Wheat head blast (WHB), caused by the fungus Magnaporthe oryzae pathotype triticum, is a devastating disease affecting South America and South Asia. Despite 30 years of intensive effort, the 2N(V)S translocation from Aegilops ventricosa contains the only useful source of resistance to WHB effective against M. oryzae triticum isolates. The objective of this study was to identify non-2N(V)S sources of resistance to WHB among elite cultivars, breeding lines, landraces, and wild-relative accessions. Over 780 accessions were evaluated under field and greenhouse conditions in Bolivia, greenhouse conditions in Brazil, and at two biosafety level-3 laboratories in the United States. The M. oryzae triticum isolates B-71 (2012), 008 (2015), and 16MoT001 (2016) were used for controlled experiments, while isolate 008 was used for field experiments. Resistant and susceptible checks were included in all experiments. Under field conditions, susceptible spreaders were inoculated at the tillering stage to guarantee sufficient inoculum. Disease incidence and severity were evaluated as the average rating for each 1-m-row plot. Under controlled conditions, heads were inoculated after full emergence and individually rated for percentage of diseased spikelets. The diagnostic marker Ventriup-LN2 was used to test for the presence of the 2N(V)S translocation. Four non-2N(V)S spring wheat International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center breeding lines (CM22, CM49, CM52, and CM61) and four wheat wild-relatives (A. tauschii TA10142, TA1624, TA1667, and TA10140) were identified as resistant (<5% of severity) or moderately resistant (5 to <25% severity) to WHB. Experiments conducted at the seedling stage showed little correlation with disease severity at the head stage. M. oryzae triticum isolate 16MoT001 was significantly more aggressive against 2N(V)S-based varieties. The low frequency of WHB resistance and the increase in aggressiveness of newer M. oryzae triticum isolates highlight the threat that the disease poses to wheat production worldwide and the urgent need to identify and characterize new resistance genes that can be used in breeding for durably resistant varieties.

Applying phytotechnologies with energy crops on lands contaminated with trace elements provides cellulosic biomass and improves soil health. The process can be reflected in changes in the soil nematode community structure. This study assessed the nematode community composition of soil with Miscanthus grown with different agronomic practices. The research was conducted at Fort Riley, Kansas, USA, in soil with aged contamination by Pb at 1000 to 1500 mg/kg. The experimental design was a randomized complete block composed of four replications of five treatments: Control-undisturbed mixed plant cover and four conditions of Miscanthus growth, which consisted of No-till, Till (immediately before planting), Till + P, and Till + biosolids. Analysis of abundance, diversity, and community functional status indicators showed differential sensitivity of nematode taxa to agronomic treatments. Significant transformations in the nematode trophic group structure occurred under Miscanthus cultivation compared with the undisturbed mixed plant cover. Shannon and Pielou index response to agronomic treatments illustrated decreasing nematode community diversity with all Miscanthus agronomic conditions. However, agronomic practices led to increasing nematode community maturity, but those effects varied between spring and fall seasons. Increasing herbivores and omnivore-predators were the primary drivers of the observed changes in the nematode community due to planting Miscanthus. The nematode ecological structure indicators suggested that growth in Pb-contaminated land using different agronomical practices likely affects essential soil processes. More study is needed to define the effects of pre-plant tillage and amendments to soil nematode communities and Miscanthus yield over multiple growing seasons of this perennial crop.

Pratylenchus species are among the most common plant parasitic nematodes in the Great Plains Region of North America. Our goal was to survey Pratylenchus species diversity across the Great Plains region using a mitochondrial COI DNA barcode. The objectives were to (i) determine species boundaries of the common Pratylenchus species within the region, (ii) assess the host associations of the barcoded Pratylenchus specimens, and (iii) determine Pratylenchus distribution patterns throughout the region. A total of 860 soil samples, primarily associated with eight major crops, were collected from Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Wyoming. From this total, 246 soil samples provided the majority of 915 individual nematode specimens that were amplified by PCR and sequenced for a 727 to 739 bp region of COI. Maximum likelihood, neighbor-joining, and Bayesian phylogenetic trees all recognized 19 distinct and well-supported haplotype groups. The most common and widespread haplotype group, representing 53% of all specimens was P. neglectus, detected from 178 fields in 100 counties and associated with fields growing wheat, corn, dry beans, barley, alfalfa, sugar beets, potatoes, and a vineyard. The second most prevalent haplotype group was P. scribneri, representing 30% of all specimens and recovered from 104 fields in 45 counties, and most frequently associated with corn. Mixed field populations were encountered in approximately 20% of infested fields, with P. neglectus and P. scribneri most often occurring together in corn-soybean cropping systems. Less frequently encountered from the region were P. hexincisus, P. thornei, P. penetrans, P. alleni, and P. zeae. Eight additional haplotype groups, potentially new Pratylenchus species, were discovered in the survey.

Specimens of Heterodera have been collected from alfalfa fields in Kearny County, Kansas & Carbon County, Montana. DNA barcoding with the COI mitochondrial gene indicate that the species is not Heterodera glycines, soybean cyst nematode, H. schachtii, sugar beet cyst nematode, or H. trifolii, clover cyst nematode. Maximum likelihood phylogenetic trees show that the alfalfa specimens form a sister clade most closely related to H. glycines, with a 4.7% mean pairwise sequence divergence across the 862 nucleotides of the COI marker. Morphological analyses of juveniles and cysts conform to the measurements of H. medicaginis, the alfalfa cyst nematode originally described from the USSR in 1971. Initial host testing demonstrated that the nematode reproduced on alfalfa, but not on soybeans, tomato, or corn. Collectively, the evidence suggests that this finding represents the first record of H. medicaginis in North America. Definitive confirmation of this diagnosis would require COI sequence of eastern European isolates of this species.Specimens of Heterodera have been collected from alfalfa fields in Kearny County, Kansas & Carbon County, Montana. DNA barcoding with the COI mitochondrial gene indicate that the species is not Heterodera glycines, soybean cyst nematode, H. schachtii, sugar beet cyst nematode, or H. trifolii, clover cyst nematode. Maximum likelihood phylogenetic trees show that the alfalfa specimens form a sister clade most closely related to H. glycines, with a 4.7% mean pairwise sequence divergence across the 862 nucleotides of the COI marker. Morphological analyses of juveniles and cysts conform to the measurements of H. medicaginis, the alfalfa cyst nematode originally described from the USSR in 1971. Initial host testing demonstrated that the nematode reproduced on alfalfa, but not on soybeans, tomato, or corn. Collectively, the evidence suggests that this finding represents the first record of H. medicaginis in North America. Definitive confirmation of this diagnosis would require COI sequence of eastern European isolates of this species.

To study the cytoplasmic effects on heat tolerance, the nuclear genomes of ten alloplasmic lines were substituted by four or five backcrosses using ‘Karl 92’, ‘Ventnor’, ‘U1275’ and ‘Jagger’ as the recurrent parent. During the final backcross, reciprocal crosses were made to develop cytoplasmic near isogenic lines. Sixty-eight BC5F1/BC4F1 lines and their parents were evaluated in growth chambers for post anthesis heat tolerance. Plants were grown in the greenhouse and subjected to heat stress in growth chambers 10 days after anthesis for 14 days. Growth chambers were maintained at 35/30 °C for heat stress treatment. To create an optimum temperature treatment, the greenhouse was maintained at 20/15 °C. Effects of high temperature on chlorophyll content and Fv/Fm (photosystem II measuring parameter) were significantly affected by different cytoplasms. Seven cytoplasms showed improved tolerance to heat with at least one recurrent parent. These results indicate that cytoplasmic variations can contribute to an increase in chlorophyll content and quantum efficiency of photosystem II of wheat during heat stress, and also highlight the importance of the interaction between cytoplasmic and nuclear genes. The role of cytoplasm may be considered in wheat breeding programs aimed at improving heat tolerance, but the nature of the interaction between cytoplasm and nuclear gene content warrants further investigation.

The effect of fertilizer as an amendment in the bioremediation of a terrestrial crude oil spill has been investigated in terms of the subsequent recovery of the soil ecosystem following bioremediation. Two different spills in the same area with different initial hydrocarbon concentrations (33,500 mg kg-1 and 4,800 mg kg-1) were compared. At the higher initial hydrocarbon concentration fertilizer addition increased the rate of bioremediation (first-order rate constant of 0.0033 days-1 with fertilizer amendment vs. 0.0020 days-1 without) and resulted in more rapid recovery of soil bacteria (numbers, community structure, diversity) and nematodes (trophic diversity and community structure). The effect of the fertilizer amendment was more significant at the higher initial concentration of crude oil hydrocarbons, presumably due to greater depletion of soil nutrient pools in the absence of the amendment. A second objective of this work was to identify sensitive and cost-effective ecological indicators useful for monitoring the recovery of soil ecosystems impacted by crude oil. Ecological indicators used included: microbial numbers, community structure, and activity as revealed by biomarker analysis (phospholipid fatty acids); nitrogen availability; nematode numbers and community structure (trophic groups and colonizer-persister classes); and ultimately, plant cover and diversity. All ecological indicators investigated were sensitive to disturbances in the soil food web in a hydrocarbon-impacted site. However, nematode community structure analysis offered the greatest sensitivity coupled with low cost and readily available sources for the analysis.

For almost a decade the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in Oklahoma has been used as a field laboratory for the investigation of aspects of the remediation and restoration of oil and brine spills. Objectives of this work have included: (1) simplification of the remediation process and lowering the cost of remediation; (2) the development of methods to accelerate or jump-start the restoration process; and (3) determining appropriate metrics for assessing the status of soil ecosystem recovery. This research has resulted in a number of lessons learned that will be presented here which can be exported to other exploration and production sites, especially sites located in sensitive ecosystems. Key observations have included the role of a fertilizer amendment in linking the remediation and restoration process at an oil-impacted site, the use of nematodes as ecological indicators in the restoration of oil- and brine-impacted sites, and the development of a two-stage process for remediation of brine impacted sites that does not include significant use of gypsum.

William Roberto Dall Acqua, Cristina Andreescu, Ginny Antony, Arinder Arora, Douglas Baker, Romain Berruyer, Prashanth Boddhireddy, Leslie R. Campbell, Jianfu Chen, Satya Chintamanani, Melinda Dalby, John Diaz-Montano, Julie Essig, Zhigang Guo, Mehdi Kabbage, Prasanna Kankanala, Chitvan Khajuria, Jung-Hoon Lee, Xinyan Li, Zhiwu Li, Gloria Mosquera, Navdeep Mutti, Nandi Nagaraj, Stephane Poussier, Andrea Ray-Chandler, Alex Seilaniantz, Akiko Sugio, Guadalupe Valdovinos, Melissa Wohler, Yanmei Xiao, Zhiyong Zhang

We examined the efficacy of the insecticide/nematicide abamectin to prevent pine wilt disease caused by the pinewood nematode (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus) in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris). Pinewood nematode movement was inhibited (>80% death or paralysis) following a 48 hr exposure to abamectin concentrations as low as 0.1 μL a.i. per L (100 ppb). A commercial formulation of abamectin (Avid™) was injected into Scots pine using a pressurized systemic trunk injection tube (STIT) technique. Fifteen to 30 mL (0.45 to 0.90 fl oz) of Avid per STIT could be injected into the trees in less than 1 hr. Trees were successfully injected throughout February, March, and April at temperatures above 4.4°C (40°F). Survival after 1 year of 10 cm diameter (4 in) at breast height (dbh) Scots pines injected with Avid and subsequently inoculated with pinewood nematode was higher (75%) than in pines injected with water (42%). Similarly, survival after 3 years of large Scots pines (30 to 60 cm [12 to 24 in] dbh)] injected with Avid and exposed to a natural epidemic of pine wilt was higher (96%) than in noninjected pines (33%) or those injected with water (71%). These results indicate that preventive injections of Scots pine with Avid are effective in protecting against pine wilt disease.