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Fusarium, one of the main fungal pathogens, can infect field crops and cause great economic loss. This paper concerns a research on the antifungal activity of camphor. In our study, an assessment was made on the antifungal activity of camphor against four common phytopathogens: Fusarium oxysporum G5, F. solani G9, F. verticillioide, and F. graminearum. The method adopted was mycelial growth inhibition. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of camphor against the four tested fungi were 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, and 2.0 mg/mL, and the half maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC50) were 2.0, 2.0, 2.0, and 1.0 mg/mL, respectively. The paper proper also involves an investigation the, fungicidal mechanisms via cell membrane permeability, proteins and nucleic acids leakage and scanning electron microscopy. The results of preliminary antifungal mechanism revealed that camphor can cause cytomembrane destruction, enhancing the permeability of cytomembrane and releasing intracellular macromolecules, such as nucleic acids and proteins. Supposedly, the results suggested that the cytomembrane may be the target of camphor. In addition, these outcomes indicated that camphor can exhibit pronounced fungicidal activities against the four tested fungi and could be a promising alternative for the control of phytopathogenic Fusarium.

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Transgenic photo-thermo sensitive genic male sterility Oryza sativa L. cv. “261S” plants with the anti-Waxy gene were successfully obtained using an Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated co-transformation method. Marker-free homozygous transgenic lines with the anti-Waxy gene were obtained. The setting seed rates of the transgenic plants via self-pollination or via crossing with the restorer line WX99075 rice and the 1000-grain weight of the transgenic plants and the F2 hybrid seeds obtained by crossing the transgenic or non-transgenic plants with the restorer line WX99075 rice, and the number of panicles of the transgenic plants and yields of the F2 hybrid rice, were analysed. Quality indexes of the transgenic plants and of the F2 hybrid seeds were analysed. Our researches results indicate that hybrid female and hybrid descendant edibility could be improved via the introduction of the anti-Waxy gene, but the grain yields of the reserve seeds via self-pollination of the transgenic photo-thermo sensitive genic sterile lines and of the hybrid rice were not affected.