. napus cultivars (Tapidor and Ningyou7) and their four double-haploid lines were sequenced, employing the newly sequenced B.

A host plant genome (Zizania latifolia) after a century-long endophyte infection.

Despite the importance of host-microbe interactions in natural ecosystems, agriculture and medicine, the impact of long-term (especially decades or longer) microbial colonization on the dynamics of host genomes is not well understood. The vegetable crop 'Jiaobai' with enlarged edible stems was domesticated from wild Zizania latifolia (Oryzeae) approximately 2000 years ago as a result of persistent infection by a fungal endophyte, Ustilago esculenta. Asexual propagation via infected rhizomes is the only means of Jiaobai production, and the Z.

Identification and characterization of microRNAs in oilseed rape (Brassica napus) responsive to infection with the pathogenic fungus Verticillium longisporum using Brassica AA (Brassica rapa) and CC (Brassica oleracea) as reference genomes.

Verticillium longisporum, a soil-borne pathogenic fungus, causes vascular disease in oilseed rape (Brassica napus). We proposed that plant microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in the plant-V. longisporum interaction.

The interplay of transcription factors in suppression of UV-B induced flavonol accumulation by flg22.

Biotic stress can be mimicked by application of elicitors, which comprise of microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs). Treatment of plant cell cultures with MAMPs such as flg22 suppressed the expression of UV-B-induced flavonol pathway genes (FPGs) in parsley, carrot and Arabidopsis. This is thought to allow the plant focusing its secondary metabolism on the pathogen defense during MAMP-triggered immunity (MTI).

Suppression of UV-B stress responses by flg22 is regulated at the chromatin level via histone modification.

Genes of the flavonol pathway are activated by UV-B, but suppressed by concomitant flg22 application in Arabidopsis. Analysis at the metabolite level suggested that this regulation allows the plant to focus its secondary metabolism on the plant defence towards pathogen attack. We now demonstrate by chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by quantitative PCR, that this antagonistic gene regulation is mediated at the chromatin level by differential regulation of histone 3 lysine 9 acetylation (H3K9ac), which is a hallmark for gene activation.

The maturation zone is an important target of Piriformospora indica in Chinese cabbage roots.

The mutualistic symbiont Piriformospora indica exhibits a great potential in agriculture. The interaction between P. indica and Chinese cabbage (Brassica campestris cv.

Members of the germin-like protein family in Brassica napus are candidates for the initiation of an oxidative burst that impedes pathogenesis of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum.

Germin-like proteins (GLPs) are defined by their sequence homology to germins from barley and are present ubiquitously in plants. Analyses of corresponding genes have revealed diverse functions of GLPs in plant development and biotic and abiotic stresses. This study describes the identification of a family of 14 germin-like genes from Brassica napus (BnGLP) designated BnGLP1-BnGLP14 and investigated potential functions of BnGLPs in plant defense against the necrotrophic fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum.

Draft genome sequence of the marine Streptomyces sp. strain PP-C42, isolated from the Baltic Sea.

Streptomyces, a branch of aerobic Gram-positive bacteria, represents the largest genus of actinobacteria. The streptomycetes are characterized by a complex secondary metabolism and produce over two-thirds of the clinically used natural antibiotics today. Here we report the draft genome sequence of a Streptomyces strain, PP-C42, isolated from the marine environment.