A total of 1027 genotypes of wild Lactuca spp. (L. serriola, L. saligna, and L. aculeata), originating from Israel, Jordan, East Turkey, Armenia, Kazakhstan, China, and various other countries in Europe were screened for resistance to the lettuce downy mildew (Bremia lactucae Regel). The genotypes of L. serriola (N = 962); L. saligna (N = 43); and L. aculeata (N = 22) were tested at the seedling stage with two isolates of B. lactucae (race Bl-21 and Isr-74) isolated from cultivated lettuce in Italy and Israel, respectively. Altogether, the isolates possess virulence against 17 out of 20 Dm genes/R-factors composing the established differential set of lettuce lines/varieties. They could therefore be used for preliminary detection of the presence of new resistance factors. A total of 83 and three genotypes of L. serriola and L. saligna, respectively, were resistant to infection by each of the two isolates alone as well as to the infection by a mix of the two isolates. These genotypes probably carry previously unknown resistance, and therefore could be suitable for exploitation by breeders and further detailed research. The wild progenitor of lettuce, L. serriola, and related species harbor significant untapped genetic resources for lettuce improvement.

Parent and preflight-adult Douglas-fir beetles (Dendroctonuspseudotsugae Hopk., Coleoptera: Scolytidae) were collected from felled Douglas-fir (Pseudotsugamenziesii (Mirb.) Franco) trees. Fungi isolated from the beetles included blue-stain fungi, such as Ophiostomapseudotsugae (Rumbold) von Arx, Leptographiumterebrantis Barras & Perry, and Leptographiumabietinum (Peck) Wingfield; other ascomycetes, such as Graphium spp. and Leptographium spp.; yeasts; and unidentified basidiomycetes. All fungal cultures derived from parent beetles, preflight adults, beetle eggs, larvae, frass, and bark from galleries had yeasts present. Ophiostomapseudotsugae was isolated from 67% of the parent females, 19% of the parent males, and 100% of the preflight adults of both sexes collected from their pupal cells. Rinsing the beetles with 70% ethanol prior to fungus isolations reduced the frequency of all fungi, except yeasts. Parent and preflight adult beetles (of both sexes) were examined with a scanning electron microscope, where spores of O. pseudotsugae were visible in shallow pits on the elytra of both male and female beetles. Spores of other fungi were observed in shallow pits on elytra and in much smaller but deeper pits on the scutellum of both sexes. The results indicate a close association between Douglas-fir beetles and fungi, accompanied by anatomical differentiation on the beetles that allows the dissemination of blue-stain fungi to new Douglas-fir hosts and substrates.

Wild relatives of crop plants may serve as a promising source for screening for new disease resistance genes that can be utilized in breeding programs. Triticum dicoccoides, the wild progenitor of most cultivated wheats, was shown to harbor many resistance genes against the major diseases attacking cultivated wheat. Stripe rust is a devastating fungal disease that attacks wheat in many regions of the world. New races of Puccinia striiformis Westend. f. sp. tritici, the causative agent of stripe rust, have overcome most of the known Yr resistance genes in wheat. Therefore, there is a need to search for new resistance genes in the T. dicoccoides gene pool. A set of 120 T. dicoccoides accessions, collected from 13 populations representing different habitats in Israel and vicinity, was tested for resistance to three prevalent stripe rust races (38E134, 6E16 and 6E0). Of these 120 accessions, 14, 8 and 12% were resistant to races 38E134, 6E16 and 6E0, respectively, while 57, 2 and 4% were moderately resistant to these races, respectively. A unique resistance was found in the population of Mt Hermon where >80% of the accessions showed resistance to all races. Distribution of infection types (ITs) of race 38E134 showed a normal distribution that can fit a quantitative pattern of response, while the distributions of ITs of races 6E16 and 6E0 had excess of extreme values and therefore showing a qualitative pattern of response. anova testing the main factor effects and interaction showed significant effects of population, race and their interaction on IT. Significant positive correlations were obtained between the resistance to races 6E16 and 6E0 and humidity variables of the collections sites, while resistance to race 38E134 was positively correlated with temperature variables. These results show that the pathogen race can determine the type of resistance response, qualitative or quantitative, in the stripe rust-T. dicoccoides pathosystem. The obtained results also reveal that the distribution of resistance to different pathogen races can be affected by different climatic factors.

Desert truffles are mycorrhizal, hypogeous fungi considered a delicacy. On the basis of morphological characters, we identified three desert truffle species that grow in the same habitat in the Negev desert. These include Picoa lefebvrei (Pat.), Tirmania nivea (Desf.) Trappe, and Terfezia boudieri (Chatain), all associated with Helianthemum sessiliflorum. Their taxonomy was confirmed by PCR-RFLP. The main volatiles of fruit bodies of T. boudieri and T. nivea were 1-octen-3-ol and hexanal; however, volatiles of the latter species further included branched-chain amino acid derivatives such as 2-methylbutanal and 3-methylbutanal, phenylalanine derivatives such as benzaldehyde and benzenacetaldehyde, and methionine derivatives such as methional and dimethyl disulfide. The least aromatic truffle, P. lefebvrei, contained low levels of 1-octen-3-ol as the main volatile. Axenic mycelia cultures of T. boudieri displayed a simpler volatile profile compared to its fruit bodies. This work highlights differences in the volatile profiles of desert truffles and could hence be of interest for selecting and cultivating genotypes with the most likable aroma.