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Publications

NIBIOs employees contribute to several hundred scientific articles and research reports every year. You can browse or search in our collection which contains references and links to these publications as well as other research and dissemination activities. The collection is continously updated with new and historical material.

2018

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Abstract

Viral diseases (a biotic stress) and salinity (an abiotic stress) have been/are the two major constraints for sustainable development of the world’s agricultural production including potato. Crops grown in field are often exposed simultaneously to abiotic and biotic stress, and responses of plants to co-stress by two or more factors may differ from those to each of the multiple stresses. Using in vitro cultures, we demonstrated that virus infection (singly and in combination) or salt, and co-stress by virus infection (singly and in combination) and salt significantly reduced growth and microtuber production, and caused severely oxidative cell damage determined by levels of O2·− and methane dicarboxylic aldehyde, and H2O2 localization in situ. Alterations in physiological metabolism by increasing total soluble sugar and free proline, and by decreasing chlorophyll content are responses of potato plantlets to virus infection (singly and in combination) or salt stress and co-stress by virus infection (singly and in combination) and salt. Oxidative cell damage and reduced chlorophyll content caused by virus and/or salt are believed to be responsible for the reduced growth, eventually resulting in decreased tuber yield. Results reported here would help us to better understand possible mechanism of reduced tuber yield by virus infection and/or salt stress.

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Abstract

Availability of and easy access to diverse plant viruses and viroids is a prerequisite in applied and basic studies related to viruses and viroids. Long-term preservation of viruses and viroids is difficult. A protocol was described for long-term preservation of potato leafroll virus (PLRV), potato virus S (PVS), and potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTVd) in cryopreserved shoot tips of potato cv. Zihuabai. Shoot regrowth levels following cryopreservation were higher in 1.5 mm-shoot tips (58–60%) than in 0.5-mm-ones (30–38%). All shoots recovered from 0.5-mm-shoot tips were PVS- and PSTVd-preserved, but none of them were PLRVpreserved. Cryopreservation of 1.5-mm-shoot tips resulted in 35% and 100% of PLRV- and PVS- and PSTVd-preserved shoots. Studies on cell survival patterns and virus localization provided explanations to the varying PLRV-preservation frequencies produced by cryopreservation of the two sizes of shoot tips. Although micropropagation efficiencies were low after 12 weeks of subculture following cryopreservation, similar efficiencies were obtained after 16 weeks of subculture in pathogen-preserved shoots recovered from cryopreservation, compared with the diseased in vitro stock shoots (the control). Pathogen concentrations in the three pathogens-preserved shoots analyzed by qRT-PCR were similar to those in micropropagated shoots. The three pathogens cryopreserved in shoot tips were readily transmitted by grafting and mechanical inoculation to potato plants. PLRV, PVS, and PSTVd represent a diverse range of plant viruses and viroid in terms of taxonomy and infectious ability. Therefore, shoot tip cryopreservation opens a new avenue for long-term preservation of the virus and viroid.

Abstract

Increasing abundance of Juncus effusus (soft rush) and Juncus conglomeratus (compact rush) in pastures and meadows in western Norway has caused reductions in forage yield and quality in recent decades. Understanding plant development and regrowth following cutting is essential in devising cost-effective means to control rushes. In a field experiment in western Norway, we investigated development of above- and below-ground fractions of rush from seedlings to three-year-old plants, including the impact on vigour of disturbing growth by different cutting frequencies during the period 2009–2012. Each year, the plants were exposed to one or two annual cuts or left untreated and five destructive samplings were performed from March to early December. Juncus effusus showed significantly more vigorous growth than Juncus conglomeratus in the last two years of the study period. The above-ground:below-ground biomass ratio of both species increased mainly in spring and early summer and was reduced in late summer and autumn. Removal of aerial shoots also reduced the below-ground fraction of both species. One annual cut in July effectively reduced biomass production in both species by 30–82%, which was only a slightly smaller reduction than with two annual cuts, in June and August. Mechanical control measures such as cutting can thus effectively reduce rush vigour when performed late in the growing season.

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Abstract

The oomycete Phytophthora infestans, the cause of late blight, is one of the most important potato pathogens. During infection, it secretes effector proteins that manipulate host cell function, thus contributing to pathogenicity. This study examines sequence differentiation of two P. infestans effectors from 91 isolates collected in Poland and Norway and five reference isolates. A gene encoding the Avr-vnt1 effector, recognized by the potato Rpi-phu1 resistance gene product, is conserved. In contrast, the second effector, AvrSmira1 recognized by Rpi-Smira1, is highly diverse. Both effectors contain positively selected amino acids. A majority of the polymorphisms and all selected sites are located in the effector C-terminal region, which is responsible for their function inside host cells. Hence it is concluded that they are associated with a response to diversified target protein or recognition avoidance. Diversification of the AvrSmira1 effector sequences, which existed prior to the large-scale cultivation of plants containing the Rpi-Smira1 gene, may reduce the predicted durability of resistance provided by this gene. Although no isolates virulent to plants with the Rpi-phu1 gene were found, the corresponding Avr-vnt1 effector has undergone selection, providing evidence for an ongoing ‘arms race’ between the host and pathogen. Both genes remain valuable components for resistance gene pyramiding.