Population Genetic Structure and Chemotype Diversity of Populations from Wheat in Canada and North Eastern United States.

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a major disease in wheat causing severe economic losses globally by reducing yield and contaminating grain with mycotoxins. In Canada, is the principal etiological agent of FHB in wheat, producing mainly the trichothecene mycotoxin, deoxynivalenol (DON) and its acetyl derivatives (15-acetyl deoxynivalenol (15ADON) and 3-acetyl deoxynivalenol (3ADON)). Understanding the population biology of such as the genetic variability, as well as mycotoxin chemotype diversity among isolates is important in developing sustainable disease management tools.

Root cortical anatomy is associated with differential pathogenic and symbiotic fungal colonization in maize.

Root anatomical phenotypes vary among maize (Zea mays) cultivars and may have adaptive value by modifying the metabolic cost of soil exploration. However, the microbial trade-offs of these phenotypes are unknown. We hypothesized that nodal roots of maize with contrasting cortical anatomy have different patterns of mutualistic and pathogenic fungal colonization.

FvSO regulates vegetative hyphal fusion, asexual growth, fumonisin B1 production, and virulence in Fusarium verticillioides.

Hyphal anastomosis is a hallmark of filamentous fungi and plays vital roles including cellular homoeostasis, interhyphal communication and nutrient translocation. Here we identify a gene, FvSO, in Fusarium verticillioides, a filamentous ascomycete causing maize ear and stalk rot and producing fumonisin mycotoxins. FvSO, like its Neurospora crassa homologue SO, is required for vegetative hyphal fusion.

Induced systemic resistance responses in perennial ryegrass against Magnaporthe oryzae elicited by semi-purified surfactin lipopeptides and live cells of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens.

The suppressive ability of several strains of cyclic lipopeptide-producing Bacillus rhizobacteria to grey leaf spot disease caused by Magnaporthe oryzae has been documented previously; however, the underlying mechanism(s) involved in the induced systemic resistance (ISR) activity in perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) remains unknown. Root-drench application of solid-phase extraction (SPE)-enriched surfactin and live cells of mutant Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain FZB42-AK3 (produces surfactin, but not bacillomycin D and fengycin) significantly reduced disease incidence and severity on perennial ryegrass.

Deoxynivalenol biosynthesis-related gene expression during wheat kernel colonization by Fusarium graminearum.

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is a potent mycotoxin and virulence factor produced by Fusarium graminearum. We examined the expression of the core DON biosynthetic gene Tri5 during wheat head infection of susceptible and resistant cultivars and susceptible cultivars treated with strobilurin fungicides (e.g.

Development of a Real-Time RT-PCR SYBR Green Assay for Tomato ring spot virus in Grape.

Grapevines infected with Tomato ring spot virus (ToRSV) pose an economic risk for growers in the northeastern United States. This study describes a one-step real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) SYBR Green assay for detecting ToRSV in grapevines. Two newly designed primer pairs based on the ToRSV coat protein gene sequence were evaluated for specificity and optimized for a SYBR Green assay.