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Phytophthora ramorum survived in potting media infested with sporangia or chlamydospores, allowing the pathogen to remain undetected while disseminated geographically. Chlamydospores or oospores of P. ramorum , Pythium irregulare, Thielaviopsis basicola , and Cylindrocladium scoparium produced in vermiculite culture were used to infest potting media. Infested media in plastic plug flats were treated with aerated steam mixtures from 45 to 70 °C for 30 min. In a second experiment, infested media were fumigated in polyethylene bags with a concentration series of metam sodium ranging from 0.25 to 1.0 mL·L −1 . Survival of the pathogens was determined by selective baiting or direct plating the infested media on PARP selective medium. Assays indicated that all pathogens in the infested potting media were killed by aerated steam heat treatments of 50 °C or higher. Metam sodium concentrations of 1.0 mL·L −1 of medium or greater also eradicated all pathogens from the potting medium and soil. These results show that aerated steam treatment or fumigation with metam sodium can effectively sanitize soil-less potting media infested with P. ramorum or other soilborne pathogens, as well as P. ramorum -infested soil beneath infected plant containers. In addition, steam treatments to 70 °C did not melt plastic plug trays.

Formation and function of arbuscular mycorrhizae (AM) are affected by levels of fertility in soil or fertilizers applied to soilless container mixes. For AM fungi, phosphorus (P) is the main element influencing colonization of host plant roots. The question addressed in this study was whether inorganic or organic fertilizers were more compatible with the formation and function of AM. Several controlled-release inorganic (CRI) fertilizers were compared with several organic (OR) fertilizers at different rates (1/2x to 4x the recommended rate) to determine (1) threshold levels of tolerance by the AM fungus Glomus intraradices in relation to root colonization, and (2) growth responses of 'Guardsman' bunching onion (Allium cepa) and 'Orange Cupido' miniature rose (Rosa spp.) plants grown in a soilless potting mix or sandy loam soil. AM colonization in soil was greatly decreased or totally inhibited by CRI fertilizers with high P content at the 2x rate or greater, whereas colonization was decreased but never eliminated by low-P OR fertilizers at the 3x rate or greater. Shoot growth of onions was similar with or without AM inoculation when fertilized with CRI, but in general was only enhanced by OR fertilizers if inoculated with AM fungi, compared to the noninoculated controls. Shoot and root growth of onions were significantly increased by AM inoculation when OR fertilizers were used at the 1x rate. In contrast, root growth was not increased by the combination of CRI fertilizers and AM fungal inoculation. Inoculation of miniature roses grown in sandy loam amended with 25% peat and perlite and fertilized with all the CRI or OR fertilizers resulted in high AM colonization, but without much AM-induced growth increase except where OR fertilizers or CRI fertilizers with low P were used. In a soilless potting mix, growth of miniature roses was less with OR fertilizers at the rates used than CRI fertilizers, but mycorrhiza formation was greater in the former unless P was low in the latter. These results indicate that release of nutrients from organic fertilizers, as a result of microbial activity, favors AM establishment and function more than most inorganic fertilizers unless P levels of the latter are low.

Many nursery crops are susceptible to root and foliage diseases caused by numerous species of Phytophthora . Phytophthora ramorum causes sudden oak death of trees and ramorum leaf blight and shoot dieback on numerous nursery plants, including rhododendron ( Rhododendron spp.), viburnum ( Viburnum spp.), pieris ( Pieris spp.), and camellia ( Camellia spp.) in Europe, the United States, and British Columbia, Canada. We sought to evaluate relative susceptibility of a selection of ornamental nursery crops by inoculating detached leaves with several species of Phytophthora known to infect rhododendrons, and to compare the relative virulence on those species to isolates of P. ramorum . The results indicated that many plants were susceptible under these experimental conditions, while others were not. On a given host, symptoms caused by all species of Phytophthora were identical except for differences in pathogen virulence. Plant species were identical except for differences in pathogen virulence. Plant species within genera or cultivars within species varied in susceptibility to isolates of P. ramorum and other species of Phytophthora . Phytophthora ramorum , P. citricola , P. citrophthora , and P. nicotianae were the most virulent pathogens on most of the host plants inoculated. Some plants were susceptible to several species of Phytophthora , while others were susceptible only to P. ramorum . Inoculation of detached leaves of `Nova Zembla' rhododendron, lilac ( Syringa vulgaris ), or doublefile viburnum ( Viburnum plicatum var. tomentosum ) under controlled conditions with different species of Phytophthora or isolates of P. ramorum (both mating types) indicated significant relative differences in species or isolate virulence.

Phytophthora ramorum, while thought to be primarily an aboveground pathogen, can be introduced into soilless potting media in the nursery industry as sporangia or chlamydospores and remain undetected while disseminated geographically. Inoculum of this pathogen, both North American (A-2 mating type) and European (A-1 mating type) isolates, was used to infest potting media components or soil, using either sporangia, chlamydospores produced in vermiculite culture, or dry infected 'Nova Zembla' rhododendron (Rhododendron sp.) leaf pieces. Vermiculite chlamydospore/oospore inoculum of P. citricola, P. cactorum, and P. citrophthora were included for comparison. Survival was determined monthly by leaf disc baiting or direct plating on selective medium. Results indicated that P. ramorum survived in most media components or soil for up to 6 months when introduced as sporangia, or up to 12 months as chlamydospores. However, it was not detected at all from infected rhododendron leaf pieces by either detection method. These results show that P. ramorum can survive in potting media if introduced as sporangia or chlamydospores, and accordingly the pathogen could be disseminated geographically without being detected visually.

Resonant power absorption is an important phenomenon during microwave heating. The resonances that occur when plane electromagnetic waves are incident on infinitely long cylinders and slabs are investigated as a function of sample dimensions. For cylinders two kinds of incident waves are studied: TMz when the electric field is oriented along the axis of the cylinder and TEz when the magnetic field is oriented along the axis. At a resonant condition the overage power absorbed by the sample is a local maximum. Due to attenuation within the sample the resonances decrease in intensity as the sample size increases. Using the dielectric properties of water, resonances are found to be a function of the ratio of the sample dimension to the wavelength of radiation, λs, in the sample. For slabs of thickness L and integer values of n, resonances occurred at L/λs = 0.5n; for cylinders of diameter D, resonances occurred at D/λs = 0.5n – 0.257. The generality of these relations to predict resonances in other food samples are shown using existing dielectric data. Resonances in cylinders for both polarizations occurred at similar radii. However, the radius at which the first resonance occurred for the TMz case was absent in the TEz case.

Since the first edition of this highly successful book the field saw many great developments both in experimental and theoretical studies of electrical properties of non-crystalline solids. It became necessary to rewrite nearly the whole book, while the aims of the second edition remained the same: to set out the theoretical concepts, to test them by comparison with experiment for a wide variety of phenomena, and to apply them to non-crystalline materials. Sir Nevill Mott shared the 1977 Nobel Prize for Physics, awarded for his research work in this field. The reissue of this book as part of the Oxford Classic Texts in the Physical Sciences is a reprint of the second edition which was published in 1979.

Transcription regulation often activates quiescent genes in a tissue-specific or developmental manner. Activator proteins bind to a DNA sequence upstream of the promoter, interact with the general transcription proteins via bridging proteins, and elevate transcription levels. One group of bridging proteins, the coactivators, have been characterized in animals as polypeptides tightly associated with the general transcription factor TATA-binding protein (TBP). They are referred to as TAFs (TBP-associated factors), and together with TBP comprise general transcription factor IID. We provide biochemical evidence that wheat IID contains coactivators. An activator protein with an acidic activation domain facilitates the binding of IID to the template, and potentiates activated in vitro transcription with wheat IID, but not with wheat TBP. Using antibodies to wheat TBP, we demonstrate that wheat IID also contains TAFs. This is the first demonstration that a plant contains coactivators and TAFs.