La septoriose (pathogène Zymoseptoria tritici) est la plus importante maladie foliaire des cultures de blé en Europe. Les méthodes de lutte comprennent la résistance variétale, les stratégies d’évitement de la maladie et le recours aux fongicides. Cependant, ces stratégies n’assurent pas une protection complète des cultures de blé. La tolérance à la septoriose est une approche complémentaire qui vise justement à maintenir le rendement en présence de symptômes. La tolérance à la septoriose dépend de traits physiologiques de la plante et d’équilibres source/puits : la demande des puits (croissance des grains) doit être satisfaite malgré une disponibilité réduite des sources (capacité photosynthétique réduite par les symptômes foliaires). La surface verte du couvert, la sénescence et les composantes du rendement sont des traits potentiels de tolérance intéressants qui ont été étudiés lors de ce projet. Une étude de datamining, une expérience en serre et deux expériences au champ ont été menées pour fournir des informations complémentaires sur les mécanismes de tolérance à la septoriose. Les effets des interactions génotype × environnement sur les traits de tolérance ont été étudiés pour deux saisons × cinq localisations × neuf cultivars. La nutrition azotée et le métabolisme de quatre lignées double-haploïdes (DH, contrastées du point de vue de leur tolérance à la septoriose) ont été examinés dans une expérience en conditions contrôlées à l'UMR ECOSYS (INRA, AgroParisTech Grignon, France). Les bilans source/puits de six lignées DH contrastant pour la tolérance ont également été examinés en fonction de leurs réponses à un traitement d'égrainage, appliqué dans une expérience au champ à Hereford (Royaume-Uni). Enfin, une expérience au champ avec deux stratégies fongicides (contrôle total des maladies / lutte contre les maladies non-ciblées) a permis d’étudier la tolérance à la septoriose de six cultivars modernes (Leicestershire, Royaume-Uni). L'objectif principal était de vérifier les traits potentiels de tolérance à la septoriose sur des cultivars actuellement commercialisés. Des traits potentiels de tolérance à la septoriose ont été identifiés tels que la date d’épiaison, le faible degré de limitation des puits par les sources lors de la phase de remplissage du grain des couverts sains, la distribution verticale des surfaces foliaires favorisant des feuilles supérieures relativement grandes. Les résultats ont montré que ces caractères pourraient être sélectionnables, sans compromis avec le rendement potentiel. Enfin, le projet a également discuté du besoin de méthodes alternatives de quantification de la tolérance du blé à la septoriose, ainsi que de l'importance des variations environnementales qui doivent être prises en compte pour étudier les variations génétiques de la tolérance, mais qui pourraient également être utilisées pour identifier des environnements tolérants. / The Septoria tritici blotch disease (STB, pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici) is the most damaging foliar infection of wheat crops in Europe. Disease management strategies include cultivar resistance, disease escape strategy and fungicides. However, these strategies have failed to provide a complete protection of wheat crops. The STB tolerance is a complementary approach which aims to maintain yield in the presence of the symptoms. The tolerance of STB relies on plant physiology and source/sink balance: the sink demand (the grain growth) must be satisfied in spite of reduced source availability (photosynthetic capacity as affected by the STB symptoms on the leaves). The green canopy area, the senescence timing and the grain yield components are interesting potential sources of tolerance that were studied in this project. A data-mining study, one glasshouse experiment and two field experiments were carried out providing complementary insights on STB tolerance mechanisms. The genotype × environment interaction effects on tolerance traits were investigated for two seasons × five locations × nine cultivars datasets. The nitrogen nutrition and metabolism of four doubled-haploid (DH) lines contrasting for STB tolerance were examined in a controlled-glasshouse experiment at UMR ECOSYS (INRA,AgroParisTech) Grignon, France. The source/sink balance of six DH lines contrasting for STB tolerance was also examined according to their responses to a spikelet removal treatment, applied in a field experiment in Hereford, UK. Finally, a field experiment with two fungicide regimes (full disease control and non-target (STB) disease control) probed the STB tolerance of six modern UK winter wheat cultivars in Leicestershire, UK. The main objective was to verify identified potential STB tolerance traits in commercial cultivars. Putative STB tolerance traits have been identified such as the early heading date, the low degree of grain-source limitation of healthy crops during the grain filling phase, the vertical canopy distribution favouring a relatively larger flag-leaf. Results showed these traits might be selectable in wheat breeding without a trade-off with the potential yield. Finally, the project also discussed the need for alternative STB tolerance quantification methods, as well as the importance of environmental variations which have to be taken into account to study genetic variation in tolerance, but which could also be used to discriminate tolerant environment.

No description available.

Thrips are pests in a variety of crops and are responsible for millions of dollars in damage worldwide. In Virginia there are a few key thrips species that cause a large portion of damage to both vegetable and floricultural crops. Three prominent pests include Frankliniella tritici (Fitch), Frankliniella fusca (Hinds), and Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande). Significant yield losses in row crops such as cotton, peanuts and vegetables have been attributed to feeding and oviposition of these insects in high densities. In addition, both F. fusca and F. occidentalis can transmit plant pathogenic tospoviruses, such as tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV), in certain susceptible crops. While all of these thrips species are difficult to detect due to their cryptic lifestyles, F. occidentalis is a particularly challenging pest to manage due to its resistance to many insecticides commonly used for thrips treatment. Early spring weeds were sampled for the presence of F. occidentalis in 2008 and 2009 in eastern Virginia. Weed samples consisted of mustard, henbit and wild radish and were collected from several different sites on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. During the summer of 2008, 2009 and 2010 various agroecosystems were sampled for the relative incidence of F. occidentalis. Overall, thrips numbers were very low in weed samples. F. occidentalis was detected in early spring weed samples in 2009 at a few of the sites sampled. In nearly every habitat, the species composition was dominated by F. fusca and F. tritici, with F. occidentalis occurring in very low numbers. Two different lures were evaluated in their ability to attract Frankliniella spp. thrips. The lures included Chemtica P-178 floral kairomone (AgBio Inc., Westminster, CO), a floral iii kairomone lure composed of a proprietary floral compound mixture, and ThriplineAMS (Syngenta Bioline Ltd., Oxnard, CA) pheromone lure, containing the aggregation pheromone of F. occidentalis. In spring 2009 and 2010 lure experiments were conducted in several different agroecosystems including: a tomato and potato field in Painter, VA, a cotton and peanut field in Suffolk, VA, and grass fields near a greenhouse in Virginia Beach, VA, and a high tunnel in Chesapeake, VA, as well as within these structures. Baited and non-baited sticky cards were arranged in a completely randomized design, with a pan trap located in the center of each plot. Traps were collected approximately twice weekly. F. fusca numbers were low and catches on sticky cards were not significantly affected by either lure. Sticky cards baited with the kairomone caught more flower thrips than traps baited with the pheromone, or the non-baited traps, especially when thrips numbers were high. Several biologically derived insecticides including: essential oils, spinetoram, spinosad, pyrethrins, and azadirachtin, were evaluated in their efficacy against thrips in several different crops. Randomized complete block design experiments were carried out in: tomatoes, snap beans, collards, soybeans, cotton and peanuts grown in several locations in southeastern Virginia in 2009 and 2010. Both spinetoram and spinosad reduced thrips numbers the most effectively compared with the untreated control. Peanut and cotton treated with spinosad, and treatments containing spinetoram suffered less thrips injury compared with the control, and yield was higher in cotton plots treated with spinetoram. / Master of Science in Life Sciences

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The blast and the yellow leaf spot are the major rice and wheat, respectively, both are commonly found as for its destructive potential. Because of this, proving the efficiency of control methods through experiences is of paramount importance, since these results will be used as reference for technicians and producers. The precision is related to the choice of suitable design (local control), the number of repetitions, the sample size in the field, among others. In the case of control experiments involving fungicides, which is the main method of controlling both diseases, leaf sampling in installments is necessary because measuring the entire population becomes unviable. Sampling generates a new error (sampling) within the plot, and this should be minimized by appropriate sampling strategy. Thus, this study aimed to determine sample sizes needed to assess the severity of rice leaf blast and the yellow spot of wheat. For this reason, results of chemical control experiments performed during harvests and 2009/2010 2010/2011 were used. The procedure for collection and analysis of data was identical in all experiments, regardless of culture. In all, the diseases were measured at seven, 14 and 21 days after application of fungicides by sampling 10 leaves in the plots. The variables were disease severity and area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC). Data were subjected to analysis of variance to obtain the experimental and sampling errors, and so, by hypothesis test to check whether the sample dimension and the number of repetitions were adequate. The departure from randomness of variable severity was tested in order to determine whether the methodology used to calculate the sample size was adequate. The departure from randomness test showed that both diseases behaved were distinct, both among treatments between assessments, sometimes distributing randomly in the field, sometimes not. Thus, the combination of theoretical distributions (indicating random or clustered distribution of the disease in the field) to the formula used to calculate the sample size is inadequate. The sample size necessary to measure the average disease severity in the plots was not the same in all treatments and between assessments. This result is expected since, in most of the experiments, the average of the disease was different between treatments and between evaluations. This result leads to a constant change in the relationship between the variance and the mean, which is indicative of the disease in the field of dispersion, this dispersion that is related to the sample intensity. Finally it was observed that, to measure the average AUDPC variable, it is necessary to evaluate fewer leaves in the plots. / A brusone da folha e a mancha amarela são as principais doenças do arroz e do trigo, respectivamente, tanto por serem comumente encontradas quanto pelo seu potencial destrutivo. Devido a isso, a comprovação da eficiência de métodos de controle através de experiências é de suma importância, uma vez que estes resultados serão usados como referência por técnicos e produtores. A precisão experimental está relacionada com a escolha adequada do delineamento (controle local), do número de repetições, do tamanho da amostra na parcela, entre outros. No caso de experimentos de controle envolvendo fungicidas, que é o principal método de controle de ambas as doenças, a amostragem de folhas nas parcelas é necessária, pois mensurar toda a população torna-se inviável. A amostragem gera um novo erro (amostral) dentro da parcela, e este deve ser minimizado através de um dimensionamento amostral adequado. Deste modo, o presente trabalho teve por objetivo determinar tamanhos de amostra necessários para avaliar a severidade da brusone da folha do arroz e da mancha amarela do trigo. Para isso, foram utilizados resultados de experimentos de controle químico realizados durante as safras 2009/2010 e 2010/2011. O procedimento de coleta e análise dos dados foi idêntica em todos os experimentos, independente da cultura. Em todos eles, as doenças foram mensuradas aos sete, 14 e 21 dias após a aplicação dos fungicidas através da amostragem de 10 folhas nas parcelas. As variáveis estudadas foram a severidade das doenças e a área abaixo da curva de progresso das doenças (AACPD). Os dados foram submetidos a análise de variância para a obtenção dos erros experimental e amostral, e assim, através do teste de hipótese, verificar se o dimensionamento amostral e o número de repetições foram adequados. O afastamento da aleatoriedade da variável severidade foi testado com o objetivo de determinar se a metodologia utilizada no cálculo do tamanho da amostra foi adequada. O teste de afastamento da aleatoriedade mostrou que ambas as doenças comportaram-se de foram distintas, tanto entre os tratamentos quanto entre as avaliações, ora distribuindo-se de forma aleatória no campo, ora não. Desse modo, a associação de distribuições teóricas (que indicam distribuição aleatória ou agregada da doença no campo) à formula utilizada no cálculo do tamanho da amostra é inadequado. O tamanho de amostra necessário para mensurar a média da severidade das doenças nas parcelas não foi o mesmo em todos os tratamentos e entre as avaliações. Este resultado era esperado, uma vez que, na grande maioria dos experimentos, a média das doenças foi distinta entre os tratamentos e entre as avaliações. Este resultado levou a uma constante mudança na relação entre a variância e a média, que é um indicativo da dispersão da doença no campo, dispersão esta que esta relacionada com a intensidade amostral. Por fim observou-se que, para mensurar a média da variável AACPD, é necessário avaliar menos folhas nas parcelas. Deste modo, recomenda-se que, sempre que possível, utiliza-se a variável AACPD como forma de comparação entre os tratamentos.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Leaf rust and leaf spots caused by Bipolaris sorokiniana and Drechslera tritici-repentis, are diseases that dramatically reduce the productivity of wheat. Depending on the difficulty in having cultivars resistant to all diseases, chemical control is an alternative, technically and economically viable. To maximize the residual of fungicides is necessary to optimize the factors related with spray minimizing the losses due to disease incidence. The goal of the work was to determine the influence of the number of drops in the penetration of fungicides and its control efficacy at various stages of application. The experimental design used was randomized block in Split plot design, totaling 20 treatments and four replications. The treatments were two wheat cultivars (Fundacep Cristallino and Fundacep Nova Era); three spray tips (XR 11002, TJ 60-11002 and TX 8002); 3 fungicides: Pyraclostrobin + Epoxiconazol; Epoxiconazol and Pyraclostrobin, and a control without any application. It was evaluated the density of drops per square centimeter, DMV, DMN, severity of disease, weight of hectoliter and productivity of the crop. The use of fungicides pyraclostrobin and epoxiconazol + piraclostrobia, respectively, provided the better control of diseases, higher productivity and greater weight of hectoliter in Nova Era cultivar. On the other hand, Cristalino cultivar with lower impact of the diseases did not show difference on efficacy of the fungicides used. The control of diseases was influenced by the DMV/DMN ratio due to the use of different spray tips. Tips with thin/medium drop spectrum performed better coverage at the lower part of the canopy, providing fewer establishments of the diseases. The correlation between the variables showed that the second application of fungicides was the one that crashed in the calculation of the area under the curve of progress of diseases (AACPD), hectoliter weight and yield. The greater disease pressure at flowering can explain this result. / A Ferrugem da folha e as manchas foliares causadas por Bipolaris sorokiniana e Drechslera tritici-repentis, são doenças capazes de reduzir drasticamente a produtividade da cultura do trigo. Em função da dificuldade em dispor de cultivares resistentes a todas as doenças, o controle químico é uma alternativa viável, técnica e economicamente. Para maximizar o residual dos fungicidas é necessário otimizar os fatores relacionados à tecnologia de aplicação minimizando os danos em função da incidência das doenças. O objetivo do trabalho foi determinar a influência do número de gotas na penetração dos fungicidas e na sua eficácia de controle em diferentes momentos de aplicação. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi de Blocos ao acaso em parcelas subsubdivididas, totalizando 20 tratamentos em quatro repetições. Os tratamentos foram constituídos por duas cultivares de trigo (Fundacep Cristalino e Fundacep Nova Era); três pontas de pulverização (XR 11002, TJ 60-11002 e TX 8002); 3 fungicidas: Piraclostrobina + Epoxiconazol; Epoxiconazol e Piraclostrobina, mais uma testemunha sem aplicação. Foi avaliada a densidade de gotas por centímetro quadrado, diâmetro mediano volumétrico (DMV), diâmetro mediano numérico (DMN), severidade das doenças, peso do hectolitro e produtividade da cultura. A utilização dos fungicidas epoxiconazol+ piraclostrobina e piraclostrobina, respectivamente, proporcionaram o melhor controle de doenças, melhor produtividade e maior peso do hectolitro na cultivar Nova Era. Por outro lado, na cultivar Cristalino submetida a um menor impacto das doenças, não houve diferença com relação aos fungicidas utilizados. O controle de doenças foi influenciado pelo espectro de gotas proporcionado devido a utilização das diferentes pontas de pulverização. Pontas com espectro fino/médio apresentaram melhor cobertura do terço inferior do dossel, proporcionando menor estabelecimento das doenças. A correlação entre as variáveis mostrou que a segunda aplicação dos fungicidas foi a que mais impactou no calculo da área abaixo da curva de progresso das doenças (AACPD), produtividade de grão e peso do hectolitro. Esse resultado pode ser explicado pela maior pressão de doença no estádio de florescimento.

Les pratiques culturales modifient l'architecture des couverts de manière à augmenter ou diminuer le développement des épidémies mais les processus mis en jeu sont complexes ; des modèles mécanistes simulant l'interaction entre plante et pathogène devraient aider à les clarifier. Les modèles de Plantes Virtuelles, qui permettent de décrire explicitement la structure tridimensionnelle de la plante, semblent particulièrement prometteurs pour exprimer les effets de l'architecture de la plante sur le développement des épidémies. L'objectif de cette étude est d'examiner la possibilité de simuler l'effet de l'architecture des plantes sur le développement de la maladie en utilisant un modèle Plante Virtuelle. Dans ce travail, nous nous intéressons au pathosystème blé-Septoria tritici, dans lequel l'architecture joue un rôle important. En effet, les spores de Septoria tritici sont propagées par les éclaboussures de pluie depuis les feuilles infectées du bas du couvert vers les nouvelles feuilles saines. Notre travail s'est appuyé sur un modèle pré-existant d'épidémie de la septoriose, Septo3D. L'architecture du blé a été étudiée pour une gamme de densités et de date de semis. Les différences de phyllochrone entre traitements ont été dans une gamme susceptible de modifier le développement de la septoriose. Ces variations ont été représentées par un modèle descriptif qui tient compte du nombre de feuilles final et de la photopériode. Une description détaillée des variables d'architecture à l'échelle des organes et du couvert a fourni une documentation originale et complète sur la plasticité de l'architecture du blé. Ces données ont été utilisées pour paramétrer la description du blé dans Septo3D. Globalement, les traitements étudiés ont conduit à de fortes différences de la densité de végétation au cours du temps. Les dynamiques de développement de la septoriose ont été suivies pour trois traitements de densités contrastées. Les cinétiques de la maladie simulées par le modèle étaient conformes aux mesures expérimentales. Bien que, l'approche nécessite davantage de validation, les résultats confirment que l'approche Plante Virtuelle apporte un nouvel éclairage sur les processus et les caractéristiques des plantes qui impactent les épidémies. En conclusion, nous proposons quelques perspectives en vue de nouvelles applications et améliorations de l'approche. / Agronomic practices modify crop architecture in ways that may facilitate or hamper disease development. The processes involved are complex and mechanistic models simulating plant-pathogen interaction should help clarifying them. Virtual Plants, i.e. models in which the three-dimensional structure of the plant is explicitly described, appear specially promising to express the effects of the plant architecture on the epidemic development. The objective of this study is to examine the ability to simulate the effect of plant architecture on disease development using a Virtual Plant model.The work focuses on the pathosystem wheat-Septoria tritici, in which architecture plays an important role because spores of Septoria are propagated from infected leaves to upper healthy leaves by rain splash. We build on a pre-existing model of Septoria epidemics, Septo3D. Wheat architecture was examined for a range of sowing date and density treatments. Differences of phyllochron between treatments were in a range sufficient to likely modify epidemic development; they were well represented by a descriptive model depending on photoperiod and final leaf number. A detailed description of architectural variables at the organ and canopy scale provided an original and comprehensive documentation of the plastic response of wheat, which was used for parameterising the wheat description in Septo3D. Overall, the investigated treatments resulted in strong differences in the time course of vegetation density. Septoria dynamics were monitored in a subset of three treatments of contrasted densities. Simulated disease kinetics were consistent with field measurements. Although, the approach needs further validation, results support that virtual plant modelling provides new insights into the processes and plant traits that impact epidemics. We conclude with prospects for further improvements and applications.

Zymoseptoria tritici est l'un des dix plus importants champignons pathogènes des plantes. Son impact économique sur la production de blé et ses caractéristiques biologiques (dimorphisme levure-hyphae, hémi-biotrophie, populations sexuées et diversifiées) fait de Z. tritici un organisme unique parmi les champignons pathogènes des plantes. Au cours des dix dernières années, il a suscité un intérêt croissant de la communauté scientifique conduisant au développement d'outils génomiques et génétiques. Ces efforts ont permis de mieux comprendre les mécanismes impliqués dans sa pathogénie et son évolution. Nous avons focalisé notre étude sur les trois «Mitogen-Activated Kinases» (MAPK) ZtFus3, ZtHog1 et ZtSlt2 de Z. tritici nécessaires au succès de l’infection. Nous avons réalisé une caractérisation phénotypique détaillée du mutant de délétion ZtSLT2 lors de l'infection du blé et du développement fongique in vitro. Nous avons montré que le mutant ΔZtslt2 est non pathogène pour les feuilles de blé, même lorsque la pénétration stomatique est court-circuitée par injection de spores dans la feuille, ce qui suggère que ce mutant présente un défaut dans la colonisation des tissus de la plante. Pendant la croissance in vitro, ZtSLT2 est nécessaire à la pigmentation, des colonies, l’émergence des hyphes aériens, la formation de biofilm et l’hydrophobicité de la colonie. Ces phénotypes sont des marqueurs d'un processus développemental qui se produit pendant le vieillissement de la colonie de Z. tritici (développement de colonies pigmentées et hydrophobes portant des hyphes aériens blancs). Ce processus développemental survient à des moments différents selon le milieu de culture et la température, le plus rapide étant sur milieu pauvre «Pomme de terre Glucose» (PD) à 25 °C (4 jours) et le plus lent sur milieu riche complet «Extrait de Levure, Peptone, Glucose» (YPD) à 18 °C (18 jours). Nous avons montré que les gènes codant pour des enzymes impliquées dans la biosynthèse de la mélanine, des α-1,3-glucanes et des hydrophobines sont surexprimées au cours de ce processus développemental dans la souche sauvage, en particulier après trois jours de culture sur PD à 25 °C par rapport aux autres conditions. Cette surexpression nécessite que la voie ZtSLT2 soit fonctionnelle. L’analyse transcriptomique (RNAseq) de ces conditions différentielles est en cours pour identifier le réseau de gènes nécessitant la protéine Slt2 pour leur expression. Ces gènes cibles de ZtSLT2 sont des facteurs de pathogénicité putatifs.Nous avons également développé un nouvel outil moléculaire pour Z. tritici. Nous avons montré que les promoteurs pMoNIA1 et pZtNIA1 des gènes codant les nitrates réductases de Magnaporthe oryzae et Z. tritici, respectivement, sont régulés par la source d’azote du milieu de la même façon chez Z. tritici. L’expression de gènes sous le contrôle de ces deux promoteurs est maximale en présence de nitrate comme seule source d'azote, mais réduite en présence de glutamate. Ces promoteurs peuvent donc être utilisés pour l'expression conditionnelle de gènes et le remplacement de promoteur chez Z. tritici. Ils seront utiles pour contrôler l'expression des allèles constitutivement actifs des MAP kinase kinases dans le but d’activer les voies des MAPK de manière conditionnelle. / Zymoseptoria tritici is one of the ten more important fungal plant pathogens. Its economic impact on wheat production and its biological characteristics (yeast-fungal dimorphism, hemi-biotrophy, sexual and highly diverse populations) make Z. tritici unique among fungal plant pathogens. It has therefore drawn attention of the scientific community during the last ten years, leading to the development of genomic and genetic tools. These efforts have improved our understanding of its pathogenicity and evolution. We have focused our study on the three Z. tritici Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase (MAPK) signalling pathways (ZtFUS3, ZtHOG1, and ZtSLT2) which are required for pathogenicity. We provided novel insights in the role of ZtSlt2 MAPK signalling pathway using a detailed phenotypic characterization of SLT2 deletion mutant during wheat infection and in vitro development. We showed that SLT2 is non-pathogenic on wheat leaves, even when stomatal penetration is bypassed by spore injection, suggesting a defect in leaf colonisation. During in vitro growth, SLT2 is required for melanisation, aerial hyphae emergence, biofilm formation and colony hydrophobicity which are markers of a developmental switch occurring during Z. tritici colony aging (development of melanised and hydrophobic colonies supporting abundant white aerial hyphae). This developmental switch occurs at different times depending on media and temperatures, quickest being on poor plant-derived Potato Dextrose (PD) medium at 25°C (4 days) and slowest on rich complex Yeast Extract Peptone Dextrose (YPD) medium 18°C (18 days). We provided evidence that genes encoding enzymes involved in both melanin and α-1,3-glucan biosynthesis, and hydrophobins are up-regulated during this developmental switch in wild type, in particular at 3 days on PD at 25°C compared to other conditions. This up-regulation clearly requires a functional ZtSLT2 pathway. Transcriptomic analysis (RNAseq) of these differential conditions is ongoing to identify the network of genes requiring SLT2 for their expression. These SLT2 target genes are putative pathogenicity factors. We also provide a new molecular tool for Z. tritici. We showed that pMoNIA1 and pZtNIA1 promoters from nitrate reductases encoding genes of Magnaporthe oryzae, and Z. tritici, respectively, are nitrogen-responsive in Z. tritici to a similar extent. They are fully expressed in presence of nitrate as sole nitrogen source and down-regulated in presence of glutamate, showing they are suitable for conditional gene expression and promoter replacement in Z. tritici. These promoters will be useful to control the expression of constitutively active alleles of MAP Kinase kinases in order to activate MAPK pathways in a conditional manner.

Orientador: Paulo Cezar Ceresini / Resumo: Fungos do gênero Pyricularia apresentam uma ampla gama de plantas hospedeiras, com capacidade de infectar mais de 50 espécies de gramíneas nas quais causam a doença brusone. Há relatos que a espécies forrageira braquiária (Urochloa brizantha) é hospedeira de muitas espécies deste fungo. Muito embora a brusone em braquiária não cause prejuízos à produção de pastagens, a distribuição generalizada desta forrageira no país a torna uma importante fonte de inóculo do patógeno para diversas outras culturas de importância agrícola severamente danificadas pela brusone, em especial o trigo. A brusone do trigo é causada principalmente por Pyricularia graminis-tritici (Pygt), pode ser também ser atribuída a duas outras espécies de Pyricularia, P. pennisetigena (Pp) e P. urashimae (Pu). Dessa forma o objetivo deste estudo foi determinar a suscetibilidade bem como a reação de nove espécies e/ou cultivares do gênero Urochloa aos patógenos Pygt, Pp, Pu e P. grisea (Pg), a única espécie, até então, relatada como patógeno de braquiária no Brasil. De Pygt, foi avaliado também a virulência de sete raças do patógeno em espécies/cultivares de braquiária. Houve variação significativa na patogenicidade e na virulência e agressividade de espécies Pyricularia à diferentes espécies de Urochloa. As cultivares Ipypoã, BRS Tupi e Xaraés foram as mais resistentes às diferentes espécies Pygt, Pg, Pp e Pu do patógenos da brusone. Quando avaliamos a reação de Urochloa às raças B, C e D de P. graminis-tritici ... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Fungi of the genus Pyricularia have a wide range of host plants, and are capable of infecting more than 50 species of grasses in which they cause blast disease. There are reports that the signal grass forage species (Urochloa brizantha) is host to many species of this fungus. Although the blast disease in signal grass does not cause damage to pasture production, the widespread distribution of this forage in the country makes it an important source of pathogen inoculum for several other crops of agricultural importance severely damaged by blast, especially wheat. The wheat blast is caused mainly by Pyricularia graminis-tritici (Pygt), but it can also be associated with to two other species of Pyricularia, P. pennisetigena (Pp) and P. urashimae (Pu). Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the susceptibility and the reaction of nine species and / or cultivars of the genus Urochloa to the pathogens Pygt, Pp, Pu and P. grisea (Pg), the only species hitherto reported as a pathogen of Urochloa in Brazil. For Pygt, the virulence of seven pathogen races or virulence groups to Urochloa species / cultivars was also evaluated. There was significant variation in the pathogenicity and virulence and aggressiveness of Pyricularia species to different Urochloa species. When we evaluated the reaction of Urochloa to P. graminis-tritici races B, C and D, the Urochloa species / cultivars tested showed susceptibility. However, resistance was detected for the other Pygt races. The ... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Gaeumannomyces tritici is a soil-borne, highly destructive, wheat root pathogen, causing take-all disease. Some modern, elite, winter wheat cultivars possess a genetic trait promoting low take-all inoculum build-up (LowTAB). This leads to reduced disease if wheat is grown in the same field the next year. This PhD aimed to test if genetics (LowTAB) and chemistry will individually or synergistically influence take-all fungal inoculum build-up in first wheats as methods to control second wheat take-all disease. The underlying mechanism, epidemiology, agronomy and genetics of the TAB (take-all build-up) trait in eight first wheat field trials was investigated. This identified two minor QTLs conferring the LowTAB trait, in a doubled haploid mapping population. This PhD also confirms the highly complex cultivar-year-field interactions that underpin this trait. Root phenotyping experiments in the field and laboratory highlight that the TAB trait is not likely to be the result of root system architecture variation. Future field trials are planned to confirm the QTLs identified and to test for links between TAB and root-soil-microbial interactions. The effect of foliar applied chemistry (fungicide: Amistar, active ingredient: azoxystrobin and plant growth regulator: Moddus, a.i. trinexapac-ethyl) combined with genetics (TAB) on first wheat take-all inoculum build-up and second wheat disease was investigated. To complement this, laboratory screens were performed checking for common target site mutations to the azoxystrobin fungicide, in new and historic G. tritici isolates. For the first time, legacy effects of first wheat foliar chemistry on second wheat disease were identified, however no synergy with genetics were found. Early first wheat Amistar sprays reduced second wheat take-all disease, whilst later sprays and plant growth regulator, Moddus; had no effect. However, first wheat inoculum reduction by Amistar, could not be directly linked to the second wheat disease outbreaks observed. No evidence of fungicide resistance was found in 40 UK isolates, thus the varied efficacy of Amistar is linked to soil dose rate at the different application times. The collective PhD findings of the effect of first wheat chemistry and genetics make a significant contribution to the control of take-all disease in commercial second wheat crops.

Accroître la diversité végétale au sein d'une culture par l'utilisation d'associations variétales est une stratégie qui permet de limiter la sévérité des maladies à dispersion éolienne. Les potentialités de cette pratique culturale restent à être caractérisées de manière précise dans le cas des maladies à dispersion pluviale, telle que la septoriose du blé durant sa phase épidémique. Cette maladie foliaire, due au champignon pathogène Mycosphaerella graminicola, est prédominante sur blé et est capable de causer des pertes substantielles de rendement, allant jusqu'à -40 %. Des expérimentations au champ ont été menées durant cinq années, de 2008 à 2012, sur le site INRA de Grignon (Yvelines, France), avec une association constituée de deux variétés de blé ayant des niveaux contrastés de résistance à M. graminicola, et dont les proportions étaient de une plante sensible pour trois assez résistantes. Par rapport à leur culture monovariétale respective, nous avons observé une diminution de la sévérité de la septoriose sur la plus sensible des variétés (en moyenne, 45 % de surface pycnidiale foliaire en moins sur les trois dernières feuilles), sans affecter significativement la variété plus résistante. Une méthodologie originale semi-automatisée a été développée pour quantifier le flux de spores dispersés par la pluie en conditions naturelles. Les mesures expérimentales ont permis de corréler l'intensité de plusieurs épisodes pluvieux avec la dispersion de spores au sein de différents couverts incluant des associations variétales. Un modèle mécaniste et stochastique a été développé afin de décrire la progression du potentiel de maladie au sein d'un couvert végétal hétérogène en trois dimensions. Cette approche théorique combine physique et épidémiologie, d'une part, (i) pour calculer l'interception des gouttes de pluie avec les organes végétaux et la trajectoire des gouttelettes d'éclaboussement au sein du couvert et, d'autre part, (ii) pour prendre en compte les niveaux de résistance variétale et la nature polycyclique de l'épidémie. À partir de ce modèle, il a été mis en évidence pour des associations de deux variétés que les proportions, ainsi que le différentiel de résistance entre les variétés à associer, pouvaient être optimisées pour réduire la sévérité de la maladie. Par ailleurs, ce modèle permet d'évaluer et d'identifier les distributions spatiales des variétés les plus propices à une réduction de la progression d'une maladie à dispersion pluviale. Parmi les précédents travaux traitant des potentialités des associations de variétés pour lutter contre des pathogènes dispersés par l'action mécanique de la pluie, certains avançaient des conclusions souvent contradictoires et peu en faveur de cette pratique. Nous avons montré ici qu'il est possible sous certaines conditions d'association de variétés (proportions, agencement spatial, différentiel de résistance globale) et de pluviométrie d'obtenir un effet significatif en termes de réduction de la maladie. / Increasing plant diversity within a crop by the use of cultivar mixtures is a strategy which allows to reduce severity of windborne diseases. Potentialities of this cropping practice have still to be precisely characterized in the case of rain-borne diseases, such as septoria tritici blotch during its spring epidemiological stage. This disease, due to the pathogen fungus Mycosphaerella graminicola, is prevalent on wheat crops and it may be result in substantial yield losses, up to -40%. Field experiments were carried out during five years, from 2008 to 2012, at the Grignon location (Yvelines, France), with a mixture consisting of two wheat cultivars with contrasted resistance to M. graminicola in a 1/3 susceptible/resistant ratio. In comparison with their pure stands, we observed a severity decrease of septoria tritici blotch for the most susceptible cultivar (on average, less 45% of leaf pycnidial leaf surface on the three upper leaf levels), without significantly affect the more resistant cultivar. An original semi-automated methodology was developed to quantify the splash-dispersed spore flux in outdoor conditions. Experimental measurements allowed to correlate intensity of several rainfall events with spore dispersal within different canopies including a cultivar mixture. A mechanistic and stochastic model was implemented in order to describe disease potential progression within a heterogeneous three-dimensional plant canopy. This theoretical approach combines physics and epidemiology in order to, on one hand, (i) compute interception of raindrops with plant organs and the pathway of splash droplets within the canopy and, on the other hand, (ii) take into account cultivar resistance levels and the polycyclism of epidemics. From this model, we highlighted for two-component cultivar mixtures that the proportions and the difference between resistance levels of cultivars to mix together could be optimized in order to reduce disease severity. Furthermore, this modelling approach makes it possible to assess and identify the cultivar spatial distributions the most favourable to a decrease of progression of a splash-dispered disease. Previous studies about potentialities of cultivar mixtures to control splash-dispersed pathogen agents, led in some cases to conclusions with inconsistent and not in favour of this cropping practice. We showed here that it was possible under certain cultivar designing conditions (proportions, spatial arrangement, difference between resistance levels) and rainfall properties to obtain a consistent significant effect in terms of disease reduction.