Maria Fernanda Antunes da Cruz

Cytological aspects of the infection process of Pyricularia oryzae on leaves of wheat plants supplied with silicon

Blast, caused by Pyricularia oryzae, has become one of the most important diseases on wheat in Brazil. Knowing the beneficial effects of silicon (Si) in reducing rice blast severity, this study aimed to examine the cytological events occurring during the infectious process of P. oryzae on the leaves of wheat plants non-supplied (-Si) or supplied (+Si) with Si in an experiment arranged in a completely randomized design. The high foliar Si concentration for the +Si plants contributed to decrease the blast symptoms. Hyphae of P. oryzae grew successfully and formed an extensively branched mycelium in the first-invaded epidermal cell and invaded several neighboring cells on the -Si plants, while on the +Si plants fungal hyphae was restricted to the first-invaded epidermal cell. The number of brown adaxial epidermal cells and their intensity of browning were significantly lower for the +Si plants in comparison to the -Si plants. The frequency of appressorial sites showing type B reaction (infection hyphae within the epidermal cell and absence of cytoplasm granulation) was lower for the +Si plants than for the -Si plants from 72 to 96 hours after inoculation because the frequency of appressorial sites showing type A reaction (unsuccessful penetration) was kept higher in comparison to the -Si plants. This study provides novel cytological evidence of the negative effect of Si on the infection process of P. oryzae on leaves of wheat plants contributing, therefore, to reduce the blast symptoms.

Inducers of resistance and silicon on the activity of defense enzymes in the soybean-Phakopsora pachyrhizi interaction

This study aimed to determine the effect of jasmonic acid (JA), Acibenzolar-S-Methyl (ASM) and calcium silicate (a source of soluble silicon, Si), on the potentiation of soybean resistance to Asian soybean rust (ASR). The ASR severity was signifi - cantly reduced on plants sprayed with ASM or supplied with Si in comparison to plants sprayed with JA or deionized water. For chitinases (CHI), significant differences in activity between non-inoculated and inoculated plants sprayed with deionized water or with ASM occurred at 72 hours after inoculation (hai), at 24 and 72 hai when sprayed with JA and at 141 hai when supplied with Si. For β-1,3-glucanases (GLU), significant differences in activity between non-inoculated and inoculated plants sprayed with deionized water occurred at 24, 48 and 141 hai, but not until 72 for plants sprayed with ASM. For phenylalanine ammonia-lyases (PAL), significant differences in activity between non-inoculated and inoculated plants occurred only for plants sprayed with ASM at 72 and 141 hai. In conclusion, the ASR symptoms can be mild on plants sprayed with ASM or supplied with Si and that this amelioration likely involved the defense enzymes.

Silício no processo infeccioso de Phakopsora pachyrhizi em folíolos de plantas de soja

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of silicon (Si) on the infection process of Phakopsora pachyrhizi in leaflets of soybean plants grown in nutrient solution with or without Si. Observations done with light microscope and scanning electron microscope indicated that, in leaflets of plants supplied with Si, uredia were smaller and fewer in number. There were reductions of 27, 23 and 60% in the number of lesions, closed uredia and open uredia, respectively, in leaflets of plants with Si. Soybean plants supplied with Si show reduction in Asian soybean rust symptoms.

Infection process of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. phaseoli on resistant, intermediate and susceptible bean cultivars

The objective of this study was to understand the infection process of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. phaseoli (Fop) in bean cultivars classified as resistant (Manteigao Fosco 11), intermediate (VP8) and susceptible (Meia Noite). Plants of the three cultivars were inoculated at 10 days after emergence with a suspension of 1×106 conidia of Fop per mL. At 43 days after the inoculation, stem segments were observed with a scanner electronic microscope. The cultivars Manteigao Fosco 11 and VP8 presented an occluding material in the xylem vessels, which may have restricted tissue colonization by Fop. The resistance of bean cultivars to Fop seemed also to be explained by structural differences in the xylem tissue.

Silicon potentiates the activities of defense enzymes in the leaf sheaths of rice plants infected by Rhizoctonia solani

This study aimed to assess the ability of silicon (Si) to potentiate defense enzyme activities in rice leaf sheaths and thus reduce sheath blight, caused by Rhizoctonia solani, development. Rice plants of BR-Irga 409 and Labelle cultivars were grown in a hydroponic solution containing 0 (-Si) or 2 mM (+Si) Si and inoculated with R. solani. Silicon concentration in the leaf sheaths was significantly higher in the +Si plants than the -Si plants by 727% for BR-Irga 409 and 714% for Labelle. The area under relative lesion expansion progress curve was significantly lower for +Si plants than -Si plants, by 34.2% for BR-Irga 409 and 30.59% for Labelle. Increases in the activities of phenylalanine ammonia-lyases, peroxidases, polyphenoloxidases and chitinases in the leaf sheaths of plants supplied with Si, especially of those from BR-Irga 409, led to reduced progress of sheath blight lesions.

Microscopic aspects of the colonization of Pyricularia oryzae on the rachis of wheat plants supplied with silicon

Considering the importance of blast, caused by Pyricularia oryzae, to reduce wheat yield, this study investigate how silicon (Si) could reduce the wheat blast symptoms in the rachis tissues using light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Wheat plants (cv. BR 18) were grown in hydroponic culture with either 0 (–Si) or 2 mM (+Si) of Si. Blast symptoms were very well developed on the spikes of the –Si plants, which showed intense discoloration in contrast with the spikes of the +Si plants. At 72 hours after inoculation (hai), fungal hyphae extensively colonized the epidermis and the collenchyma tissue in the radial direction in the rachis of the –Si plants. In the +Si plants, fungal hyphae colonized the epidermis and the collenchyma cells to a lesser extent than in the –Si plants. At 96 hai, fungal hyphae were observed in the epidermis, vascular bundles and cortical tissue in the rachis node of the -Si plants. In the +Si plants, a phenolic-like material was detected in the parenchyma with lower fungal colonization in comparison with the –Si plants. In scanning electron microscopy, fungal hyphae were scarcely observed in the upper epidermal, collenchyma and parenchyma cells in the rachis tissue of the +Si plants, whereas in the rachis tissue of the –Si plants, fungal hyphae extensively colonized the epidermis, collenchyma, parenchyma and vascular bundles.

Reação de genótipos de soja à infecção natural por ferrugem asiática

The objective of this work was to evaluate the progress of Asian soybean rust (Phakopsora pachyrhizi) on Brazilian soybean genotypes destined for silage production, under natural conditions of infection. Rust severity over time and combining ability of five cultivars and 20 F3 soybean progenies were evaluated. The largest area under rust progress curve (AURPC) was 2,116 for progenies from the cross between cultivars UFVS 2003 x UFV16, and the smallest was 1,307 for UFV16 x Tucunare. The effects of the general and specific combining abilities for AURPC were significant between the parents and progenies, as well as for the reciprocal crosses. These results indicate that resistance to Asian soybean rust can be influenced by maternal components.

Identificação de SNPs para conteúdo de ácidos graxos em soja pela técnica HRM

The objective of this work was to identify SNPs in genes associated with fatty acid content in soybean and to implement the high resolution melting (HRM) technique for SNP genotyping. HRM primers were designed to discriminate SNP alleles in two mapping populations (RILs and F2) and followed the expected pattern of segregation. The ABI gene SNPs were significantly associated with stearic acid content (R2 = 12.14), and the ones from the FAD3B gene, with oleic (R2 = 14.69) and linolenic acid (R2 = 10.62) contents. The technique of genotyping SNPs by HRM is efficient to discriminate genotype classes.