SummaryThe circadian clock, an internal time‐keeping mechanism, allows plants to anticipate regular changes in the environment, such as light and dark, and biotic challenges such as pathogens and herbivores. Here, we demonstrate that the plant circadian clock influences susceptibility to the necrotrophic fungal pathogen, Botrytis cinerea. Arabidopsis plants show differential susceptibility to B. cinerea depending on the time of day of inoculation. Decreased susceptibility after inoculation at dawn compared with night persists under constant light conditions and is disrupted in dysfunctional clock mutants, demonstrating the role of the plant clock in driving time‐of‐day susceptibility to B. cinerea. The decreased susceptibility to B. cinerea following inoculation at subjective dawn was associated with faster transcriptional reprogramming of the defence response with gating of infection‐responsive genes apparent. Direct target genes of core clock regulators were enriched among the transcription factors that responded more rapidly to infection at subjective dawn than subjective night, suggesting an influence of the clock on the defence‐signalling network. In addition, jasmonate signalling plays a crucial role in the rhythmic susceptibility of Arabidopsis to B. cinerea with the enhanced susceptibility to this pathogen at subjective night lost in a jaz6 mutant.
Like the rest of the world, African countries are reeling from the health, economic and social effects of COVID-19. The continent’s governments have responded by imposing rigorous lockdowns to limit the spread of the virus. The various lockdown measures are undermining food security, because stay at home orders have among others, threatened food production for a continent that relies heavily on agriculture as the bedrock of the economy. This article draws on quantitative data collected by the GeoPoll, and, from these data, assesses the effect of concern about the local spread and economic impact of COVID-19 on food worries. Qualitative data comprising 12 countries south of the Sahara reveal that lockdowns have created anxiety over food security as a health, economic and human rights/well-being issue. By applying a probit model, we find that concern about the local spread of COVID-19 and economic impact of the virus increases the probability of food worries. Governments have responded with various efforts to support the neediest. By evaluating the various policies rolled out we advocate for a feminist economics approach that necessitates greater use of data analytics to predict the likely impacts of intended regulatory relief responses during the recovery process and post-COVID-19.
Xylosandrus mutilatus is an Asian ambrosia beetle that has recently established in Mississippi, Texas, Alabama, and possibly Florida, USA. We investigated the fungi associated with the mycangia (specialized fungus-transporting structures) of X. mutilatus in Mississippi. Mycangia consistently yielded an Ambrosiella sp. which was subsequently found to be closely related to, but distinct from, other Ambrosiella species affiliated with Ceratocystis. This Ambrosiella is described herein as Ambrosiella beaveri sp. nov. Also isolated were Geosmithia lavendula, G. obscura, and a yeast, Candida homelintoma. It is likely Ambrosiella beaveri was introduced along with the beetle into North America.
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