No description available.

Rhizoctonia solani (AG-3), the causal agent of Rhizoctonia disease of potato, overwinters as sclerotia on potato tubers. To develop a biocontrol strategy based on the prevention of the sclerotial germination, an isolation of microorganisms colonizing sclerotia of infected potato tubers (cultivars Norland, Atlantic and Souris), was conducted. In vitro screening was used to select effective antagonistic fungi against Rhizoctonia solani. Fifty fungal isolates were selected in order to cover all identified genera and potato variety and examined for their ability to inhibit germination of sclerotia which were incubated with the test fungus for 14 days. Twenty-four (24) fungal isolates were retained based on their ability to reduce sclerotial viability by more than 50% as compared with 100% viability of untreated sclerotia. These 24 isolates were further examined for their ability to protect Table beet seedlings against the pathogen in greenhouse soils. Based on their ability to protect Table beet seedlings from Rhizoctonia infections and to increase the number of secondary roots and root length isolates, F2, F11, F132, F158, and F258 were screened and test their efficacy to increase beet seed germination in field soils. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

No description available.

Thesis (M.Ag.Sc.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Applied and Molecular Ecology. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 102-114).

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Western Sydney, 2004. / A thesis submitted in fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Includes bibliography.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Alberta, 2009. / Title from pdf file main screen (viewed on June 29, 2009). "A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Plant Science, Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta." Includes bibliographical references.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-26T13:37:44Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 texto completo.pdf: 1071091 bytes, checksum: e66eafe7f0d234fc9622a12ffaa47c2c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-02-18 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / In the past, there was no preoccupation in minimizing water consumption which was probably due the belief of its abundance and easy access. Nowadays, the interest in water conservation and reuse has increased especially in forest nurseries. However, before water is reused it must be treated in order to minimize the risk of spread inocula of pathogens and to reduce losses caused by diseases. In this study, water treatment processes of ultrafiltration and conventional physical-chemical treatment were evaluated regarding the eradication inocula of Ralstonia solanacearum, Xanthomonas axonopodis, Botrytis cinerea and Cylindrocladium candelabrum, the most common nursery pathogens in Brazil. The ultrafiltration eradicated over 99% inocula of R. solanacearum, X. axonopodis and B. cinerea and 100% of inoculum of C. candelabrum. The treated water was tested for irrigation and yielded no infected eucalyptus rootted cuttings. Sand filtration used in the physical-chemical treatment system allowed complete eradication of C. candelabrum inoculum, but complete inoculum eradication of the other pathogens was only achieved after chlorination of the filtered water with residual chlorine from 1.74 mg/L. No symptoms of phytotoxicity were found on Eucalyptus rooted cuttings irrigated with water containing residual chlorine at 1.74 mg/L. Both methods tested are practical, viable and safe to eradicate phytopathogens inoculum from irrigation water. / No passado, não havia conscientização em minimizar o consumo de água em virtude de sua abundância e facilidade de obtenção. Entretanto, atualmente tem aumentado o interesse pelo uso racional da água e sua reutilização, especialmente em viveiros florestais. Porém, antes de sua reutilização, a água tem que ser devidamente tratada visando à erradicação de inóculo fitopatogênico a fim de minimizar os riscos de dispersão de patógenos e mitigar as perdas causadas por doenças. No presente trabalho, avaliou-se a eficiência do tratamento da água por ultrafiltração e pelo método físicoquímico convencional visando à erradicação de inóculo de Ralstonia solanacearum, Xanthomonas axonopodis, Botrytis cinerea e Cylindrocladium candelabrum, principais patógenos, comumente encontrados em viveiros florestais. A ultrafiltração permitiu erradicar acima de 99% de inóculo de R. solanacearum, X. axonopodis e B. cinerea e 100% de C. candelabrum. A baixa quantidade de inóculo remanescente dos três primeiros patógenos não induziu doenças nas mudas inoculadas. A floculação e filtração rápida em filtro de areia empregadas no método físíco-químico permitiram erradicação completa de inóculo de C. candelabrum, mas para os demais patógenos obteve-se a erradicação total somente após cloração da água filtrada com cloro residual a partir de 1,74 mg/L. Mudas de três clones de eucalipto irrigadas por 45 dias com água contendo cloro residual a 1,74 mg/L não apresentaram sintomas de fitotoxicidade. Ambos os métodos testados são práticos, viáveis e principalmente seguros visando à eliminação de inóculo de fitopatógenos da água de irrigação.

Due to increased plant resistance to the existing antibiotics produced, there is a need to develop alternatives. Nonribosomal peptides (NRPs) are important plant phytopathogens synthesized by nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs). In this study, a newly sequenced Bacillus strain Bacillus atrophaeus UCMB 5137 (63Z), found to have increased phytopathogenic activity, was investigated to gain insights to the possible reason behind this activity. NRPS modules were identified using a novel script that can act on unannotated, raw DNA sequences. The Structure Based Sequence Analysis Webserver was used to identify the amino acids incorporated into the final NRP, which were compared to the NRP database. Five NRPSs were found within the strain; fengycin/plipstatin, mycosubtilin, surfactin, bacillibactin and bacitracin. Some of the modules usually present for these NRPSs were not present in the test strain and only a few modules were found. A phylogenetic study was carried out and the topologies of the trees showed that genes were not transferred horizontally. It did, however, lead to the hypothesis that different NRPS genes are under different adaptive evolutionary pressures. Only slight conformational changes between L and D-conformation of amino acids were seen between the test and neighboring strains. All of the linker and terminal regions of synthetases were found to exhibit a large amount of conservation overall. Homology modeling was performed on the test strain on selected modules, TE and A-domains of fengycin and mycosubtilin synthetases. TE-domains between the different synthetases are different and specific for the NRP they facilitate release for. The NRPS from which the A-domain originates also influences substrate specificity as well as the module in which the A-domain occurs within the NRPS. Binding pockets of A-domains of differing substrate specificity were compared. Future work will include; refinement of the models and docking studies within the A-domain binding pocket. / Microsoft� Word 2010 / Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in

The initial phase in the development of a biological control strategy is screening of biological control agents. Secondary to this phase is the establishment of accurate, effective application techniques. However, successful control requires a thorough understanding of all factors affecting the relationship between host plant, pathogen and other microbes. The purpose of this study was to screen and identify potential bacterial antagonists against Alternaria, a fungal citrus pathogen, attachment of the antagonists to bees, and bee dissemination of the antagonist to citrus flowers. A total of 568 bacterial epiphytes were screened on agar plates for antagonism against Alternaria. Only eight of these isolates, which were identified as Bacillus subtilis, B licheniformis, B. melcerons, B. polymyxa, B. thermoglycodasius, B. sphaericus, B. amiloliquefaciens, and B. coagulans, showed inhibitory effects on the growth of Alternaria. The most effective isolates were B. subtilis and B. licheniformis. Further screening was done with B. subtilis and B. subtilis commercial powder (Avogreen). These bacteria were sprayed on citrus flowers for colonisation studies. Mean populations of B. subtilis and the commercial powder recovered from the flowers were 104 and 103 cfu/stamen respectively. The organisms colonised the styler end and ovary of the flowers when observed under scanning electron microscope (SEM). Avogreen was placed in an inoculum dispenser, which was attached to the entrance of the hive. Honeybees emerging from the beehive acquired 104 cfu/bee. The powder attached to the thorax and thoracic appendages, as revealed by SEM. One active beehive was placed in an enclosure with fifteen flowering citrus nursery trees in pots for dissemination trials. Mean populations of commercial B. subtilis recovered from the flowers visited by bees were 104 cfu/stamen. Electron microscope studies revealed that the antagonist was colonising the styler end and ovary of the flowers. Field dissemination studies were unsuccessful due to low yields. / Dissertation (Magister Institutiones Agrariae)--University of Pretoria, 2003. / Plant Production and Soil Science / unrestricted

Thesis: Ph. D., Joint Program in Biological Oceanography (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Biology; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2015. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references. / Zooplankton, such as copepods, are highly abundant environmental reservoirs of many bacterial pathogens. Although copepods are known to support diverse and productive bacterial communities, little is understood about whether copepods are affected by bacterial attachment and whether they can regulate these associations through mechanisms such as the innate immune response. This thesis investigates the potential role that copepod physiology may play in regulating Vibrio association and the community structure of its microbiome. To this end, the intrinsic ability of oceanic copepod hosts to transcriptionally respond to mild stressors was first investigated. Specifically, the transcriptional regulation of several heat shock proteins (Hsps), a highly conserved superfamily of molecular chaperones, in the copepod Calanusfinmarchicus was examined and demonstrated that Hsps are a conserved element of the copepod's transcriptional response to stressful conditions and diapause regulation. To then investigate whether copepod hosts respond to and regulate their microbiota, the transcriptomic response of an estuarine copepod Eurytemora affinis to two distinct Vibric species, a free-living strain (V. ordalii 12B09) and a zooplankton specialist (V. sp. F10 9ZB36), was examined with RNA-Seq. Our findings provide evidence that the copepod E. affinis does distinctly recognize and respond to colonizing vibrios via transcriptional regulation of innate immune response elements and transcripts involved in maintaining cuticle integrity. Our work also suggests that association with E. affinis can significantly impact the physiology of Vibrio colonists. Finally, the inter-individual variability of the C.finmarchicus microbiome was examined to identify how specifically and predictably bacterial communities assemble on copepods and whether host physiology influences the bacterial community structure. Our findings suggest that copepods have a predictable "core microbiome" that persists throughout the host's entrance into diapause, a dormancy period characterized by dramatic physiological changes in the host. However, diapausing and active populations harbor distinct flexible microbiomes which may be driven by factors such including the copepod's feeding history, body size, and bacterial interactions. This thesis work highlights the role of copepods as dynamic reservoirs of diverse bacterial communities and implicates copepod host physiology as an important contributor to the activity, abundance, and community structure of its microbiome. / by Amalia Aruda Almada. / Ph. D.