No abstract

Effects of methyl jasmonate (JA-Me) on anthocyanin accumulation, ethylene production, and CO 2 evolution in uncooled and cooled tulips (Tulipa gesneriana L. cvs. Apeldoorn and Gudoshnik) were studied. JA-Me stimulated anthocyanin accumulation in stems and leaves from uncooled and cooled bulbs of both cultivars. The highest level of anthocyanin accumulation was observed in leaves from cooled bulbs treated with 200 L/liter JA-Me. In sprouting bulbs treated with 100 L/liter and higher concentrations of JA-Me, the ethylene production began to increase at 3 days after treatment, being extremely greater in uncooled bulbs than in cooled ones. JA-Me also stimulated CO 2 evolution in both cultivars, depending on its concentrations. CO 2 evolution in sprouting bulbs was not affected by cooling treatment. These results suggest that anthocyanin accumulation by JA-Me in tulip leaves is not related to ethylene production stimulated by JA-Me.

An important issue related to the epidemiology of fire blight, a devastating disease of apples and pears, is how its causal agent, the bacterium Erwinia amylovora, survives and disseminates in the environment. Almost no information is available on the possibility of this pathogen overwintering as a necrotroph. In this study, bacterial survival in dead apple and tobacco (a non-host) leaf tissues was addressed. In necrotized leaves collected 5, 6, 7 and 8 months following shoot inoculation of apple trees, viable E. amylovora cells were present in over 50% of samples from the midrib and in over 10% of samples from lateral veins, but were never found in parenchyma. Using a PCR-based method, pathogen DNA was detected in more than 50% of samples that were found to be free of viable cells by conventional plating out. However, PCR analysis was insufficient to distinguish between the DNA of viable and dead bacteria. Sugars appropriate for bacterial growth were found in dead apple leaves. In spot-inoculated attached apple and tobacco leaves, a remarkable increase in the bacterial population was observed in lesions that developed as a hypersensitive response (HR). As in other necrotrophic interactions, bacterial proliferation was associated with massive hydrogen peroxide production and progression toward plant cell death. The results indicate that E. amylovora has an ability to survive as a semi-necrotroph or necrotroph, which allows for overwintering in dead apple leaves.

Effects of auxin polar transport inhibitors, 2,3,5-triio-dobenzoic acid (TIBA), 1-<em>N</em>-naphthylphthalamic acid (NPA) and methyl 2-chloro-9-hydroxyfluorene-9-carboxylate (morphactin IT 3456), as a lanolin paste, on root formation in cuttings of some species of Crassulaceae, such as <em>Bryophyllum daigremontianum, B. calycinum, Kalanchoe blossfeldiana </em>and <em>K. tubiflora</em>, were studied. Cuttings of these plants were easily rooted in water without any treatment. TIBA and morphactin IT 3456 completely inhibited root formation in the cuttings of these plants but NPA did not when these inhibitors were applied around the stem below the leaves. When TIBA and morphactin were applied around the stem near the top, but leaves were present below the treatment, the root formation was observed in <em>B. calycinum </em>and <em>K. blossfeldiana </em>but in a smaller degree than in control cuttings. These results strongly suggest that endogenous auxin is required for root formation in cuttings of Crassulaceae plants. The differential mode of action of NPA is discussed together with its effect on auxin polar transport.