Copies of author's previously published articles inserted. / Bibliography :leaves 65-80 / x, 80, [64] leaves, [24] leaves of plates : ill. (some col.) ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Ice nucleation active (INA) bacteria were detected in a pea field in South Australia. They were identified as strains of Pseudomonas syringae and Pseudomonas flourescens biotype 1. Some chemical agents were tested on the two ice nucleating species, as cryoprotectants. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Crop Protection, 1991

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Crop Protection, 1991. / Copies of author's previously published articles inserted. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 65-80).

Thesis (M.Sc.)--Acadia University, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 65-80). Also available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.Sc.)--Acadia University, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 65-80). Also available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Universiẗat, Diss., 2001--Mainz. / Auch als gedr. Diss.

Submitted by Reginaldo Soares de Freitas (reginaldo.freitas@ufv.br) on 2018-04-19T16:19:33Z No. of bitstreams: 1 texto completo.pdf: 2766887 bytes, checksum: 6f8f01cd7e538b366f3e29fab1e9c82c (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-04-19T16:19:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 texto completo.pdf: 2766887 bytes, checksum: 6f8f01cd7e538b366f3e29fab1e9c82c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-07-24 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / O Brasil é o segundo produtor mundial de soja. Porém, estresses bióticos e abióticos tem limitado a expansão da produtividade. Nosso grupo de pesquisa do LBMP, BIOAGRO-UFV, tem observado que plantas transgênicas superexpressando BiP (Binding protein), chaperona com atividade associada à via UPR (unfolded protein response) e à modulação de eventos de PCD (programmed cell death), são mais tolerantes à seca pela manutenção da homeostase celular e retardo do acionamento da PCD. Dos fitopatógenos, a Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato provoca reação de hipersensibilidade na soja, uma vez que a interação planta-bactéria é incompatível. Neste trabalho, foi caracterizado o perfil metabólico dos genótipos transgênico superexpressando BiP (C9) e selvagem (WT) por GC-MS. Foram também avaliados por LC-MS, a abundância de fito-hormônios e alguns metabólitos secundários alvos em resposta à interação de soja com P. s. pv. tomato para determinar alterações metabólicas nestes genótipos relacionadas com o fenótipo de morte celular e reações de hipersensibilidade. O acúmulo de aminoácidos, açúcares e ácidos orgânicos pode estar relacionado ao controle de danos ocasionado pelo estresse biótico, sendo menor em C9 devido à capacidade de BiP em manter a homeostase celular. Compostos como di- hidroesfingosina (DHS) e gama-aminobutirato (GABA) podem estar envolvidos com mecanismos de PCD em células visando restringir a colonização do tecido foliar por bactérias. Além disso, observou-se uma tendência para o aumento de ácido salicílico (SA) e ácido jasmônico (JA), embora os níveis de ácido abscísico (ABA) em C9 tenham sido menores, indicando o papel antagonista do ABA na via de sinalização mediada por SA/JA e síntese de fitoalexinas ao longo da infecção bacteriana. A considerável importância do SA e JA, que disparam vias de sinalização de controle microbiano, em C9 possivelmente está no controle negativo da PCD por BiP, que impede a contenção do patógeno por esta via. As concentrações de metabólitos secundários, por sua vez, sofreram o maior incremento ao longo do tempo, sobretudo daidzeína e genisteína, sendo maior em C9. Este acréscimo pode estar associado com as propriedades antimicrobianas das isoflavonas. Por isso, em plantas C9, a superexpressão de BiP atrasa a via de PCD, impedindo a contenção da colonização bacteriana em tempo hábil, sendo a ação antimicrobiana o mecanismo de resposta predominante em C9, ao passo que em WT predomina a via de PCD. / Brazil is the world's second largest soybean's producer. However, biotic and abiotic stresses have limited productivity expansion. Our research group at the LBMP, BIOAGRO-UFV, has observed that transgenic plants overexpressing BiP (Binding protein), chaperone with activity associated with pathway UPR (unfolded protein response) and modulation of PCD (programmed cell death) events, are more tolerant to drought by the maintenance of cellular homeostasis and retarding the activation of PCD. Plant pathogens, Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato provokes hypersensitivity reaction in soybean, since it is an incompatible interaction. In this work, the metabolic profile of the transgenic genotypes overexpressing BiP (C9) and wild type (WT) by GC-MS. We also evaluated by LC-MS, the abundance of phytohormones and some target secondary metabolites in response to the interaction of soybean with P. s. pv. tomato to determine metabolic changes in these genotypes related to cell death phenotype and hypersensitivity reactions. The accumulation of amino acids, sugars and organic acids may be related to damage control caused by biotic stress, being lower in C9 due to BiP's ability to maintain cellular homeostasis. Compounds such as dihydrosphingosine (DHS) and gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) may be involved with PCD mechanisms in cells with the aim of to restrain the colonization of foliar tissue by bacteria. Furthermore, there was a tendency for increased salicylic acid (SA) and jasmonic acid (JA), although abscisic acid (ABA) levels have been lower in C9 plants, indicating the ABA antagonist role in the SA-mediated or JA-mediated signaling pathway and phytoalexin synthesis throughout the bacterial infection. The considerable importance of SA and JA, which trigger pathways of microbial control signaling, in C9 is possibly in the negative PCD control by BiP, which prevents the containment of the pathogen for this pathway. Concentrations of secondary metabolites suffered the greatest increase over time, especially daidzein and genistein, being higher in C9 plants. This increase may be associated with the antimicrobial properties of isoflavones. Therefore, in C9 plants, the overexpression of BiP delays the PCD pathway, preventing bacterial colonization in a timely manner, and the antimicrobial action is the predominant response mechanism in C9, whereas in WT, the PCD pathway predominates.

Strains of the well-studied plant pathogen Pseudomonas syringae show large differences in their ability to colonize plants epiphytically and to inflict damage to hosts. Additionally, P. syringae can infect some sap-sucking insects and at least one P. syringae strain is highly virulent to insects, causing death to most individuals within as few as 4 days and growing to high population densities within insect hosts. The likelihood of agricultural pest insects coming into contact with transient populations of P. syringae while feeding on plants is high, yet the ecological implications of these interactions are currently not well understood as virulence has not been tested across a wide range of strains. To investigate virulence differences across strains we exposed the sweet potato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci, and the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum, both of which are cosmopolitan agricultural pests, to 12 P. syringae strains. We used oral inoculations with bacteria suspended in artificial diet in order to assay virulence while controlling for other variables such as differences in epiphytic growth ability. Generally, patterns of pathogenicity remain consistent across the two species of hemipteran insects, with bacterial strains from phylogroup II, or genomospecies 1, causing the highest rate of mortality with up to 86% of individuals dead after 72 h post infection. The rate of mortality is highly variable across strains, some significantly different from negative control treatments and others showing no discernable difference. Interestingly, one of the most pathogenic strains to both aphids and whiteflies (Cit7) is thought to be nonpathogenic on plants. We also found Cit7 to establish the highest epiphytic population after 48 h on fava beans. Between the nine P. syringae strains tested for epiphytic ability there is also much variation, but epiphytic ability was positively correlated with pathogenicity to insects, suggesting that the two traits may be linked and that strains likely to be found on plants may often be entomopathogenic. Our study highlights that there may be a use for epiphytic bacteria in the biological control of insect crop pests. It also suggests that interactions with epiphytic bacteria could be evolutionary and ecological drivers for hemipteran insects.

Plants defence responses are often associated with the development of the so-called hypersensitive response (HR), a form of PCD that confines the pathogen to the infection site. The sharp boundary of the HR suggests the existence of efficient mechanisms that control cell death and survival. The Arabidopsis transcription factor AtMYB30 positively regulates plant defence and HR responses by enhancing the synthesis of sphingolipid-containing Very Long Chain Fatty Acids (VLCFA) after bacterial infection. The activity of AtMYB30 is tightly controlled inside plant cells through protein-protein interactions and post-translational modifications. During my PhD, we identified a protease of the subtilase family (AtSBT5.2) as a AtMYB30-interacting partner. Interestingly, we have shown that the AtSBT5.2 transcript is alternatively spliced, leading to the production of two distinct gene products that encode either a secreted [AtSBT5.2(a)] or an intracellular [AtSBT5.2(b)] protein. The specific interaction between AtMYB30 and AtSBT5.2(b), but not AtSBT5.2(a), leads to AtMYB30 specific retention outside of the nucleus in small intracellular vesicles. atsbt5.2 Arabidopsis mutant plants, in which both AtSBT5.2(a) and AtSBT5.2(b) expression was abolished, displayed enhanced HR and defence responses. The fact that this phenotype is abolished in an atmyb30 mutant background suggests that AtSBT5.2 is a negative regulator of AtMYB30-mediated disease resistance. Importantly, overexpression of the AtSBT5.2(b), but not the AtSBT5.2(a), isoform in the atsbt5.2 mutant background reverts the phenotypes displayed by atsbt5.2 mutant plants, suggesting that AtSBT5.2(b) specifically represses AtMYB30-mediated defence.

Aquatic environments contain a great diversity of microorganisms, some of which may be aerosolized and transported long distances through the atmosphere. The bacterium Pseudomonas syringae can be found in aquatic environments and in the atmosphere and may express an ice nucleation protein (bacteria expressing the protein are Ice+ and bacteria not expressing the protein are Ice-). Ice+ bacteria may be involved in cloud formation and precipitation processes due to their ability to freeze water at warmer temperatures. Freshwater aerosolization processes are not well understood, particularly the role the Ice+ phenotype may play. Water samples were collected from Claytor Lake, Virginia, USA and screened for Ice+ P. syringae. Results indicated that between 6% and 15% of Pseudomonas colonies assayed were Ice+. Preliminary phylogenetic analysis of cts (citrate synthase) sequences from strains of P. syringae showed a surprising diversity of phylogenetic subgroups present in the lake. A Collison nebulizer was used to aerosolize an Ice+ and an Ice- strain of P. syringae under artificial laboratory conditions. The aerosolization of P. syringae was not influenced by water temperature between 5° and 30°C. In general, the culturability (viability) of P. syringae in aerosols increased with temperature between 5 and 30°C. The Ice+ strain was aerosolized in greater numbers than the Ice- strain at all temperatures studied, suggesting a possible connection between the Ice+ phenotype and aerosol production. A quantitative empirical assessment of aerosolized droplets was generated using a laboratory flume and high-speed video. Droplet diameter and initial velocity upon leaving the water surface were examined at four wind speeds (3.5, 4.0, 4.5, and 5.0 m/s), and the results showed that droplet diameter and velocity had a gamma distribution and droplet mass flux increased exponentially with wind speed. An estimate of the potential amount of bacteria capable of aerosolizing was made for each wind speed. An interdisciplinary unit for advanced high school students has been developed presenting biological aerosolization and ice nucleation. This interdisciplinary work combines modeling and experimental approaches across biology and engineering interfaces, with the goal of increasing our understanding of microbial aerosols from aquatic environments that may impact our planet's water cycle. / Ph. D.

Les réactions de défense végétales sont souvent associées au développement de la réponse hypersensible (HR), une forme de mort cellulaire programmée qui confine l'agent pathogène au niveau du site d'infection. La frontière nette de la HR suggère l'existence de mécanismes efficaces qui contrôlent la frontière entre mort cellulaire et survie. Le facteur de transcription d'Arabidopsis AtMYB30 régule positivement la HR et les réponses de défense de la plante en augmentant la synthèse des acides gras à très longue chaîne (VLCFA) après infection bactérienne. L'activité d’AtMYB30 est étroitement contrôlée à l'intérieur des cellules végétales par des interactions protéine-protéine et des modifications post-traductionnelles. Au cours de mes travaux de thèse, nous avons identifié une protéase de la famille des subtilases (AtSBT5.2) en tant que partenaire protéique d’AtMYB30. Chose intéressante, nous avons montré que le transcrit d’AtSBT5.2 est épissée de façon alternative, conduisant à la production de deux produits de gènes distincts codant soit pour une isoforme sécrétée [AtSBT5.2 (a)] soit une isoforme intracellulaire [AtSBT5.2 (b)]. L'interaction spécifique d’AtMYB30 avec AtSBT5.2(b), mais pas avec AtSBT5.2(a), conduit à une rétention d’AtMYB30 à l'extérieur du noyau au sein de petites vésicules intracellulaires. Des plantes d’Arabidopsis mutantes atsbt5.2, ne montrant ni expression d’AtSBT5.2(a) ni d’AtSBT5.2(b), présentent des réactions de défense et de HR accrues. Ce phénotype étant abolie dans un fond génétique mutant atmyb30, AtSBT5.2 est donc un régulateur négatif de la résistance aux maladies induites par AtMYB30. Fait important, la surexpression de l’isoforme AtSBT5.2(b), mais pas celle de l’isoforme AtSBT5.2(a), dans le fond mutant atsbt5.2 rétablit les phénotypes présentés par les plantes mutantes atsbt5.2, ce qui suggère qu’AtSBT5.2(b) réprime spécifiquement la réponse de défense induite par AtMYB30. / Plants defence responses are often associated with the development of the so-called hypersensitive response (HR), a form of PCD that confines the pathogen to the infection site. The sharp boundary of the HR suggests the existence of efficient mechanisms that control cell death and survival. The Arabidopsis transcription factor AtMYB30 positively regulates plant defence and HR responses by enhancing the synthesis of sphingolipid-containing Very Long Chain Fatty Acids (VLCFA) after bacterial infection. The activity of AtMYB30 is tightly controlled inside plant cells through protein-protein interactions and post-translational modifications. During my PhD, we identified a protease of the subtilase family (AtSBT5.2) as a AtMYB30-interacting partner. Interestingly, we have shown that the AtSBT5.2 transcript is alternatively spliced, leading to the production of two distinct gene products that encode either a secreted [AtSBT5.2(a)] or an intracellular [AtSBT5.2(b)] protein. The specific interaction between AtMYB30 and AtSBT5.2(b), but not AtSBT5.2(a), leads to AtMYB30 specific retention outside of the nucleus in small intracellular vesicles. atsbt5.2 Arabidopsis mutant plants, in which both AtSBT5.2(a) and AtSBT5.2(b) expression was abolished, displayed enhanced HR and defence responses. The fact that this phenotype is abolished in an atmyb30 mutant background suggests that AtSBT5.2 is a negative regulator of AtMYB30-mediated disease resistance. Importantly, overexpression of the AtSBT5.2(b), but not the AtSBT5.2(a), isoform in the atsbt5.2 mutant background reverts the phenotypes displayed by atsbt5.2 mutant plants, suggesting that AtSBT5.2(b) specifically represses AtMYB30-mediated defence.