The Effect of Synthetic Surfactants on Disease Severity of White Rust on Spinach

RNAi as a Foliar Spray: Efficiency and Challenges to Field Applications

RNA interference (RNAi) is a powerful tool that is being increasingly utilized for crop protection against viruses, fungal pathogens, and insect pests. The non-transgenic approach of spray-induced gene silencing (SIGS), which relies on spray application of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) to induce RNAi, has come to prominence due to its safety and environmental benefits in addition to its wide host range and high target specificity. However, along with promising results in recent studies, several factors limiting SIGS RNAi efficiency have been recognized in insects and plants. While sprayed dsRNA on the plant surface can produce a robust RNAi response in some chewing insects, plant uptake and systemic movement of dsRNA is required for delivery to many other target organisms. For example, pests such as sucking insects require the presence of dsRNA in vascular tissues, while many fungal pathogens are predominately located in internal plant tissues. Investigating the mechanisms by which sprayed dsRNA enters and moves through plant tissues and understanding the barriers that may hinder this process are essential for developing efficient ways to deliver dsRNA into plant systems. In this review, we assess current knowledge of the plant foliar and cellular uptake of dsRNA molecules. We will also identify major barriers to uptake, including leaf morphological features as well as environmental factors, and address methods to overcome these barriers.

Application of surfactants for controlling destructive fungus contamination in mass cultivation of Haematococcus pluvialis

Large-scale cultivation of Haematococcus pluvialis is frequently contaminated by the destructive fungus Paraphysoderma sedebokerense, which can cause huge losses in astaxanthin production. Here, we propose the use of four commercial surfactants to control P. sedebokerense contamination in H. pluvialis cultures. In laboratory experiments, sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate, sodium dodecyl sulfate and primary alcohol ethoxylate treatments showed inhibitory effects on fungal contamination. Moreover, sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate was the most promising because treatment at 7 mg L^-1 was effective against fungal infection without negatively affecting the growth or astaxanthin contents of H. pluvialis. This could be ascribed to their different cell coverings and structures. Additionally, applying sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate to open raceway ponds prevented fungal contamination, and astaxanthin production reached 1.82 g m^-2. Therefore, sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate can be used as an effective and economical control agent for commercial production of astaxanthin fromH. pluvialis.

Guided screen for synergistic three-drug combinations

Combinations of three or more drugs are routinely used in various medical fields such as clinical oncology and infectious diseases to prevent resistance or to achieve synergistic therapeutic benefits. The very large number of possible high-order drug combinations presents a formidable challenge for discovering synergistic drug combinations. Here, we establish a guided screen to discover synergistic three-drug combinations. Using traditional checkerboard and recently developed diagonal methods, we experimentally measured all pairwise interactions among eight compounds in Erwinia amylovora, the causative agent of fire blight. Showing that synergy measurements of these two methods agree, we predicted synergy/antagonism scores for all possible three-drug combinations by averaging the synergy scores of pairwise interactions. We validated these predictions by experimentally measuring 35 three-drug interactions. Therefore, our guided screen for discovering three-drug synergies is (i) experimental screen of all pairwise interactions using diagonal method, (ii) averaging pairwise scores among components to predict three-drug interaction scores, (iii) experimental testing of top predictions. In our study, this strategy resulted in a five-fold reduction in screen size to find the most synergistic three-drug combinations.

Film-Forming Polymers and Surfactants Reduce Infection and Sporulation of Phytophthora ramorum on Rhododendron

Phytophthora ramorum, cause of sudden oak death and ramorum leaf blight, can persist undetected in infested nurseries. Many conventional fungicides are effective in reducing or delaying symptom expression but some may confound visual detection of infected plants. We tested film-forming polymers (FFPs) and surfactants for their ability to reduce infection and sporulation of P. ramorum on rhododendron. FFPs (Anti-Stress, Moisturin, Nature Shield, Nu-Film, and Vapor Gard) and surfactants (Tergitol, Zonix, and an unregistered AGAE product) were screened in detached-leaf assays. Anti-Stress, Nu-Film, Zonix, and a Nu-Film-Zonix mixture were additionally tested for durability, protection against exposure to infested water, and a reduction in sporulation. FFP effectiveness was retained for at least 3 weeks of exposure to overhead irrigation and rain. Relative to controls, foliar treatments protected rhododendron branches exposed to infested water. No treatments prevented symptom development when applied postinfection but leaves treated with Anti-Stress, Zonix, and the Nu-Film-Zonix mixture produced significantly fewer sporangia relative to controls. Application of FFPs and surfactants to quarantined, potentially infected plants offers a management tool for reducing infection and sporulation but not symptom expression, thereby limiting disease spread without interfering with disease detection.