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Diagnosis and characterization of the ribosomal DNA-ITS of potato rot nematode (Ditylenchus destructor) populations from Chinese medicinal herbs

NI Chun-hui, HAN Bian, LIU Yong-gang, Maria MUNAWAR, LIU Shi-ming, LI Wen-hao, SHI Ming-ming, LI Hui-xia, PENG De-liang
2023, 22 (6): 1763-1781.   DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2022.08.126
Abstract181)      PDF in ScienceDirect      

The potato rot nematode (Ditylenchus destructor) is a very economically important nematode in agronomic and horticultural plants worldwide.  In this study, 43 populations of Ddestructor were collected from different hosts across China, including 37 populations from Chinese herbal medicine plants.  Obtained sequences of ITS-rDNA and D2–D3 of 28S-rDNA genes of Ddestructor were compared and analyzed.  Nine types of significant length variations in ITS sequences were observed among all populations.  The differences in ITS1 length were mainly caused by the presence of repetitive elements with substantial base substitutions.  Reconstructions of ITS1 secondary structures showed that the minisatellites formed a stem structure.  Ten haplotypes were observed in all populations based on mutations and variations of helix H9.  Among them, 3 known haplotypes (A–C) were found in 7 populations isolated from potato, sweet potato, and Codonopsis pilosula, and 7 unique haplotypes were found in other 36 populations collected from Cpilosula and Angelica sinensis compared with 7 haplotypes (A–G) according to Subbotin’ system.  These unique haplotypes were different from haplotypes A–G, and we named them as haplotypes H–N.  The present results showed that a total of 14 haplotypes (A–N) of ITS-rDNA have been found in Ddestructor.  Phylogenetic analyses of ITS-rDNA and D2–D3 showed that all populations of Ddestructor were clustered into two major clades: one clade only containing haplotype A from sweet potato and the other containing haplotypes B–N from other plants.  For further verification, PCR-ITS-RFLP profiles were conducted on 7 new haplotypes.  Collectively, our study suggests that Ddestructor populations on Chinese medicinal materials are very different from those on other hosts and this work provides a paradigm for relevant researches.

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Mechanization and efficiency in rice production in China
SHI Min, Krishna P. PAUDEL, CHEN Feng-bo
2021, 20 (7): 1996-2008.   DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(20)63439-6
Abstract188)      PDF in ScienceDirect      
Agricultural mechanization and custom machine services have developed rapidly in China, which can influence rice production efficiency in the future.  We calculate technical efficiency, allocative efficiency, and scale efficiency using data collected in 2015 from a face-to-face interview survey of 450 households that cultivated 3 096 plots located in the five major rice-producing provinces of China.  We use a one-step stochastic frontier model to calculate technical efficiency and regress the efficiency scores on socio-demographic and physical land characteristics to find the influencing variables.  Variables influencing technical efficiency are compared at three different phases of rice cultivation.  We also calculate technical efficiency by using the Heckman Selection Model, which addresses technological heterogeneity and self-selection bias.  Results indicate that: (1) the average value of technical efficiency using a one-step stochastic frontier model was found to be 0.74.  When self-selection bias is accounted for using the Heckman Selection Model, the average value of the technical efficiency increases to 0.80; (2) mechanization at the chemical application phase has a positive effect on technical efficiency, but mechanization does not affect efficiency at the plowing and harvesting phases; (3) machines are overused relative to both land and labor, and high machine input use on the small size of landholding has resulted in allocative inefficiency; (4) rice farmers are overwhelmingly operating at a sub-optimal scale.  Future policies should focus on encouraging farmland transfer in rural areas to achieve scale efficiency and allocative efficiency while promoting mechanization at the chemical application phase of rice cultivation to improve technical efficiency. 
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Diversity in metagenomic sequences reveals new pathogenic fungus associated with smut in Job’s tears
LI Xiang-dong, SHI Ming, PAN Hong, LU Xiu-juan, WEI Xin-yuan, LU Ping, LIAN Qi-xian, FU Yu-hua
2020, 19 (9): 2257-2264.   DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(20)63164-1
Abstract128)      PDF in ScienceDirect      
Smut is a serious disease in Job’s tears, also known as adlay, and contributes to the reduction of crop yield in agricultural fields.  In this study, the key pathogenic fungi in adlay smut disease were first identified by internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) high-throughput sequencing and then used to elucidate the composition and diversity of the fungal community in adlay smut.  Results indicate that an abundance of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were detected in the infected involucres of flowering plants and the OTUs were classified to nine phyla, 20 classes, 45 orders, 90 families and 119 genera.  A total of 4 986 OTUs clustered together, sharing six core OTUs in all samples, while 145 OTUs were shared among four geographical groups.  The Shannon and Simpson indices ranged from 0.137–1.629 and 0.357–0.970, respectively.  Community diversity ranked as Anshun (AS)>Qinglong (QL)>Xingren (XR)>Xingyi (XY) among the four geographical groups by Shannon and Simpson indices, exhibiting complex community diversities among accessions and geographical groups.  The richness and diversity data imply a weak relationship between the accession community richness and geographical origins of samples.  Two closely related fungal genera, Sporisorium and Ustilago, were implicated as causes of smut disease.  The genus Sporisorium appears to be more commonly found among accessions and thus is more likely to be the fungal pathogen causing smut in adlay.  This work can facilitate strategies to control and prevent smut infection to improve adlay yield.
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Parasitoid wasps as effective biological control agents
WANG Zhi-zhi, LIU Yin-quan, SHI Min, HUANG Jian-hua, CHEN Xue-xin
2019, 18 (4): 705-715.   DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(18)62078-7
Abstract342)      PDF (764KB)(358)      
Biological control (biocontrol) is a safe, sustainable approach that takes advantage of natural enemies such as predators, parasitic insects or pathogens to manage pests in agroecosystems.  Parasitoid wasps, a very large evolutionary group of hymenopteran insects, are well-known biological control agents for arthropod pests in agricultural and forest ecosystems.  Here, we summarize the recent progress on the application of parasitoid wasps in biocontrol in China for the last five years.  These include species diversity of parasitoid wasps, identification of dominant parasitoid wasps associated with insect pests and biocontrol practices (three types of biological control, i.e., classical, augmentative and conservation biological control) in several Chinese agroecosystems.  We then treat different mass-rearing and release technologies and the commercialization of several parasitoid wasp species.  We also summarize other work that may have a potential use in biocontrol, including the effect of plant volatiles on parasitoids and recent advance in the molecular mechanisms underlying the host regulation by parasitoid wasps.  Future research area and applied perspectives are also discussed, noting that advances in biocontrol technologies in Chinese agriculture informs research at the global level.
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