Attenuation of phytofungal pathogenicity of Ascomycota by autophagy modulators.

Autophagy in eukaryotes functions to maintain homeostasis by degradation and recycling of long-lived and unwanted cellular materials. Autophagy plays important roles in pathogenicity of various fungal pathogens, suggesting that autophagy is a novel target for development of antifungal compounds. Here, we describe bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET)-based high-throughput screening (HTS) strategy to identify compounds that inhibit fungal ATG4 cysteine protease-mediated cleavage of ATG8 that is critical for autophagosome formation.

First report of the bent seed gall nematode, (Steinbuch, 1799) Filipjev, 1936 from L. in Wyoming, USA.

In September 2020, several plants of fowl bluegrass, with seed galls were collected on a bank of river in Teton County, Wyoming, USA. Isolated nematodes were identified by both morphological and molecular methods as This is a first report of in Wyoming and its report on fowl bluegrass.

The Effect of Applied Salinity and Water Stress on Chemical Suppression of from Soilborne Inoculum in .

A serious concern for nurseries is the potential for and other species to colonize roots without inducing aboveground symptoms in plants that then serve as cryptic reservoirs of inoculum. Episodic abiotic stresses that reduce plant water potential can compromise the host resistance to trigger disease development from root and crown infections during many plant interactions. We conducted a series of experiments with root-inoculated plants in a potting soil mix to assess the influence of excess salt or water deficit on ramorum blight development and the potential for these abiotic stresses to affect the efficacy of oomycete-suppressive chemical soil treatments.

Draft Genome Sequences of 28 Actinobacteria of the Family Associated with Nematode-Infected Plants.

Draft genome sequences of 28 strains of from plants infested by plant-parasitic nematodes were obtained using Illumina technology. The sequence data will provide useful baseline information for the development of comparative genomics and systematics of and facilitate understanding of molecular mechanisms involved in interactions between plants and nematode-associated bacterial complexes.

Analysis of Volatile Profiles for Tracking Asymptomatic Infections of and Other Pathogens in .

is an invasive, broad host range pathogen that causes ramorum blight and sudden oak death in forest landscapes of western North America. In commercial nurseries, asymptomatic infections of nursery stock by and other species create unacceptable risk and complicate inspection and certification programs designed to prevent introduction and spread of these pathogens. In this study, we continue development of a volatile organic compound (VOC)-based test for detecting asymptomatic infections of in sp.

Effects of Phytophthora ramorum on volatile organic compound emissions of Rhododendron using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Phytophthora ramorum is an invasive and devastating plant pathogen that causes sudden oak death in coastal forests in the western United States and ramorum blight in nursery ornamentals and native plants in various landscapes. As a broad host-range quarantine pest that can be asymptomatic in some hosts, P. ramorum presents significant challenges for regulatory efforts to detect and contain it, particularly in commercial nurseries.

Predisposition in plant disease: exploiting the nexus in abiotic and biotic stress perception and response.

Predisposition results from abiotic stresses occurring prior to infection that affect susceptibility of plants to disease. The environment is seldom optimal for plant growth, and even mild, episodic stresses can predispose plants to inoculum levels they would otherwise resist. Plant responses that are adaptive in the short term may conflict with those for resisting pathogens.

Abscisic acid in salt stress predisposition to phytophthora root and crown rot in tomato and chrysanthemum.

Plants respond to changes in the environment with complex signaling networks, often under control of phytohormones that generate positive and negative crosstalk among downstream effectors of the response. Accordingly, brief dehydration stresses such as salinity and water deficit, which induce a rapid and transient systemic increase in levels of abscisic acid (ABA), can influence disease response pathways. ABA has been associated with susceptibility of plants to bacteria, fungi, and oomycetes but relatively little attention has been directed at its role in abiotic stress predisposition to root pathogens.

Episodic Abiotic Stress as a Potential Contributing Factor to Onset and Severity of Disease Caused by Phytophthora ramorum in Rhododendron and Viburnum.

Phytophthora ramorum attacks many forest and nursery species, primarily causing trunk or stem cankers, foliar blight, and dieback, and in some species root infection has been demonstrated. However, the abiotic and edaphic factors that influence infection and disease development are unresolved. Root infection by P.