The ACE Genes in Aphelenchoides Besseyi Isolates and Their Expression Correlation to the Fenamiphos Treatment

Aphelenchoides besseyi could cause great yield loss on rice and many economically important crops. Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors were commonly used to mitigate plant parasitic nematodes. However, increasing nematicide-resistance has been reported due to the extensive use of these chemicals. The correlation between the AChE-inhibitor (fenamiphos) sensitivities and acetylcholinesterase (ace) genes in two isolates of A. besseyi (designated Rl and HSF) was established. The LD50 of fenamiphos to Rl and HSF were 572.2 ppm and 129.4 ppm, respectively, indicating that two nematode isolates had different sensitivities to fenamiphos. Three ace genes were cloned and sequenced in A. besseyi, and their homology was supported by phylogenic analysis with AChEs protein sequences from various vertebrate and invertebrate species. Molecular docking showed that the affinities of each AChEs to fenamiphos were higher in HSF isolate, indicating that there should be point mutations in Rl isolate AChEs. Treating the two isolates with 100 ppm fenamiphos for 12 h, three ace genes of HSF isolate were down-regulated but were up-regulated in Rl isolate. The results suggest that fenamiphos can transcriptionally modulate the expression of ace genes, as well as the variants in AChEs and increased expression of ace genes might be associated with fenamiphos-insensitivity in Rl isolate.

Genomics assisted breeding: The need and current perspective for rice improvement in India

With the fast increase of human population and reduction in land areas under cultivation, it is essential to breed rice varieties with higher yield potential and tolerance to multiple stresses using modern breeding technologies. Till date, a large number of rice varieties and rice hybrids have been developed in India for different ecologies. However, average rice production in India is 2600 kg/hectare. Since rice is the staple food in India and grown in ~43.86 million hectare, the present production and productivity are not sufficient enough to feed the increasing population. Therefore, it is required to develop high yielding rice varieties to feed the growing population. However, HYVs are usually amenable to various biotic and abiotic stresses for which there is a great yield loss. Besides, there is no significant increase in yield though a number of high yielding rice varieties have been developed through conventional breeding. Thus, higher genetic gain in rice is required to combat the existing situation which is only possible through advanced breeding approaches such as genomic selection, forward breeding, haplotype-based precision breeding along with genomic tools such as Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) technology. This review addresses the current progress made in advanced genomic-assisted breeding and need of modern breeding technologies for rice improvement.

Reassessing the Role of Potassium in Tomato Grown with Water Shortages

Potassium (K) is closely related to plant water uptake and use and affects key processes in assimilation and growth. The aim of this work was to find out to what extent K supply and enhanced compartmentation might improve water use and productivity when tomato plants suffered from periods of water stress. Yield, water traits, gas exchange, photosynthetic rate and biomass partition were determined. When plants suffered dehydration, increasing K supply was associated with reduction in stomatal conductance and increased water contents, but failed to protect photosynthetic rate. Potassium supplements increased shoot growth, fruit setting and yield under water stress. However, increasing the K supply could not counteract the great yield reduction under drought. A transgenic tomato line with enhanced K uptake into vacuoles and able to reach higher plant K contents, still showed poor yield performance under water stress and had lower K use efficiency than the control plants. With unlimited water supply (hydroponics), plants grown in low-K showed greater root hydraulic conductivity than at higher K availability and stomatal conductance was not associated with leaf K concentration. In conclusion, increasing K supply and tissue content improved some physiological features related to drought tolerance but did not overcome yield restrictions imposed by water stress.

Etiology of Cyclocarya paliurus Anthracnose in Jiangsu Province, China

Cyclocarya paliurus is an extremely valuable and multifunctional tree species whose leaves have traditionally been used in used in medicine or as a medicinal tea in China. In recent years, anthracnose has been frequently observed on young leaves of C. paliurus in several nurseries located in Jiangsu Province, resulting in great yield and quality losses. To date, no information is available about the prevalence of C. paliurus anthracnose in China. The main purpose of the present study was to characterize the etiology of C. paliurus anthracnose. Phylogenetic analysis of the eight-loci concatenated dataset revealed that all 44 single-spore Colletotrichum isolates belonged to three species in the Colletotrichum gloeosporioides species complex, namely, Colletotrichum aenigma, Colletotrichum fructicola, and C. gloeosporioides sensu stricto. Phenotypic features, including the colony appearance and the morphology of conidia, appressoria, and ascospores, were consistent with the phylogenetic grouping. Virulence tests validated that the three Colletotrichum species could cause typical symptoms of anthracnose on C. paliurus leaves, similar to those observed in the field. The optimum mycelial growth temperature ranged from 25 to 30°C for all representative isolates, while C. gloeosporioides s. s. isolates exhibited greater tolerance to high temperature (40°C). Fungicide sensitivity assays indicated that all three Colletotrichum species were sensitive to tetramycin, which may be a potential alternative for the management of C. paliurus anthracnose. To our knowledge, this study provides the first report of C. aenigma, C. fructicola, and C. gloeosporioides s. s. causing C. paliurus anthracnose in China as well as in the world.

The Influence of Nitrogen Application Level on Eating Quality of the Two Indica-Japonica Hybrid Rice Cultivars

Indica-japonica hybrid rice cultivars show great yield potential but poor eating quality and require more nitrogen (N) input relative to japonica rice. However, the effect of N levels on the eating quality of indica-japonica hybrid rice is little known. A field experiment was carried out to investigate the effects of four N levels on two indica-japonica hybrid rice cultivars (Yongyou12 and Yongyou17) differing in eating quality. The results showed that the contents of amylose chains and water-insoluble storage proteins, especially prolamin, increased largely under a high N level, leading to deterioration of the rice-eating quality, although a low N level (100 N kg/ha) had a less negative effect on the eating quality. Moreover, both of the indica-japonica hybrids had high ratios of inferior grains (IG), and the ratio of IG increased with the N level. Grain weight and the immature ratio of IG were reduced and increased with the N level, respectively, which are also factors for deterioration of the eating quality. The two cultivars differed greatly in the responses of eating quality to the N level, with Yongyou17 being more sensitive than Yongyou12. The current results indicated that a high N level deteriorates the eating quality of indica-japonica hybrid rice mainly due to a large increase of IG.

The Evaluation of Egg-Parasitic Fungi Paraboeremia taiwanensis and Samsoniella sp. for the Biological Control of Meloidogyne enterolobii on Chinese Cabbage

Meloidogyne enterolobii, an aggressive plant-parasitic nematode, has been causing great yield loss worldwide in recent years. With no resistant Chinese cabbage cultivar available currently, a biological control strategy is needed to offer an eco-friendly option for sustainable farming. In this study, the nematode suppression efficacy of two newly isolated fungi, Paraboeremia taiwanensis and Samsoniella sp., were evaluated against M. enterolobii and compared to the known biological control agents Hyalorbilia oviparasitica strain DoUCR50 and Purpureocillium lilacinum strain 251 (PL251). Both P. taiwanensis and Samsoniella sp. reduced 29–63% disease severity as effectively as the commercial product PL251 on Chinese cabbage in greenhouse trails. The in vitro egg infection rate was 47.83% by P. taiwanensis and 47.50% for Samsoniella sp., respectively. A special protocol for scanning electron microscope observation of the fungi-infected nematodes was established in this study, and the egg parasitism of the four fungi against M. enterolobii was further confirmed. For all fungi examined in this study, fungal hyphae were seen apparently penetrating into M. enterolobii eggs without destructive damage of the overall outer eggshell and the hyphae continued to grow within eggs after 6 days of infection. The results of this study imply a similar egg-parasitism mechanism for P. taiwanensis, Samsoniella sp., H. oviparasitica DoUCR50, and P. lilacinum PL251. It further enlightens the application potential of nematophagous fungi as biocontrol agents against plant-parasitic nematodes in vegetable crop management.

Prospective study of power generation from natural resources using hybrid system for remote area

<p>Living in the 21st century, electricity has become a need in every society level. However, numbers of the remote area, especially in third world countries still facing difficulty to reach a grid-connected electricity due to various reasons. As such, this paper presents a prospective study of generating an electrical energy that is converted by utilizing natural resources from the sky. It is realized by implementing a hybrid solar-rainwater harvesting system. Combination of 12Vdc 3Watt solar cells and 3.7 Vdc 129mW pico-hydro implemented in the work has given a great yield reaching average 921 milliwatts of energy produced by the natural resources.</p>

The productivity of intensive pea varieties depending on the seeds treatment and foliar fertilizing under conditions of right-bank forest-steppe Ukraine

It is developed the growing technology model, which provides for the growing pea varieties under compatible presowing seeds treatment by bacterial preparations Ryzohumin and Polimiksobakteryn, and triplex using of foliar fertilizing by complex fertilizers KODA 7-21-7 in the phases of budding and green beans and KODA Complex in the phase of pouring seeds in the background of fertilization N45P60K60, which provided grain yield formation on the level of 4.01 t/ha in class Tsarevych and 4.31 t/ha in class Ulus, where collection of crude protein was 1.02 t/ha and 1.07 t/ha. It is established the dependence between the pea yield size and weather conditions during the growing period. It is created the optimal conditions of mineral nutrition for pea plants due to using of bacterial fertilizers and foliar fertilizers, which promoted not only great yield formation, but also significantly increasing of biochemical indexes and, as a result – the increasing of crude protein content till 24.81-25.44% and its collection – till 1.02-1.07 t/ha.

Seed Treatment with Bacillus amyloliquefaciens for the control of Meloidogyne javanica “in vivo” bean culture and its direct effect on the motility, mortality and hatching of M. javanica “in vitro”

The gill nematode (Meloidogyne spp.) is a widely distributed phytoparasite capable of causing great yield losses in the most diverse cultures. Therefore, the objective of the present work is to evaluate the effect of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens used in the treatment of seeds as a biocontrol agent of Meloidogyne javanica in common bean, and the direct effect of M. javanica on hatching, motility and in vitro mortality. Experiments were conducted in the municipality of Cascavel, Paraná, in a greenhouse and laboratory. A randomized complete block design (DBC) was used, using five different doses of the biocontrol (0, 50, 100, 150 and 200% of the recommended dose), with five replicates for both experiments. The sowing of 3 seeds of cv. IPR Bullfinch was performed in 2 L plastic vessels with autoclaved soil and sand mix. The inoculation of 2000 eggs / J2 of M. javanica per plant was carried out in a sequence. Forty days after inoculation, the plants were removed for evaluation, where vegetative parameters and nematological parameters were analyzed. In the laboratory bacterial / nematological suspensions were added totaling 10mL per plate. Hatching in distilled water was used as control. The chambers were maintained in B.O.D. to 27 +/- 1º C with photoperiod of 12 hours / light. Hatching, motility and mortality were evaluated at 9 and 15 days. Both data were subjected to a regression analysis at 5% probability level, using the statistical software SISVAR, version 5.6. Results showed that the bacterial isolate B. amyloliquefaciens is a potential controller of M. javanica "in vitro", as well as of “in vivo" vegetative and nematological parameters.

Atomistic Simulation for Rejuvenation of Cu-Zr Metallic Glasses by Strain

Molecular dynamics simulations were carried out to investigate the atomic structure of a model Cu64Zr36 bulk metallic glass (BMG). It is found that the amount of icosahedral content of the system is significantly increased in a well relaxed structure. While we considered four connection types of vertex-, edge-, face-, and volume-sharing, the huge cluster in the relaxed samples mainly involve volume-type connection and exhibits a remarkable athermal plasticity that great stiffness and great yield strength compared to the as-quenched samples. In addition, the bond-angle distribution of annealed sample shows sharp peaks at specific bond angles which is an evidence of crystallized Laves-phase formed by icosahedral atoms, however the peaks are to be broaden after loading, which indicates decreasing amount of icosahedral content and their shape distortion. These results suggest that icosahedral content in a bulk metallic glasses plays a key role to determine the mechanical properties such as rigidity and maximum stress carrying capacity.