Abstract Interspecific crosses between the more than 520 Passiflora species may or may not be compatible. The sequences ITS, matK, psbA-trnH, rbcL and trnL-F were used to confirm species identity and to estimate the genetic distances among 48 Passiflora accessions of a germplasm bank. Twenty species were used for crosses within and between distinct Passiflora subgenera. The phylogenetic resolution based on ITS data was superior to that of any single chloroplast marker, recommending it as a DNA barcode for this genus. However, the tree topology based on Bayesian phylogenetic analysis using the combination of the four chloroplast markers possessed greater support for subclades within the subgenus Passiflora, which contains more species of interest for breeders. We could not identify a clear cutoff value of pairwise Kimura two-parameter (K2P) distances to predict success or failure of crosses. Rather, the clustering of species pairs together within the same or closely related phylogenetic subclades predicted the probability of wide cross compatibility more reliably.

Biological control of seed-borne pathogens has shown to enhance germination and physiological quality of seeds. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the in vitro antagonistic effect of five Trichoderma harzianum isolates (CEN287, CEN288, CEN289, CEN290, and CEN316) against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. phaseoli (Foxy) and test its potential use in seed treatment. Initially, pathogen and antagonists were grown in paired cultures at 25ºC, from which samples were assessed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Then, clean or Foxy-infected seeds were treated with conidial suspension of the antagonists. Percent of Foxy-infected seeds and normal seedlings were evaluated at seven and nine days of incubation, respectively. All but one Trichoderma isolate (CEN290) inhibited Foxy mycelial growth. SEM analysis revealed that only one Trichoderma isolate (CEN287) showed parasitic interaction with Foxy. Two isolates (CEN287 and CEN316) significantly reduced the Foxy incidence and enhanced seed germination, though less effective than the fungicide mixture (carboxin + thiram). A principal component analysis indicated the importance of volatile metabolites in reducing Foxy incidence on common bean seeds. CEN287 Trichoderma harzianum isolate formed a single group due to its increase in germination rate of Foxyinfected seeds.

Seeds of a tropical tree species from Brazil, Astronium fraxinifolium, or zebrawood, were germinated, for the first time in microgravity, aboard the International Space Station for nine days. Following three days of subsequent growth under normal terrestrial gravitational conditions, greater root length and numbers of secondary roots was observed in the microgravity-treated seedlings compared to terrestrially germinated controls. Suppression subtractive hybridization of cDNA and EST analysis were used to detect differential gene expression in the microgravity-treated seedlings in comparison to those initially grown in normal gravity (forward subtraction). Despite their return to, and growth in normal gravity, the subtracted library derived from microgravity-treated seedlings was enriched in known microgravity stress-related ESTs, corresponding to large and small heat shock proteins, 14-3-3-like protein, polyubiquitin, and proteins involved in glutathione metabolism. In contrast, the reverse-subtracted library contained a comparatively greater variety of general metabolism-related ESTs, but was also enriched for peroxidase, possibly indicating the suppression of this protein in the microgravity-treated seedlings. Following continued growth for 30 days, higher concentrations of total chlorophyll were detected in the microgravity-exposed seedlings.

A phylogenetic analysis of the 5.8S rDNA and internal transcribed spacer (ITS1 and ITS2) sequences from some entomogenous Paecilomyces species supports the polyphyly of the genus and showed the existence of cryptic species. In the Eurotiales, anamorphs Paecilomyces variotii and Paecilomyces leycettanus were related to the teleomorphs Talaromyces and Thermoascus. In the Hypocreales, three major ITS subgroups were found, one of which included Paecilomyces viridis, Paecilomyces penicillatus, Paecilomyces carneus and isolates identified as Paecilomyces lilacinus and Paecilomyces marquandii. However, the majority of the P. lilacinus and P. marquandii isolates formed a distinct and distantly related subgroup, while the other major subgroup contained Paecilomyces farinosus, Paecilomyces amoeneroseus, Paecilomyces fumosoroseus and Paecilomyces tenuipes.

Os fungos entomopatogênicos Paecilomyces fumosoroseus e P. lilacinus foram transformados com o plasmídio pBT6, contendo o gene de <FONT FACE="Symbol">b</font>-tubulina modificado, isolado do fungo Neurospora crassa, o qual confere resistência ao fungicida benomil. Transformantes resistentes ao benomil, obtidos da P. lilacinus, apresentaram tolerância a concentrações superiores a 30 <FONT FACE="Symbol">m</font>g/ml, enquanto transformantes da P. fumosoroseus apresentaram tolerância a 20 <FONT FACE="Symbol">m</font>g/ml. Após 5 passagens seriadas dos transformantes em meio contendo benomil e 5 passagens seriadas em meio não seletivo, 100% dos transformantes da P. lilacinus apresentaram estabilidade mitótica, através do teste de germinação de conídios. Em contraste, somente 4 dos 9 transformantes obtidos para P. fumosoroseus foram mitoticamente estáveis. Análise de Southern blot dos DNA genômicos de ambas as espécies sugere que o mecanismo de transformação foi por substituição alélica do gene de <FONT FACE="Symbol">b</font>-tubulina, para todos os transformantes obtidos. As seqüências não homólogas do vetor não foram detectadas nos genomas dos transformantes.

The entomopathogenic fungi Paecilomyces fumosoroseus and P. lilacinus have been transformed to resistance to the fungicide benomyl by a polyethylene glycol (PEG)-mediated procedure using a mutant <FONT FACE="Symbol">b</font>-tubulin gene from Neurospora crassa carried on plasmid pBT6. Benomyl-resistant transformants of P. lilacinus were obtained that could tolerate greater than 30 µg/ml benomyl and P. fumosoroseus transformants were obtained that could tolerate 20 µg/ml benomyl. Following 5 serial passages of transformants on benomyl-containing media and 5 serial passages on non-selective media, 100% of P. lilacinus transformants were found to be mitotically stable by a conidial germination test. In contrast, only 4 out of 9 transformants of P. fumosoroseus were mitotically stable. Southern blot analysis of genomic DNA from both species suggested that the mechanism of transformation in all transformants was by gene replacement of the <FONT FACE="Symbol">b</font>-tubulin allele. Non-homologous vector sequences were not detectable in the genomes of transformants.