Mehl, A. | bioRxiv Science

bioRxiv2022

Notch signaling pathway in tooth shape variations

Evolutionary changes in vertebrates are linked to genetic alterations that often affect tooth-crown shape, which is a criterion of speciation events. The Notch pathway is highly conserved between species and controls morphogenetic processes in most developing organs, including teeth. Epithelial loss of the Notch-ligand Jagged1 in developing mouse molars affects the location, size and interconnections of their cusps that lead to minor tooth-crown shape modifications convergent to those observed along Muridae evolution. These alterations are due to the modulation of numerous genes, where Notch signaling is a hub for essential morphogenetic networks. A three-dimensional metamorphosis approach allowed tooth morphology prediction in individuals carrying Jagged1 mutations. These results shed new light on Notch/Jagged1-mediated signaling as one of the crucial components for dental variations in evolution. Significance statementDental microevolution changes in vertebrates are regulated by the Notch signaling pathway.

developmental biology↗

bioRxiv2020

Wheat blast caused by Magnaporthe oryzae pv. Triticum is efficiently controlled by the plant defence inducer isotianil

Wheat blast caused by Magnaporthe oryzae pv. Triticum (MoT) is an upcoming threat to wheat cultivation worldwide. The disease crossing over to wheat first gained attention in South America, with increasing interest coming from its more recent appearance in the big wheat growing areas of Asia. The increasing economic relevance of the disease and the lack of genetic resistance in current wheat breading material, besides fungicide resistance already present in fungal pathogen populations, highlighted the need to evaluate the potential of isotianil as an alternative plant protection measure. Isotianil is already registered in Asia for the protection of rice against M. oryzae but because the agronomic practices and disease development of blast differ between rice and wheat, the efficacy of isotianil against wheat blast was hard to predict. Testing isotianil in the currently available formulations, applied either as seed treatment or soil drench, resulted in a significant reduction of disease severity. The efficacy was comparably high, on different wheat cultivars and using several fungal isolates with different degrees of virulence. Microscopic analyses revealed that isotianil treatment can prevent invasive growth of the pathogen. No phytotoxicity from isotianil treatment was observed on wheat plants up to the stage of heading. Importantly, isotianil not only protects wheat plants at the seedling stage but also on spikes thereby preventing losses due to this most severe disease syndrome. In summary, the results showed the high potential of isotianil to protect against wheat blast.

plant biology↗