Author
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Brooks, Steven |
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Submitted to: American Phytopathological Society Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: 5/1/2006 Publication Date: 7/29/2006 Citation: Brooks, S.A. 2006. Cultivar specific response to the host-selective toxin produced by rhizoctonia solani, the causal pathogen of sheath blight disease or rice [abstract]. American Phytopathological Society Annual Meeting. Phytopathology 96:S16. Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: Sheath Blight, caused by Rhizoctonia solani, is widely regarded as one of the most important diseases of cultivated rice and germplasm improvement is essential for disease management. Genetic sources of tolerance for this disease are known, however, complex quantitative inheritance and high environmental variability make phenotypic evaluation difficult. To circumvent these confounding factors we have developed a method to evaluate the RS-toxin component of the pathosystem, to help elucidate genetic tolerance to this disease. RS-toxin is host-selective and can be purfied from cultures of the necrotrophic pathogen Rhizoctonia solani. Infiltration of the toxin into rice plants reproduces necrotic symptoms typical of Sheath Blight lesions. RS-toxin assays are non-destructive to rice plants and quickly produce reliable, replicable data. A differential response to toxin infiltration has been observed in rice cultivars, and toxin sensitivity is inherited as a dominant gene. The methods presented allow rapid and reproducible phenotypic evaluation, and the effects of toxin sensitivity on disease susceptibility are discussed. |
