Call number: LD2668 .T4 1966 P122 / Master of Science

Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Take - all disease ( caused by Gaeumannomyces graminis var tritici, Ggt ) can be suppressed by soil microorganisms after continuous monoculture of wheat ( take - all decline, TAD ). Fluorescent pseudomonads have been implicated in this suppression. Two strategies for controlling take - ail are the in situ development of disease suppressive soil, and / or the application of a biocontrol agent. However, TAD takes up to 10 years to develop after initially high levels of disease, and the performance of bacterial biocontrol agents has been inconsistent. It is not known what environmental factors select for disease antagonists. In this work the role of diseased root lesions in directing the evolution of a native pseudomonad community, and a model disease antagonist, Pseudomonas corrugate strain 2140 ( Pc2140 ) for increased disease suppression was investigated. This work shows that root lesions are a distinct niche, supporting increased populations of total aerobic bacteria ( TAB ), pseudomonads and Pc2140 ( compared to non - lesioned sections of diseased roots and healthy roots ). Lesions selected for fluorescent pseudomonads and pseudomonads which increase take - all severity. In. contrast, lesions selected for non - pseudomonads which decrease take - all, and healthy roots selected for non - fluorescent pseudomonads which decrease take - all. It was concluded that non - fluorescent pseudomonads and non - pseudomonads were important in reducing take - all, but not fluorescent pseudomonads. Pc2140 produced multiple variant phenotypes in vitro and on wheat roots which were altered in ( 1 ) their ability to inhibit pathogens in vitro and control take - all, and ( 2 ) GC - FAME and BIOLOG profiles to the extent that some variants were identified as different species. Different sets of phenotypes were produced in vitro and on roots. After 108 weeks culture of Pc2140 on root lesions and healthy wheat roots, variant colony types were generally slightly decreased in ability to reduce take - all, and reisolates with the wild type colony morphology were generally slightly increased in ability to reduce take - all compared to the ancestral Pc2140. This is the first report on the diversification of a pseudomonad biocontrol agent on roots, and has implications for the taxonomic identification and grouping of isolates based on phenotypic characteristics. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Department of Crop Protection, 1998.

Bibliography: leaves 137-163. his is a comprehensive study of induced homoeologous recombination along most of the complete genetic length of two homoeologous chromosomes in the Triticeae (7A of common wheat and 7Ai of Agropyron intermedium), using co-dominant DNA markers. Chromosome 7Ai was chosen as a model alien chromosome because is has been reported to carry agronomically important genes conferring resistance to stem rust and barley yellow dwarf virus on its short and long arms, respectively.

Cephalosporium stripe of wheat (Triticum aestivum), caused by the soilborne fungus Cephalosporium gramineum, results in significant yield reductions in dryland winter wheat crops of the U.S. Pacific Northwest. The development of resistant cultivars offers the best hope for disease control. Breeding for resistance is hampered by the long trial times inherent in screening adult plants, and by cultivar x environment interactions in field tests. The principal objective of this research was to develop and test a procedure for screening wheat seedlings in controlled environments for resistance to Cephalosporium stripe. Wheat seedlings were raised hydroponically in growth chambers, and the fungus was increased in large fermentation tanks. The seedlings were inoculated at about 12 days post-germination. Disease severity was assessed approximately seven days later using a chlorophyll meter to measure the symptoms of chlorosis and striping. In three trials, five soft white cultivars from the Pacific Northwest and four hard red cultivars from the Southern Great Plains with known levels of field resistance were tested with a Pacific Northwest fungal isolate. With one exception, chlorophyll readings ordered the cultivars appropriately, with moderately resistant cultivars ranking above susceptible cultivars. Three other moderately resistant cultivars from the Pacific Northwest also appeared in one or two trials, and were ranked properly by chlorophyll level. Chlorophyll levels of uninoculated plants were assayed to determine if differences in chlorophyll content were innate in the cultivars. The chlorophyll levels of uninoculated and inoculated seedling treatments were only significantly correlated when the cultivar Madsen, which ranks high both in resistance and in chlorophyll content, was included. In adult plants, flag-leaf chlorophyll level corresponded to intensity of Cephalosporium stripe symptoms where disease was present, and was independent of known field resistance in undiseased cultivars. The seedling screening technique was used to investigate pathogenic variability in C. gramineum. In two experiments, a total of eight cultivars from the Pacific Northwest and the Southern Great Plains were tested with three fungal isolates from each region. No evidence of virulence/vertical resistance was found. There was also no significant adaptation of isolates to greater virulence on cultivars from the same region. / Graduation date: 1998

Strawbreaker foot-rot is a major limiting factor to cost efficient winter wheat production in the Pacific Northwest. Development of resistant cultivars has been hindered by the lack of adequate levels of genetic resistance and screening techniques which can consistently detect desired genotypes. Studies were conducted to determine if the reported strawbreaker foot-rot resistance of the cultivar "Rendezvous" is effective on isolates of Pseudocercosporella herpotrichoides found in the Pacific Northwest. Protected, naturally infected and artificially inoculated treatments were employed to determine the level of resistance of 10 cultivars including Rendezvous. Different concentrations of inoculum and stages of development were also used to determine if observations on leaf sheath penetration of seedlings obtained in the greenhouse were related to disease severity index readings taken in the field for selected cultivars. In addition, the nature of inheritance of strawbreaker foot-rot was studied in two crosses involving Rendezvous. Experiments were conducted at three locations and over two years at one location. Despite cultivar x treatment interaction, consistent levels of infection were observed in all experiments at each location. Significant differences were found for treatments and cultivars for most attributes. Yield losses, including the components of yield spikes per square meter, 1000 kernel weight, and kernel number per spike were proportional to the severity of the disease. Losses were greater when lodging occurred, which was also associated with disease severity. However, even in the absence of lodging losses were recorded in the naturally and artificially inoculated plots. Traits measured involving Rendezvous and Vpm/Mos 95//*2Hill were only slightly influenced by the treatments. Under greenhouse conditions, it was possible to distinguish the level of resistance of Rendezvous from susceptible cultivars at concentrations of 100 spores/ml, two weeks after inoculation at the seedling stage. Leaf sheath penetration of seedlings was found to be closely associated with the disease severity index obtained under field conditions. Generation means analysis performed in crosses involving Rendezvous indicated that additive and additive x additive gene action were responsible for most of the genetic variability associated with resistance. Narrow-sense heritability estimates also confirmed these fmdings. It would appear that Rendezvous has at least two major genes for resistance to strawbreaker foot-rot. / Graduation date: 1992

This study quantified the frequency of simple versus complex races of Puccinia striiformis Westend. in mixtures of wheat cultivars possessing different race-specific resistance genes. A simple race of a pathogen can infect only one component, and a complex race of the pathogen can infect two or more components of an intraspecific plant mixture. The treatments were designed so that the race that was complex changed depending on the host mixture, thus enabling us to observe the influence of pathogen complexity in different host genetic backgrounds. Six cultivar mixtures and one pure stand of winter wheat were inoculated with three races of P. striiformis (CDL 27, CDL 29, and CDL 41) at two locations for two seasons. Potted plants of three winter wheat cultivars (Paha, Tres, and Tyee) that were each susceptible to one of the three races of the pathogen were used to sample the pathogen during the field epidemics. Disease incidence on the differential cultivars was used to calculate the proportion of the three races in each treatment. The specific cultivars included in the mixtures influenced the frequencies of the three races. Increasing the number of virulent races in a mixture reduced the frequency of the complex race relative to the other two races. When two of the races (races 29 and 41) were complex on the same mixture, location had an effect on which of the races was more frequent. When race 29 was the complex race in the mixture, it was more frequent than when race 41 was the complex race. The results suggest that environmental interactions, genetic background of the pathogen race, host composition, and interaction among pathogen races may be as important in determining race frequencies in mixtures as is stabilizing selection sensu Vanderplank (1968). / Graduation date: 1993

Septoria leaf blotch of wheat is a major biotic factor limiting the grain yield. To determine the nature of inheritance involving selected genotypes, three resistant semidwarf spring wheat lines exhibiting durable global resistance and one susceptible cultivar were crossed in all possible combinations, excluding reciprocals. Parents, Fl, F2, and F3 generations were inoculated with one pathogenic strain of Septoria tritici and evaluated under field conditions. Data were collected on an individual plant basis. F2 and F3 frequency distributions were computed to determine the nature of inheritance. Combining ability analysis of the 4x4 diallel cross and narrow-sense heritability were employed to estimate the nature of gene action. Phenotypic correlations were obtained to examined the possible association between disease severity traits and their relationship with heading date and plant height. The continuous distribution of the F2 and F3 populations among crosses made it impossible to classify plants into discrete classes in crosses between resistant x susceptible genotypes. Mean values of the disease traits Septoria progress coefficient, Relative coefficient of infection, and Septoria severity of flag leaf among the segregating populations were similar to the midparent values. Transgressive segregation was also observed in the F2 and F3 suggesting that parents had different resistance genes. Additive gene effects were found to be the major component of variation although nonadditive gene action played an important role in the expression of all three disease traits. The resistant parents Bobwhite"S" and Kavkaz /K4500 L.A.4 were found to have the largest negative general combining ability effects for the disease traits suggesting that these parents would be the best source for resistance to Septoria leaf blotch. High general combining ability and high narrow sense heritability estimates in the F3 population, indicated that substantial progress for resistance to Septoria tritici would be effective selecting in this generation. Of the three disease measures it would appear that selection for the lowest percentage of Septoria infection on the flag leaf would provide the most progress in developing resistant cultivars. Moderate and low negative phenotypic correlations were found among generations for the disease traits with heading date and plant height. From the results of this study the selection of early maturing short stature progeny would be possible within the genetic materials employed in this study. / Graduation date: 1993

Bibliography: leaves 137-163. / vii, 163, [25] leaves, [13] 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. / his is a comprehensive study of induced homoeologous recombination along most of the complete genetic length of two homoeologous chromosomes in the Triticeae (7A of common wheat and 7Ai of Agropyron intermedium), using co-dominant DNA markers. Chromosome 7Ai was chosen as a model alien chromosome because is has been reported to carry agronomically important genes conferring resistance to stem rust and barley yellow dwarf virus on its short and long arms, respectively. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Plant Science, 1997

Wheat (Triticum aestivum and T. Durum) is an extremely important agronomic crop produced worldwide. Wheat consumption has doubled in the last 30 years with approximately 600 million tons consumed per annum. According to the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, worldwide wheat demand will increase over 40 percent by 2020, while land as well as resources available for the production will decrease significantly if the current trend prevails. The wheat industry is challenged with abiotic and biotic stressors that lead to reduction in crop yields. Increase knowledge of wheat’s biochemical constitution and functional biology is of paramount importance to improve wheat so as to meet with this demand. Pesticides and fungicides are being used to control biotic stress imposed by insect pest and fungi pathogens but these chemicals pose a risk to the environment and human health. To this effect, there is re-evaluation of pesticides currently in use by the Environmental Protection Agency, via mandates of the 1996 Food Quality Protection Act and those with higher perceived risks are banned. Genetic resistance is now a more environmental friendly and effective method of controlling insect pest and rust diseases of wheat than the costly spraying with pesticides and fungicides. Although, resistant cultivars effectively prevent current prevailing pathotypes of leaf rust and biotypes of Russian wheat aphid from attacking wheat, new pathotypes and biotypes of the pathogen/pest may develop and infect resistant cultivars. Therefore, breeders are continually searching for new sources of resistance. Proteomic approaches can be utilised to ascertain target enzymes and proteins from resistant lines that could be utilised to augment the natural tolerance of agronomically favourable varieties of wheat. With this ultimate goal in mind, the aim of this study was to elucidate the mechanism and synchronicity of wheat resistance to leaf rust (Puccinia triticina) and Russian wheat aphid (Duiraphis noxia) SA1. To determine the resistance mechanism of the wheat cultivars to leaf rust infection and Russian wheat aphid infestation, a proteomics approach using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis was used in order to determine the effect of RWA SA1 on the wheat cultivars proteome. Differentially expressed proteins that were up or down regulated (appearing or disappearing) were identified using PDQuestTM Basic 2-DE Gel analysis software. Proteins bands of interest were in-gel trypsin digested as per the protocol described in Schevchenko et al. (2007) and analysed using a Dionex Ultimate 3000 RSLC system coupled to an AB Sciex 6600 TripleTOF mass spectrometer. Protein pilot v5 using Paragon search engine (AB Sciex) was used for comparison of the obtained MS/MS spectra with a custom database containing sequences of Puccinia triticina (Uniprot Swissprot), Triticum aestivum (Uniprot TrEMBL) and Russian wheat aphid (Uniprot TrEMBL) as well as a list of sequences from common contaminating proteins. Proteins with a threshold of ≥99.9 percent confidence were reported. A total of 72 proteins were putatively identified from the 37 protein spots excised originating from either leaf rust or Russian wheat aphid experiments. Sixty-three of these proteins were associated with wheat response to stress imposed by RWA SA1 feeding while 39 were associated with infection by Puccinia triticina. Several enzymes involved in the Calvin cycle, electron transport and ATP synthesis were observed to be differentially regulated suggesting greater metabolic requirements in the wheat plants following aphid infestation and leaf rust infection. Proteins directly associated with photosynthesis were also differentially regulated following RWA SA1 infestation and P.