Publications by authors named "Tzu-Pi Huang"

Phytoplasmas are obligate phytopathogenic bacteria belonging to the class Mollicutes. The pathogens, transmitted by insect vectors, associated with hundreds of plant diseases worldwide. Due to the regulation on banning use of antibiotics and limited efficacy of the traditional disease management manners, an eco-friendly alternative is needed.

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Beneficial Bacillus subtilis (BS) symbiosis could combat root pathogenesis, but it relies on root-secreted sugars. Understanding the molecular control of sugar flux during colonization would benefit biocontrol applications. The SWEET (Sugar Will Eventually Be Exported Transporter) uniporter regulates microbe-induced sugar secretion from roots; thus, its homologs may modulate sugar distribution upon BS colonization.

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Bacterial fruit blotch, caused by the seedborne gram-negative bacterium , is one of the most destructive bacterial diseases of cucurbits (gourds) worldwide. Despite its prevalence, effective and reliable means to control bacterial fruit blotch remain limited. Transcriptomic analyses of tissue culture-based regeneration processes have revealed that organogenesis-associated cellular reprogramming is often associated with upregulation of stress- and defense-responsive genes.

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Brown root rot disease (BRRD), caused by , is an important tree disease in tropical and subtropical areas. To improve chemical control of BRRD and deter emergence of fungicide resistance in . , this study investigated control efficacies and systemic activities of fungicides with different modes of action.

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Bacillus subtilis strain Ydj3 was applied to sweet peppers to understand the influence of this bacterium on the growth, fruit quality, and rhizosphere microbial composition of sweet pepper. The promotion of seed germination was observed for sweet pepper seeds treated with the Ydj3 strain, indicating that Ydj3 promoted seed germination and daily germination speed (131.5 ± 10.

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Rice sheath blight (ShB), caused by Kühn AG1-IA, is one of the destructive rice diseases worldwide. The aims of this study were to develop biocontrol strategies focusing on field sanitation and foliar application with a biocontrol agent for ShB management. PMS-702 showed a great antagonistic activity against .

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The seedlings and fresh fruits of passion fruits are of high value in local and global trade. is a main disease-causing agent affecting passion fruits. The objectives of this study were to develop -based biocontrol agents for the management of Fusarium diseases on passion fruits and to investigate their putative control mechanisms.

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Tomato is an economic crop worldwide. Many limiting factors reduce the production of tomato, with bacterial wilt caused by being the most destructive disease. Our previous study showed that the disease resistance to bacterial soft rot is enhanced by strain PMB05.

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Gastrodia elata, a fully mycoheterotrophic orchid without photosynthetic ability, only grows symbiotically with the fungus Armillaria. The mechanism of carbon distribution in this mycoheterotrophy is unknown. We detected high sucrose concentrations in all stages of Gastrodia tubers, suggesting sucrose may be the major sugar transported between fungus and orchid.

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There have been few studies investigating interactions of G-protein beta3 subunit () C825T (rs5443) and dietary sodium intake on the risk of hypertension, i.e., BP salt sensitivity.

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A major challenge of modern agricultural biotechnology is the optimization of plant architecture for enhanced productivity, stress tolerance and water use efficiency (WUE). To optimize plant height and tillering that directly link to grain yield in cereals and are known to be tightly regulated by gibberellins (GAs), we attenuated the endogenous levels of GAs in rice via its degradation. GA 2-oxidase (GA2ox) is a key enzyme that inactivates endogenous GAs and their precursors.

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Xylella fastidiosa causes Pierce's disease (PD) and is transmitted by xylem-sap-feeding insects. While X. fastidiosa -infected grapevines have been detected, the transmission vectors reported have never been recorded in Taiwan.

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Citrus bacterial canker caused by Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri is a serious disease that impacts citrus production worldwide, and X. axonopodis pv.

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Citrus bacterial canker caused by Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri is a devastating disease resulting in significant crop losses in various citrus cultivars worldwide. A biocontrol agent has not been recommended for this disease.

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Purpose: To assess the role of gene-environment interaction between interleukin (IL)-4 promoter and mold exposure on the development of asthma.

Methods: We conducted a cohort-based, incident, case-control study. The case group consisted of 188 children with new asthma and the control group (n = 376) was matched for age and gender.

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We have shown the usefulness of the heteroduplex mobility assay (HMA) for phylogenetic analysis and for the discrimination of closely related Colletotrichum species. Because the heteroduplex mobility of a tested strain shows a unique banding pattern that is the function of the sequence of the referred strain, we further explored the potential use of heteroduplex DNA patterns (HPs) as DNA fingerprints for the identification of these fungi. The 29 Colletotrichum strains previously identified by HMA to be taxonomic members of CG, CA, CM, CC and CL species groups were re-examined with an emphasis on their unique heteroduplex banding patterns.

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Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is widespread in natural environments such as soil, sewage and plant rhizospheres. Surfactants frequently function in modulating bacterial surface translocation. In this study, rpfB and rpfF orthologues were identified from S.

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Stenotrophomonas maltophilia WR-C possesses an rpf/diffusible signal factor (DSF) cell-cell communication system. It produces cis-Delta2-11-methyl-dodecenoic acid, a DSF, and seven structural derivatives, which require rpfF and rpfB for synthesis. Acquisition of iron from the environment is important for bacterial growth as well as the expression of virulence genes.

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Stenotrophomonas maltophilia WR-C is capable of forming biofilm on polystyrene and glass. The lipopolysaccharide/exopolysaccharide-coupled biosynthetic genes rmlA, rmlC, and xanB are necessary for biofilm formation and twitching motility. Mutants with mutations in rmlAC and xanB display contrasting biofilm phenotypes on polystyrene and glass and differ in swimming motility.

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Sterigmatocystin (ST) is a carcinogenic polyketide produced by several filamentous fungi including Aspergillus nidulans. Expression of ST biosynthetic genes (stc genes) requires activity of a Zn(II)2Cys6 transcription factor, AflR. aflR is transcriptionally and post-transcriptionally regulated by a G-protein/cAMP/protein kinase A (PkaA) signaling pathway involving FlbA, an RGS (regulator of G-protein signaling) protein.

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