Thesis (M.S.)--Worcester Polytechnic Institute. / Keywords: Turnip crinkle virus; Hypersensitive response. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 52-61).

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- Flinders University, Dept. of Medical Biotechnology. / Typescript (bound). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 256 - 283). Also available online.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2006. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on May 1, 2009) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)(Microbiology))--University of Pretoria, 2004. / Summary in English. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on March 12, 2009) Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Queensland, 2005. / Includes bibliography.

O objetivo deste projeto foi entender a organização genômica e o conteúdo de genes de dois fitopatógenos relacionados geneticamente, mas que infectam diferentes hospedeiros: Leifsonia xyli subsp. xyli (Lxx), um patógeno de cana-de-açúcar; e Leifonia xyli subsp. cynodontis (Lxc), um patógeno de gramíneas do gênero Cynodon. Os resultados do seqüenciamento parcial do genoma de Lxc são descritos, incluindo as seqüências comuns ao genoma de Lxx e os fragmentos de organização distinta e genes específicos de Lxc. Para alcançar o objetivo, bibliotecas genômicas do genoma de Lxc foram construídas. A estratégia revelou seqüências específicas, algumas provavelmente adquiridas por transferência horizontal, e regiões não sintênicas do genoma de Lxc, quando comparadas com Lxx. Regiões específicas somaram 311.353 pb e foram anotadas. Devido a associação de elementos genéticos móveis com reorganização cromossômica e transferência horizontal de genes, um estudo detalhado dos transposons do tipo IS, presentes em ambos os genomas, foi realizado. A análise revelou um número variável de elementos para cada genoma atuando na diversificação dos mesmos. / This study aimed to understand genome organization and gene content of two closely related plant pathogens that infect different hosts: Leifsonia xyli subsp. xyli (Lxx), a sugarcane pathogen; and Leifonia xyli subsp. cynodontis (Lxc), a Cynodon grass pathogen. We describe the results of a partial genome sequence of Lxc, assessing the similarity to Lxx completely sequenced genome, describing differences in genome organization and uncovering genes specific to Lxc genome. To accomplish the objective, genomic libraries were constructed. The strategy uncovered specific sequences, some probably acquired by horizontal transfer and non-syntenic regions of Lxc genome compared to Lxx. Specific regions of Lxc genome accounted for 311,353 bp and were annotated. Because mobile genetic elements are often associated with rearrangements and horizontal gene transfer, a detailed study of all insertion sequence (IS) elements presented in both genomes were realized. The analysis revealed a variable number of transposable elements acting upon genomic diversity.

This PhD examined the epidemiology of two potentially devastating plant pathogens, Phytophthora ramorum and P. kernoviae, at Benmore Botanic Garden in Argyll & Bute and Brodick Castle Garden in Arran. Spore traps, river baiting, bait plants and soil sampling were used to both confirm the presence of, and measure the amount of inoculum in the environment in order to quantify the relationship between inoculum levels and disease development. P. ramorum was detected in spore traps at high levels under a sporulating host throughout the year at Benmore. Also, findings at sites where infected hosts had been removed before the study led to the conclusion that the low level spore traps detect inoculum from soil splash. Rhododendron and Vaccinium bait plants were also infected with P. ramorum via soil splash at sites within Benmore where there was no sporulating host present. P. kernoviae was detected in spore traps at Brodick throughout the year but only where there was a sporulating host overhead. P. kernoviae infected bait plants only where an infected host is overhead. Water baiting confirmed the presence of P. ramorum in two streams at Benmore but P. kernoviae was not detected using this method despite the large-scale P. kernoviae infection at Brodick. Inoculum continued to be detected in soil in areas of both gardens where infected hosts had been removed two years previously, confirming that both of these pathogens can survive in soil for a considerable period. A number of statistical models were produced to describe conditions required for P. ramorum sporulation and infection. Sporulation occurred during warmer and wetter conditions and infection of bait plants occurred in wet conditions and where an infected host is in close proximity. A statistical model was also used to produce a P. ramorum risk map, uniquely at the garden scale, to enable garden managers at Benmore to visualise the areas most at risk within their garden. The findings of this study have clear management implications for the control of disease establishment and spread within the garden setting.

M.Sc. (Biochemistry) / A 14-member, closely-spaced cluster of genes coding for leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinases (LRR-RLKs) is located on chromosome 1 of Arabidopsis thaliana. Following on from previous microarray studies that found some of the members of this cluster to be upregulated in response to biotic stressors, including the bacterial elicitor flg22, the present study sought to confirm, using a luciferase-based protoplast assay, that flg22 does in fact induce the expression of the genes, and then to investigate the promoters of the genes. The promoters of At1g51790, At1g51850 and At1g51890 responded positively in this particular assay, and bioinformatic analyses determined that W-boxes are over-represented in the cloned regions. Mutational inactivation of individual W-boxes in the promoter of At1g51790 drastically reduced the flg22 response, except for the W-box closest to the start site, which seemed to increase both basal and flg22-inducible expression. In the promoter of At1g51850, mutational inactivation of either or both of its W-box dyads resulted in virtually no flg22 inducibility. The deletion of 6 W-boxes in the promoter of At1g51890, done via truncation, drastically reduced both its basal expression and its inducible response to flg22. These results provide evidence that W-box cis-elements are responsible for the upregulation of these LRR-RLKs in response to flg22. WRKYs -7, -11, -22,and -26 were found bioinformatically to have similar expression patterns to some of the genes in the cluster, and are thus good candidates to investigate as transcriptional regulators of the cluster in future studies.

Because plants lack a circulating adaptive immune system, they have evolved multicomponent defense mechanisms to protect themselves against pathogen attack. These defense mechanisms/responses are either constitutively active in the plant, or they are inducible by pathogens. Understanding of the plant response to pathogen attack has advanced rapidly in recent years. Bacterial and fungal pathogenicity factors have been isolated, and mechanisms that are utilized by the plant to recognize the pathogen and initiate a plethora of defense mechanisms have been identified. In contrast to the well-documented effects of LPS on mammalian cells, the effects of LPS on plant cells have been far less studied. The present study focused on the involvement of lipopolysaccharides (LPS) isolated from the outer cell wall of the Gram-negative bacteria, Burkholderia cepacia (strain ASP B 2D), and yeast elicitor (YE, a cell wall preparation from Saccharomyces cerevisiae) on the molecular mechanisms and components involved in signal transduction and defense-related responses in suspension cultured cells derived from tobacco plants (Nicotiana tabacum cv. Samsun). LPS was extracted, analyzed by denaturing electrophoresis and characterized with regard to 2-keto-3-deoxyoctonate (KDO) content, carbohydrate content, and protein content. The purified LPS and YE were found to trigger defense- and resistance-related responses in the tobacco cells. These responses included a rapid influx of Ca2+ into the cytoplasm of transgenic aequorin-transformed tobacco cells, the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) during the oxidative burst, alkalinization of the extracellular culture medium of the cells, and changes in the protein phosphorylation patterns of the cells. Time- and concentration-dependent studies for the induction of perception and signal transduction-related responses by YE and LPS indicated that 100 µg.ml-1 of either elicitor was sufficient to induce significant responses in the cells. YE and LPS both induced a rapid transient increase in cytosolic Ca2+ levels, returning to basal levels after seconds, followed by a second, larger and long-term increase in cytosolic Ca2+. The YE-induced cytosolic Ca2+ influx was 7.5 fold higher than that of LPS. Luminol-dependent chemiluminescence measurements of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) produced during the YE- and LPS-induced oxidative burst reactions indicated 3.5 fold higher levels of H2O2 induced by YE than that induced by LPS. Total inhibition of H2O2 production by YE- and LPS-induced cells was observed upon treatment of the cells with the H2O2-degrading enzyme, catalase. ROS production was also analyzed by the H2DCF-DA-derived fluorescence assay. The degree of ROS production by YE-treated cells was larger than that of cells treated with LPS, suggesting that YE is a more potent inducer of plant defense responses than LPS. Categorization of the origins of the oxidative bursts, induced by YE and LPS, by the addition of a ROS scavenger (NAC), inhibitors of ROS production (DPI and DDC) and a nitric oxide scavenger (PTIO) indicated that YE and LPS induced different quantities of the same ROS species. The induced ROS included O2-·, H2O2 and perhaps other ROS species as well. In addition, both YE and LPS induced a remarkable burst of nitric oxide (NO), as determined by the 97% and 95% respective inhibitions of the H2DCF-DA-derived fluorescence by the nitric oxide scavenger PTIO. Alkalinization of the extracellular culture medium of the tobacco cells was observed after treatment of the cells with YE and LPS. Both of these elicitors induced a significant increase in extracellular pH from resting pH values of 5.7 to pH 6.3 by YE, and 6.0 by LPS. Notably, the YE-induced response returned to near basal pH levels after 50 min, while the LPS-induced response showed no signs of declining and fluctuated around pH 5.9 for the duration of the experiment. YE and LPS both induced the hyperphosphorylation of two distinct proteins with approximate molecular masses of 28 kDa and 2 kDa. Changes in the pattern of the [32P]-radiolabeled proteins pp28 became visible after 20 min of YE-elicitation and 30 min of LPS-elicitation and changes in pp2 phosphorylation became visible after 20 min treatment of the cells with both elicitors. Addition of the protein kinase inhibitor, staurosporine, to the cells followed by subsequent elicitation by YE or LPS, resulted in inhibition or abolishment of the elicitor-induced responses during the oxidative burst, extracellular alkalinization, and protein phosphorylation. In contrast, the addition of the protein phosphatase inhibitor, calyculin A, was found to mimic elicitor action in several aspects, including extracellular alkalinization, the oxidative burst and protein phosphorylation, even in the absence of elicitors or any other stimulus. Thus, a fine balance between the actions of certain protein kinases and protein phosphatases is an essential component of signal transduction during YE and LPS elicitation of tobacco cells but the identification and characterization of the staurosporine-sensitive protein kinases and their substrates are necessary to gain a better understanding of the chemosensory perception and signal transduction of the YE and LPS elicitor signals in plant cells. Moreover, the question of whether these perception and transduction mechanisms are connected with a reduced activity of a protein phosphatase, or with the increased activity of a protein kinase, or even a combination of both, remains to be elucidated. / Prof. I.A. Dubery