By identifying the DNA in spores floating through the air, it’s hoped a new technology can help farmers to tackle crop diseases more effectively while using fewer chemicals.
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High in the arid White Mountains of eastern California stand the gnarled, twisted trunks of ancient bristlecone pines. These slow-growing trees quietly weather the ages; at more than 4,000 years old, some are more ancient than the Great Pyramid of Giza.Now, researchers present a novel approach that uses X-ray computed tomography (CT) to capture the wood density of bristlecone tree rings and generate annual resolution reconstructions of ancient temperatures.
The first continent-wide mapping study of plant life across Antarctica reveals growth in previously uncharted areas and is set to inform conservation measures across the region.
In an examination of the genetic material found in historic potato leaves, North Carolina State University researchers reveal more about the tit-for-tat evolutionary changes occurring in both potato plants and the pathogen that caused the 1840s Irish potato famine.
The study used a targeted enrichment sequencing approach to simultaneously examine both the plant’s resistance genes and the pathogen’s effector genes – genes that help it infect hosts – in a first-of-its-kind analysis.
“We use small pieces of historic leaves with the pathogen and other bacteria on them; the DNA is fragmented more than a normal tissue sample,” said Allison Coomber, an NC State former graduate student researcher and lead author of a paper in Nature Communications that describes the study. “We use small 80 base-pair chunks like a magnet to fish out similar pieces in this soup of DNA. These magnets are used to find resistance genes from the host and effector genes from the pathogen.”
“This is a first for looking at both potato and pathogen changes at the same time; usually researchers look at one or the other,” says Jean Ristaino, William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor of Plant Pathology at North Carolina State University and corresponding author of the paper. “The dual enrichment strategy employed here allowed us to capture targeted regions of genomes of both sides of the host-pathogen relationship, even when host and pathogen were present in unequal amounts. We couldn’t have done this work 15 years ago because the genomes weren’t sequenced.”
The study’s results show that the pathogen, Phytophthora infestans, is very adept at fighting off potato late blight disease resistance. For example, the study shows that the FAM-1 strain of the pathogen had the ability to defeat the resistance provided by the plant’s R1 resistance gene – even before plant breeders deployed it in potato.
“The pathogen would have been able to resist this R1 resistance gene even if it had been deployed years earlier, probably because it was exposed to a potato with that resistance gene in the wild,” Coomber said.
The study also shows that many of the pathogen’s effector genes have remained stable, although different mutations have occurred to increase its infection prowess as plant breeders attempted to breed resistance – specifically after 1937 when more structured potato breeding programs commenced in the United States and other parts of the globe.
The study also shows that the pathogen added a set of chromosomes between 1845 and 1954, the period of time in which the study’s plant samples were collected.
“We show in this work that after 100 years of human intervention, there are some genes that haven’t changed much in the pathogen,” Coomber said. “They are very stable potentially because they haven’t been selected on, or because they are really important to the pathogen. Targeting those genes would make it really hard for the pathogen to evolve an opposing response.”
“It’s hard to do effective plant breeding when we don’t know enough about the pathogen. Now that we know what effectors have changed over time, breeders may be able use resistance genes that are more stable or pyramid multiple resistance genes from different wild hosts,” Ristaino said.
“That’s where I see the future for this type of study – applying it to slow changes in pathogen virulence or other traits such as fungicide resistance.”
Amanda C. Saville, a research and laboratory specialist in Ristaino’s lab, also co-authored the paper. Funding was provided by a seed grant from the Triangle Center for Evolutionary Medicine, by National Science Foundation AgBioFews Training Grant Number 2018-1966 and by Grip4PSI Grant Number 557299.
Read the paper: Nature Communications
Article source: North Carolina State University
Author: Mick Kulikowski
Image: A historic potato plant specimen collected by David Moore from the National Botanic Garden in Glasnevin, Ireland showing late-blight disease. Credit: Jean Ristaino, NC State University.
International scientists identified a genetic “off switch” in legumes that stops nitrogen fixation when soil nitrate levels are high. Removing this switch ensures continuous nitrogen fixation, boosting crop growth and reducing the need for synthetic fertilizers, benefiting agriculture and the environment.
Researchers have significantly improved maize transformation efficiency using ternary vectors and morphogenic regulators. This advancement enhances gene-editing research and potential agricultural applications by overcoming a major bottleneck in maize transformation frequency.
Researchers have uncovered a novel salt tolerance mechanism in plants. They discovered that the chloride channel protein AtCLCf moves to the plasma membrane to remove excess chloride ions under salt stress, enhancing salinity tolerance. This finding could help improve crop resilience to soil salinity.
A recent survey of over 4,500 Americans reveals that increased knowledge about gene editing correlates with greater acceptance of its safety for agricultural and medical applications. The study emphasizes the need for effective science communication to shift public opinion, highlighting a general preference for gene editing over genetic modification.
Researchers have created an improved family tree for Solanum plants, revealing that fruit color and size evolved together, challenging previous theories that fruit-eating animals were the primary drivers. This study offers insights for breeding better crops.
Researchers discovered forests with cold-air pooling, where colder air settles in valleys, reversing typical temperature patterns. These areas could protect cold-adapted species from climate change, serving as refuges and aiding conservation efforts. The study emphasizes the importance of such forests for species adaptation and carbon storage.
