Wheat stem rust, a devastating disease of wheat and barley caused by the fungal pathogen Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici, was largely eradicated in Western Europe during the mid-to-late twentieth century. However, isolated outbreaks have occurred in recent years. Here we investigate whether a lack of resistance in modern European varieties, increased presence of its alternate host barberry and changes in climatic conditions could be facilitating its resurgence. We report the first wheat stem rust occurrence in the United Kingdom in nearly 60 years, with only 20% of UK wheat varieties resistant to this strain. Climate changes over the past 25 years also suggest increasingly conducive conditions for infection. Furthermore, we document the first occurrence in decades of P. graminis on barberry in the UK . Our data illustrate that wheat stem rust does occur in the UK and, when climatic conditions are conducive, could severely harm wheat and barley production.
Growth and gravitropism have been studied in three mutant strains of Arabidopsis thaliana L, that are resistant to auxin‐herbicide. Two of the mutations are allelic and recessive (aux‐1 and aux‐2) and are unlinked to a dominant mutation, Dwf, which confers a very high level of auxin‐resistance and is apparently lethal when homozygous. The aux‐1 and Dwf strains have altered response to gravity whereas aux‐2 appears to be gravitropically normal. After 96 h in the normal, vertical position only minor differences in elongation were observed between roots of wild‐type, aux‐1 and aux‐2, but the hypocotyls of aux‐1 were significantly retarded compared with the gravitropically normal aux‐2 and wild‐type. In the progeny of selfed Dwf plants, where both normal (dwf) and agravitropic (Dwf) seedlings are present, the Dwf seedlings had much longer roots and shorter hypocotyls than dwf+. During 22 h of continuous stimulation the optimum angle for gravitropism in wild‐type roots and hypocotyls was 135° (i.e. the organ points obliquely upwards), with decreasing responses in the order 90° and 45°. The agravitropic nature of the roots of aux‐1 was confirmed as no significant response was obtained at any of the stimulation angles. In marked contrast, the negative gravitropic response of aux‐1 hypocotyls was greater than the wild‐type response in terms of the final angle attained at 22 h, but between 6 and 22 h the elongation rate was lower in aux‐1. After varying stimulation periods in the horizontal position, the curvature which had developed, decreased rapidly and almost disappeared during ensuing rotation on clinostats (2 and 4 rpm). Rotation on the clinostats had no effect on the agravitropic behaviour of aux‐1.
In an attempt to study and distinguish the effects of light and gravity on the direction of horizontal root growth, wild-type and an agravitropic mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana L., aux-l were examined. The mutant aux-) seedling roots are agravitropic but do respond to light, thus allowing the effects of light and gravity on roots to be studied separately. It is shown that in addition to the recognized negative phototropic and positive gravitropic responses of the root, there are also horizontal curvatures (clockwise or counterclockwise) induced by both unilateral light and gravity. The effects of light and gravity in inducing the horizontal curvature of roots are synergistic when both act in the same direction, and are antagonistic when acting in opposite directions. The results indicate that light and gravity interact to determine the direction and magnitude of the horizontal curvature of roots.
Collections of Puccinia triticina, the wheat leaf rust pathogen, were obtained from Pakistan in 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, and 2014. Collections were also obtained from Bhutan in 2013. Single uredinial isolates were derived and tested for virulence phenotype to 20 lines of Thatcher wheat that differ for single leaf rust resistance genes, and for molecular genotype with 23 simple-sequence repeat (SSR) primers. Twenty-four virulence phenotypes were described among the 89 isolates tested for virulence. None of the isolates had virulence to Thatcher lines with Lr9, Lr24, or Lr18. Virulence to most of the other Thatcher lines was over 50%. The two most common virulence phenotypes, FHPSQ and KHPQQ, had virulence to Lr16, Lr17, and Lr26. Twenty-seven SSR genotypes were found among the 38 isolates tested for molecular variation. The SSR genotypes had high levels of observed heterozygosity and significant correlation with virulence phenotype, which indicated clonal reproduction. Cluster analysis and principal component plots indicated three groups of SSR genotypes that also varied significantly for virulence. Isolates with MBDSS and MCDSS virulence phenotypes from Pakistan and Bhutan were highly related for SSR genotype and virulence to isolates from Turkey, Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East, North America and South America, indicating the possible migration of the rust fungus between continental regions.
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