Associations of Pantoea with Rice Plants: As Friends or Foes?

Pantoea species are gram-negative bacteria from the Enterobacteriaceae family, generally associated with plants, either as epiphytes or as pathogens. In the last decade, Pantoea species are being regarded as re-emerging pathogens that are the causal agents of various diseases in rice plants. Inherently, they are also known to be opportunistic plant symbionts having the capacity to enhance systemic resistance and increase the yield of rice plants. It is unclear how they can express both beneficial and pathogenic traits, and what factors influence and determine the outcome of a particular Pantoea–rice plant interaction. This review aims to compare the characteristics of rice plant-beneficial and pathogenic strains belonging to the Pantoea species and gain new insights, enabling distinction among the two types of plant–microbe interactions.

Screening Candidate Effectors of the Bean Bug Riptortus pedestris by Proteomic and Transcriptomic Analyses

The damage of Riptortus pedestris is exceptional by leading soybean plants to keep green in late autumn. Identification of the salivary proteins is essential to understand how the pest-plant interaction occurs. Here, we have tried to identify them by a combination of proteomic and transcriptomic analyses. The transcriptomes of salivary glands from R. pedestris males, females and nymphs showed about 28,000 unigenes, in which about 40% had open reading frames (ORFs). Therefore, the predicted proteins in the transcriptomes with secretion signals were obtained. Many of the top 1,000 expressed transcripts were involved in protein biosynthesis and transport, suggesting that the salivary glands produce a rich repertoire of proteins. In addition, saliva of R. pedestris males, females and nymphs was collected and proteins inside were identified. In total, 155, 20, and 11 proteins were, respectively, found in their saliva. We have tested the tissue-specific expression of 68 genes that are likely to be effectors, either because they are homologs of reported effectors of other sap-feeding arthropods, or because they are within the top 1,000 expressed genes or found in the salivary proteomes. Their potential functions in regulating plant defenses were discussed. The datasets reported here represent the first step in identifying effectors of R. pedestris.

Seeing the tundra for the plants, on the eco-spiritual wholeness of arctic vegetation

Drawing on ethnographic field research in Chukotka, Russia, this article explores ideas and practices connected with the Arctic tundra vegetation that speak to its place in Chukchi spirituality and cultural milieu. The ethnographic focus is on a Chukchi remembrance ceremony with other social contexts of human–plant interaction offered as comparative examples. Contributing novel insight for the considerations of sentient landscapes and ceremonial engagements with plants, the article turns to the Chukchi eco-spiritual relationships in the beyond-the-human world. It suggests that the vegetation cover is not merely an assemblage of fungi and plants, but an organismal membrane through which the tundra communicates and acts, while also facilitating integrations between the human and beyond-the-human worlds.

Nanoparticles—Plant Interaction: What We Know, Where We Are?

In recent years; the interaction of nanoparticles (NPs) with plants has been intensively studied. Therefore, more and more aspects related to both the positive and negative impact of NP on plants are well described. This article focuses on two aspects of NP interaction with plants. The first is a summary of the current knowledge on NP migration through the roots into the plant body, in particular, the role of the cell wall. The second aspect summarizes the current knowledge of the participation of the symplast, including the plasmodesmata (PD), in the movement of NP within the plant body. We highlight the gaps in our knowledge of the plant–NP interactions; paying attention to the need for future studies to explain the mechanisms that regulate the composition of the cell wall and the functioning of the PD under the influence of NP.

A new species of aphid of the genus Nipponaphis (Hemiptera: Aphididae: Hormaphidinae) from China, inducing galls on the trunk of a witch-hazel (Hamamelidaceae)

Plants and insects have co-existed for millions of years. Although research has been conducted on various insect species that induce galls on various plant tissues, information is particularly scarce when it comes to insects that form galls on the tough trunk of their host plants. This contribution describes the gall-inducing aphid Nipponaphis hubeiensis sp. nov. from the Zhushan County, Shiyan City, Hubei Province of China. This aphid induces enclosed galls with woody external layer on the trunk of Sycopsis sinensis (Saxifragales: Hamamelidaceae), an uncommon ecological niche in the aphid-plant interaction system. Morphological features for the identification of new species are provided. In addition, a partial sequence of the nuclear gene EF1α was amplified and sequenced to construct a cluster graph. Based on the clustering graph combined with morphology traits, the gall-forming aphid was classified into Nipponaphis. The unique ecological habits of this new aphid will bring innovative perspectives to the study of the evolution and diversity in aphid-host interaction.

Interactions between ants and non-myrmecochorous diaspores in a West African montane landscape

Myrmecochory, the dispersal of seeds with lipid-rich appendages by ants, is a significant ant–plant interaction. Less well understood is the potential for ant dispersal of non-myrmecochorous seeds. Here we investigate ant–diaspore interactions in a West African montane habitat. We combine observation with depot experiments to determine ant species that move diaspores and distance moved across a forest-edge-grassland gradient. We recorded seed cleaning by ants using a bird/mammal dispersed Paullinia pinnata to determine whether seed cleaning improved plant fitness. We found that two out of a total of 17 ant species (Pheidole sp. 1 and Myrmicaria opaciventris) interacted with 10 species of non-myrmecochorous diaspores across nine plant families. Diaspores were from large canopy trees, understorey trees and vines. Both ant species interacted with small (≤0.24 g) and large (≥0.24 g) diaspores. Ants individually moved small diaspores up to 1.2 m and worked together to clean larger ones. Our experiments with P. pinnata showed that ants removed the pulp of 70% of fruit over 5 days. Cleaned seeds germinated significantly faster and produced seedlings with significantly longer shoot length and higher fresh weight than seedlings from intact seeds. Together our results suggest that ant dispersal may be less significant than seed cleaning in Afromontane forests. However, given the decline in vertebrate frugivores across Africa, a small dispersal advantage may become increasingly important to plant fitness.