No abstract

Seedlings of parasitic Cuscuta species are autotrophic but can survive only a short period of time, during which they must locate and attach to a suitable host. They have an ephemeral root-like organ considered not a "true" root by most studies. In the present study, two species with contrasting ecology were examined: Cuscuta gronovii, a North American riparian species, and Cuscuta campestris, an invasive dodder that thrives in disturbed habitats. The morphology, structure, and absorptive capability of their root-like organ were compared, their potential for colonization by two species of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) was assessed, and the effect of the AMF on seedling growth and survival was determined. The root of both species absorbed water and interacted with AMF, but the two species exhibited dissimilar growth and survival patterns depending on the colonization level of their seedlings. The extensively colonized seedlings of C. gronovii grew more and survived longer than non-colonized seedlings. In contrast, the scarce colonization of C. campestris seedlings did not increase their growth or longevity. The differential growth responses of the AMF-colonized and non-colonized Cuscuta species suggest a mycorrhizal relationship and reflect their ecology. While C. gronovii roots have retained a higher ability to interact with AMF and are likely to take advantage of fungal communities in riparian habitats, the invasive C. campestris has largely lost this ability possibly as an adaptation to disturbed ecosystems. These results indicate that dodders have a true root, even if much reduced and ephemeral, that can interact with AMF.

A comparison of the virulence, saprophytic growth, and genomes of 12 isolates of Ilyonectria mors-panacis and 4 isolates of I. robusta from Canada pathogenic to Panax quinquefolius was made. There were no significant differences in the average lesion size on detached roots between isolates of the two Ilyonectria species or isolates that originated from infected roots in first- or second-crop ginseng soils. This did not support the hypotheses that I. mors-panacis is always more virulent than I. robusta or that there is selection for higher virulence during the first crop. However, the average growth rate on potato dextrose agar for I. robusta was significantly greater than that of I. mors-panacis, and the average total genome size of I. robusta isolates was significantly smaller with a significantly higher GC content. On dendrograms based on nucleotide sequences of all predicted exons of the genomes, I. robusta isolates were distinguishable from I. mors-panacis isolates, which were similar but could be separated into types 1 and 2. The difference between type 1 and type 2 I. mors-panacis was not related to geographical origin, virulence, growth rate, or mating type. However, the division was also observed for the total predicted secretome, most notably small secreted cysteine-rich proteins and secreted proteases, indicating that type 1 and 2 isolates of I. mors-panacis may interact differently with their environment.

Panax quinquefolius shows much higher mortality to Ilyonectria mors-panacis root rot when grown in soil previously planted with ginseng than in soil not previously planted with ginseng, which is known as ginseng replant disease. Treatment of ginseng roots with methanol extracts of previous ginseng soils significantly increased root lesion sizes due to I. mors-panacis compared to roots treated with water or methanol extracts of ginseng roots or non-ginseng soils. Inoculation of water-treated roots with I. mors-panacis increased expression of a basic chitinase 1 gene (PqChi-1), neutral pathogenesis-related protein 5 gene (PqPR5) and pathogenesis-related protein 10-2 gene (PqPR10-2), which are related to jasmonic acid (JA), ethylene (ET) or necrotrophic infection, and also increased expression of an acidic β-1-3-glucanase gene (PqGlu), which is related to salicylic acid (SA). Infection did not affect expression of a cysteine protease inhibitor gene (PqCPI). Following infection, roots treated with ginseng root extract mostly showed similar expression patterns as roots treated with water, but roots treated with previous ginseng soil extract showed reduced expression of PqChi-1, PqPR5, PqPR10-2 and PqCPI, but increased expression of PqGlu. Methanol-soluble compound(s) in soil previously planted with ginseng are able to increase root lesion size, suppress JA/ET-related gene expression and trigger SA-related gene expression in ginseng roots during I. mors-panacis infection, and may be a factor contributing to ginseng replant disease.