Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, a fungal pathogen of over 400 plant species has been estimated to cost UK based farmers approximately £20 million per year during severe outbreak (Oerke and Dehne 2004). S. sclerotiorum disease incidence is difficult to predict as outbreaks are often sporadic. Ascospores released from the fruiting bodies or apothecia can be dispersed for tens of kilometres. This makes disease control problematic and with no S. sclerotiorum resistant varieties available, growers are forced to spray fungicides up to three times per flowering season in anticipation of the arrival of this devastating disease. This thesis reports the development of the first infield S. sclerotiorum biosensor which aims to enable rapid detection of airborne ascospores, promoting a more accurate disease risk assessment and fungicide spraying regime. The sensor is designed to detect the presence of oxalic acid, the main pathogenicity factor secreted during early S. sclerotiorum ascospore germination. Upon electrochemical detection of this analyte in the biosensor, a binary output is relayed to farmer to warm him of a disease risk. This project focused on the development of a nutrient matrix which was designed to be contained within the biosensor. The role of this matrix was to promote the growth of captured airborne S. sclerotiorum ascospores and induce high levels of oxalic acid secretion. The use of the designed biological matrix to promote oxalic acid production was tested during three field trials in S. sclerotiorum artificially inoculated fields. This thesis describes the use of contemporary pathogenomics technologies to further investigate candidate genes involved in pathogenicity alongside the secretion of oxalic acid. A pre-described bioinformatics pipeline was used to predict the S. sclerotiorum secretome to identify potential effector proteins as well as explore proteins which are unique to S. sclerotiorum to be used as other novel targets for detection. GFP tagged constructs were designed to investigate the expression of the putative targets for S. sclerotiorum detection. The transcriptomes of wild type and oxalic acid deficient S. sclerotiorum strains during infection as well as during a saprotrophic stage were investigated. This study provided expression support for not only some of the unannotated genes identified in the putative secretome, but some candidate genes speculated to be involved in infection.

Sclerotinia sclerotiorum causes white mold and severe yield losses of pea. 484 accessions from the Pisum core collection were screened for resistance using a mini-agar plug technique. 49, 41, and 13 accessions were identified with partial resistance based on lesion expansion inhibition (LEI), nodal transmission inhibition (NTI), and both traits combined, respectively. A genetic linkage map based on F2 DNA from the cross, Lifter/PI240515, was developed with 78 markers on 9 linkage groups (LG) spanning 734 cM. Two quantitative trait loci (QTL) were identified based on phenotypic data from F2:3 and F3:4 families. A single QTL on LGIII explained 34.1% of the phenotypic variation for LEI, while a second QTL on LGII(b) explained 2.5% of the phenotypic variation for NTI. This is the first report of QTL for S. sclerotiorum resistance in pea which will be useful in development of resistant pea varieties.

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Sclerotinia minor Jagger myceliogenic sclerotial germination, growth, infection, and colonization of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) tissue was optimum at 20-25 C. Ninety-five to 100% relative humidity (RH) for more than 12 hours was necessary for germination. There was no difference in infection and colonization of main stem versus lateral branch tissue but younger plants were more susceptible than older plants. Correlation and regression analyses were conducted on data from field experiments with artificially and naturally infected plants. Important independent variables in regression models for lesion length (LL), weekly change in lesion length, or disease severity index (DSI) were: number of days with temperature ≤16.7 C (DA17), the interaction of DA17 with precipitation (DA17*P), RH, maximum temperature (TMAX), and plant height for the week prior to disease measurement, and TMAX, P, and soil moisture (SM) at 0 to 5-cm for the period two weeks prior to disease measurement. were studied in field Infection and disease development plots with modified canopy. / Ph. D.

Neste estudo foi acessada a diversidade taxonômica e potencial biológico de actinobactérias isoladas de três biomas brasileiros com atividade antagônica contra Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. No total, 354 isolados foram obtidos da Coleção de Microrganismos de Importância Agrícola e Ambiental (CMAA) da Embrapa - Meio Ambiente. A atividade antagônica contra S. sclerotiorum foi avaliada por meio de ensaio in vitro. Foram selecionados 55 isolados, que apresentaram alguma porcentagem de inibição do crescimento de S. sclerotiorum. A identificação e análise da diversidade dos isolados, usando o gene 16S rRNA, demonstrou que 49 isolados são pertences ao genêro Streptomyces, quatro ao genêro Micromonospora, um a Kocuria e um a Actinomadura. Todas as actinobactérias apresentaram compatibilidade com bactérias benéficas do solo, exceto o isolado Caat P8 35. Três isolados, 1AS2a, Caat P5 55 e Caat P8 79, inibiram tanto o crescimento micelial quanto a germinação de escleródios de S. sclerotiorum. Os isolados Bc V1 06 e 3AS4 apresentaram hidrólise dos meios de fósforo orgânico e inorgânico. Com a ideia de conhecer o possível mecanismo de ação para solubilização de fósforo, o extrato aquoso do isolado 3AS4 foi submetido à análise de HPLC e o perfil cromatográfico obtido foi similar ácido glucônico. A avaliação desse isolado em casa de vegetação evidenciou diferenças na altura das plantas de soja, após seis semanas, quando inoculadas com a 3AS4. A relação Parte-aérea/Raiz foi significativamente maior quando adicionado o fósforo junto com a actinobactéria. Plantas sem adição de fósforo e com o isolado 3AS4 evidenciaram desenvolvimento similar na Parte-aérea/Raiz quando comparadas com plantas inoculadas com 40 kg ha-1 de PR e SPT. A avaliação da atividade enzimática evidenciou nove isolados capazes de hidrolisar quitina e laminarina como único substrato, sendo que três deles, 1AS2a, Caat P5 55 e Caat P8 79, foram avaliados quantitativamente, para a atividade enzimática quitinase (β 1-4 -Nacetilglucosaminidase) os resultados foram 0.03, 0.22 e 0.16 UI respectivamente, e a atividade glucanase (β 1-3-glucanase) foi 0.23, 0.25 e 0.26 UI respectivamente. Extratos orgânicos das actinobacterias obtidos com diclorometano (26) e acetato de etila (15) demostraram inibição do crescimento do fungo, somente o isolado 1AS2a apresentou inibição na concentração de 165 μg.mL-1. Estudos espectrométricos revelaram a prescença de um composto da família das bafilomicinas como principal composto ativo. A anotação do genoma do isolado 1AS2a revelou a presença de 33 operons gênicos envolvidos em vias biossínteticas para produção de compostos antimicrobianos, nos quais um deles, apresentou 100% de similaridade para operon de sintese de bafilomicina. Estudos taxonômicos mostraram que as características filogenéticas, morfológicas e químicas do isolado 1AS2c são consistentes com o gênero Streptomyces. Entretanto, algumas diferenças no perfil taxonômico, Hibridização DNA:DNA e análise de Multilocus confirmou o isolado 1AS2cT como linhagem tipo para uma nova espécie de Streptomyces, para qual o nome Streptomyces rhizosphaericola sp. nov. Com os resultados obtidos podemos afirmar: 1. Biomas brasileros possuem uma grande diversidade taxonômica e funcional 2. Os isolados de Actinobacteria posuem capacidade antagonica contra o fungo S. sclerotiorum 3. O isolado 3AS4 posui a capacidade de solubilização de fósforo e estimulação de crescimento vegetal do em condições de casa de vegetação 4. A efetiva produção de compostos antifúngicos do isolado 1AS2a, revelados diante o uso combiando de ferramentas espectroscopicas e bioinformaticas. Considerando todo isso, existe um enorme potencial de biocontrole em isolados de Actinobactérias de diferentes biomas do Brasil que podem ser uma nova opcão para uso na agricultura. / In this study, the taxonomic diversity and biological potential of actinobacteria isolated from different Brazilian biomes with antagonistic activity against Sclerotinia sclerotiorum were accessed. In total, 354 isolates were obtained from the Embrapa - Environment Collection of Microorganisms of Agricultural and Environmental Importance (CMAA). The antagonistic activity against S. sclerotiorum was evaluated by in vitro assay. In total, 55 isolates were obtained, all isolates showed some percentage of visible growth inhibition against S. sclerotiorum. The identification and analysis of the diversity of the isolates using the 16S rRNA gene showed that 49 isolates belong to the Streptomyces genus, 4 isolates belonging to the genus Micromonospora, 1 isolated to the genus Kocuria and 1 isolated to the genus Actinomadura. All the actinobacteria showed compatibility with the soil beneficial bacteria evaluated except the isolate Caat P8 35. Three isolates, 1AS2a, Caat P555 and Caat P8 79 inhibited both mycelia and S. sclerotiorum sclerotia. The isolates Bc V1 06 and 3AS4 showed hydrolysis using organic and inorganic phosphorus media. In order to know the possible mechanism of action for solubilization of phosphorus, the aqueous extract of the 3AS4 isolate was submitted to HPLC analysis, the chromatographic profile obtained was similar to gluconic acid. Greenhouse evaluation showed differences in height of soybean plants after 6 weeks when inoculated with 3AS4. The Shoot/Root ratio was significantly higher when the phosphorus was added along with the actinobacteria. Plants with no phosphorus addition and with 3AS4 showed similar development in the Shoot/Root when compared to inoculated plants with 40 kg.ha-1 of PR and SPT. The evaluation of the enzymatic activity evidenced nine isolates efficient of hydrolyzing chitin and laminarin as the only carbon substrate, three of them; 1AS2a, Caat P5 55 e Caat P8 79 isolates (β-1-4-N-acetylglucosaminidase) was 0.03, 0.22 and 0.16 IU respectively, however, glucanase activity (β-1-3-glucanase) was 0.23, 0.25 and 0.26 IU respectively. Organic extracts of the actinobacteria obtained with dichloromethane (26) and ethyl acetate (15) demonstrated inhibition of fungus growth, only the 1AS2a isolate presented inhibition at the concentration of 165 μg.mL-1. Spectrometric studies have revealed the presence of a compound of the bafilomycins family as the main active compound. The annotation of the genome of the 1AS2a isolate revealed the presence of 33 gene operons involved in biosynthetic pathways for the production of antimicrobial compounds, in which one of them presented 100% similarity to the bafilomycin synthesis cluster. Taxonomic studies have shown that the phylogenetic, morphological and chemical characteristics of the 1AS2c isolate are consistent with the genus Streptomyces. However, some differences in the taxonomic profile, DDH and Multilocus analysis confirmed the isolated 1AS2cT as a type strain for Streptomyces, for which the name Streptomyces rhizosphaericola sp. Nov. With the results obtained we can corroborate: 1. Brazilian biomes possess a great taxonomic and functional diversity 2. Detection of the antagonism of Actinobacteria isolates against S. sclerotiorum fungus 3. Phosphorus solubilization and plant growth stimulation of 3AS4 isolate under conditions of greenhouse 4. The effective antifungal compounds production of the 1AS2a isolate, revealed in the combining use of spectroscopic and bioinformatics tools. Considering all this, there is an enormous potential for biocontrol in isolates of Actinobacteria from different Brazilian biomes that may be a new option for use in agriculture.

Submitted by Angela Maria de Oliveira (amolivei@uepg.br) on 2017-08-18T19:43:08Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 811 bytes, checksum: e39d27027a6cc9cb039ad269a5db8e34 (MD5) Dissertação de mestrado GUILHERME HULLER.pdf: 1126542 bytes, checksum: 0db3176e6526fc8258733119abbe396a (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-08-18T19:43:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 811 bytes, checksum: e39d27027a6cc9cb039ad269a5db8e34 (MD5) Dissertação de mestrado GUILHERME HULLER.pdf: 1126542 bytes, checksum: 0db3176e6526fc8258733119abbe396a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-06-14 / O mofo branco, causado pelo fungo Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, é uma das mais importantes doenças que incidem na cultura da soja. Seu manejo se dá através de técnicas integradas como a utilização de defensivos, rotação de culturas e utilização de material menos suscetível. Porém, não há genótipos comercialmente disponíveis que apresentem elevado grau de resistência. Grande entrave na seleção de material mais resistente é a inconsistência de resultados à nível de campo, de modo que diferentes métodos vem sendo aplicados em laboratório com a finalidade de avaliar a resistência de genótipos de soja à S. sclerotioroum. Diante disso, o presente trabalho teve por objetivo verificar se diferentes métodos utilizados para acessar níveis de resistência estimulam respostas similares aos genótipos de soja, em termos de suscetibilidade. Foram empregados quatro métodos (ácido oxálico, disco de micélio na haste, micropipeta e suspensão de esporos) em quatro genótipos de soja. Os experimentos foram conduzidos em triplicata, no delineamento inteiramente casualizado com 7 repetições. A sensibilidade ao ácido oxálico foi avaliada através de uma chave de escores de murchamento, foi medida a lesão (cm) para os métodos micropipeta e disco na haste, e avaliada a severidade de ataque do patógeno para suspensão de ascósporos. Para comparação foi utilizado o ranqueamento dos genótipos dentro de cada método e também análise de expressão de genes relacionados à defesa. Os diferentes métodos analisados estimularam respostas similares aos genótipos de soja, em termos de suscetibilidade. Verificou-se que o nível de suscetibilidade dos genótipos não variou quando estes foram submetidos aos diferentes métodos. Ainda, foi observada correlação positiva entre os resultados dos diferentes métodos, porém o grau de correlação entre eles é diferente. Menor correlação observada foi entre os métodos AO e Ascósporos (coeficiente de Spearman: 0,498) ao passo que maior grau de correlação foi observado entre os métodos Micropipeta e disco na Haste (coeficiente de Spearman: 0,877). Foi observada similaridade em relação aos estímulos causados pelos diferentes métodos às plantas de soja por ocasião do contato com o patógeno e/ou fator de patogenicidade do mesmo (ácido oxálico) para expressão de genes do grupo PR-5. / The White mold, caused by the fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, is one of the most importante disease that affect the soybean crop. The management is based on integrated practices as by applying pesticides, crop rotation and the usage of less susceptible genotypes. However, there is not a high level resistance genotype commercially available. The inconsistency of results from field trials has been the major obstacle in the selection of resistant material. For this reason, a great variety of methods have been used in laboratory to assess the soybean genotypes resistance to S. sclerotioroum. Then, the objective of this study was to evaluate different methods used to assess sensitivity levels and if they stimulate equal responses in soybean genotypes, in terms of susceptibility. Four methods were applied (oxalic acid, stem test, straw test and by appliyng spores) to four soybean gentypes. The completely randomized design was used. Experiments were conducted in triplicates, with seven replications each. The sensitivity to the oxalic acid was assessed by using a wilting score key, it was measured the size of lesion (cm) for the stem and straw test, and for the ascospore method, the severity of disease symptoms was assessed. The rank of genotypes was used to compare methods as well as the analysis of gene expression of some genes related to soybean defence. All method were shown to simulate similar responses to the soybean genotypes, in terms of susceptibility. The susceptibility level of genotypes did not change when submitted to the different methods. Also, it was shown that there is a correlation among the methods results, although the degree which it occurs is different. The methods AO and Ascospore were the ones that demonstrated lower correlation (Spearman coefficient: 0,498), whereas the stem and straw test were shown to have the highest correlation levels (Spearman coefficient: 0,877). Furthermore, it was noticed similarity in the stimuli caused in soybean plants by the different methods due to either the contact with fungus or the pathogenicity fator (oxalic acid) to express genes from PR-5 group.

Neste estudo foi acessada a diversidade taxonômica e potencial biológico de actinobactérias isoladas de três biomas brasileiros com atividade antagônica contra Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. No total, 354 isolados foram obtidos da Coleção de Microrganismos de Importância Agrícola e Ambiental (CMAA) da Embrapa - Meio Ambiente. A atividade antagônica contra S. sclerotiorum foi avaliada por meio de ensaio in vitro. Foram selecionados 55 isolados, que apresentaram alguma porcentagem de inibição do crescimento de S. sclerotiorum. A identificação e análise da diversidade dos isolados, usando o gene 16S rRNA, demonstrou que 49 isolados são pertences ao genêro Streptomyces, quatro ao genêro Micromonospora, um a Kocuria e um a Actinomadura. Todas as actinobactérias apresentaram compatibilidade com bactérias benéficas do solo, exceto o isolado Caat P8 35. Três isolados, 1AS2a, Caat P5 55 e Caat P8 79, inibiram tanto o crescimento micelial quanto a germinação de escleródios de S. sclerotiorum. Os isolados Bc V1 06 e 3AS4 apresentaram hidrólise dos meios de fósforo orgânico e inorgânico. Com a ideia de conhecer o possível mecanismo de ação para solubilização de fósforo, o extrato aquoso do isolado 3AS4 foi submetido à análise de HPLC e o perfil cromatográfico obtido foi similar ácido glucônico. A avaliação desse isolado em casa de vegetação evidenciou diferenças na altura das plantas de soja, após seis semanas, quando inoculadas com a 3AS4. A relação Parte-aérea/Raiz foi significativamente maior quando adicionado o fósforo junto com a actinobactéria. Plantas sem adição de fósforo e com o isolado 3AS4 evidenciaram desenvolvimento similar na Parte-aérea/Raiz quando comparadas com plantas inoculadas com 40 kg ha-1 de PR e SPT. A avaliação da atividade enzimática evidenciou nove isolados capazes de hidrolisar quitina e laminarina como único substrato, sendo que três deles, 1AS2a, Caat P5 55 e Caat P8 79, foram avaliados quantitativamente, para a atividade enzimática quitinase (β 1-4 -Nacetilglucosaminidase) os resultados foram 0.03, 0.22 e 0.16 UI respectivamente, e a atividade glucanase (β 1-3-glucanase) foi 0.23, 0.25 e 0.26 UI respectivamente. Extratos orgânicos das actinobacterias obtidos com diclorometano (26) e acetato de etila (15) demostraram inibição do crescimento do fungo, somente o isolado 1AS2a apresentou inibição na concentração de 165 μg.mL-1. Estudos espectrométricos revelaram a prescença de um composto da família das bafilomicinas como principal composto ativo. A anotação do genoma do isolado 1AS2a revelou a presença de 33 operons gênicos envolvidos em vias biossínteticas para produção de compostos antimicrobianos, nos quais um deles, apresentou 100% de similaridade para operon de sintese de bafilomicina. Estudos taxonômicos mostraram que as características filogenéticas, morfológicas e químicas do isolado 1AS2c são consistentes com o gênero Streptomyces. Entretanto, algumas diferenças no perfil taxonômico, Hibridização DNA:DNA e análise de Multilocus confirmou o isolado 1AS2cT como linhagem tipo para uma nova espécie de Streptomyces, para qual o nome Streptomyces rhizosphaericola sp. nov. Com os resultados obtidos podemos afirmar: 1. Biomas brasileros possuem uma grande diversidade taxonômica e funcional 2. Os isolados de Actinobacteria posuem capacidade antagonica contra o fungo S. sclerotiorum 3. O isolado 3AS4 posui a capacidade de solubilização de fósforo e estimulação de crescimento vegetal do em condições de casa de vegetação 4. A efetiva produção de compostos antifúngicos do isolado 1AS2a, revelados diante o uso combiando de ferramentas espectroscopicas e bioinformaticas. Considerando todo isso, existe um enorme potencial de biocontrole em isolados de Actinobactérias de diferentes biomas do Brasil que podem ser uma nova opcão para uso na agricultura. / In this study, the taxonomic diversity and biological potential of actinobacteria isolated from different Brazilian biomes with antagonistic activity against Sclerotinia sclerotiorum were accessed. In total, 354 isolates were obtained from the Embrapa - Environment Collection of Microorganisms of Agricultural and Environmental Importance (CMAA). The antagonistic activity against S. sclerotiorum was evaluated by in vitro assay. In total, 55 isolates were obtained, all isolates showed some percentage of visible growth inhibition against S. sclerotiorum. The identification and analysis of the diversity of the isolates using the 16S rRNA gene showed that 49 isolates belong to the Streptomyces genus, 4 isolates belonging to the genus Micromonospora, 1 isolated to the genus Kocuria and 1 isolated to the genus Actinomadura. All the actinobacteria showed compatibility with the soil beneficial bacteria evaluated except the isolate Caat P8 35. Three isolates, 1AS2a, Caat P555 and Caat P8 79 inhibited both mycelia and S. sclerotiorum sclerotia. The isolates Bc V1 06 and 3AS4 showed hydrolysis using organic and inorganic phosphorus media. In order to know the possible mechanism of action for solubilization of phosphorus, the aqueous extract of the 3AS4 isolate was submitted to HPLC analysis, the chromatographic profile obtained was similar to gluconic acid. Greenhouse evaluation showed differences in height of soybean plants after 6 weeks when inoculated with 3AS4. The Shoot/Root ratio was significantly higher when the phosphorus was added along with the actinobacteria. Plants with no phosphorus addition and with 3AS4 showed similar development in the Shoot/Root when compared to inoculated plants with 40 kg.ha-1 of PR and SPT. The evaluation of the enzymatic activity evidenced nine isolates efficient of hydrolyzing chitin and laminarin as the only carbon substrate, three of them; 1AS2a, Caat P5 55 e Caat P8 79 isolates (β-1-4-N-acetylglucosaminidase) was 0.03, 0.22 and 0.16 IU respectively, however, glucanase activity (β-1-3-glucanase) was 0.23, 0.25 and 0.26 IU respectively. Organic extracts of the actinobacteria obtained with dichloromethane (26) and ethyl acetate (15) demonstrated inhibition of fungus growth, only the 1AS2a isolate presented inhibition at the concentration of 165 μg.mL-1. Spectrometric studies have revealed the presence of a compound of the bafilomycins family as the main active compound. The annotation of the genome of the 1AS2a isolate revealed the presence of 33 gene operons involved in biosynthetic pathways for the production of antimicrobial compounds, in which one of them presented 100% similarity to the bafilomycin synthesis cluster. Taxonomic studies have shown that the phylogenetic, morphological and chemical characteristics of the 1AS2c isolate are consistent with the genus Streptomyces. However, some differences in the taxonomic profile, DDH and Multilocus analysis confirmed the isolated 1AS2cT as a type strain for Streptomyces, for which the name Streptomyces rhizosphaericola sp. Nov. With the results obtained we can corroborate: 1. Brazilian biomes possess a great taxonomic and functional diversity 2. Detection of the antagonism of Actinobacteria isolates against S. sclerotiorum fungus 3. Phosphorus solubilization and plant growth stimulation of 3AS4 isolate under conditions of greenhouse 4. The effective antifungal compounds production of the 1AS2a isolate, revealed in the combining use of spectroscopic and bioinformatics tools. Considering all this, there is an enormous potential for biocontrol in isolates of Actinobacteria from different Brazilian biomes that may be a new option for use in agriculture.

No description available.