An Improved Detached-Leaf Assay for Phenotyping Net Blotch of Barley Caused by Pyrenophora teres.

Net blotch, caused by Pyrenophora teres, is a major barley (Hordeum vulgare) leaf disease worldwide. P. teres occurs as two forms-P. teres f. teres, and P. teres f. maculata-inducing net and spot-like symptoms, respectively. An intact-seedling assay, where entire seedlings are inoculated by spraying with a conidial suspension, is frequently used for phenotyping net blotch. However, this presents a biosecurity risk in the glasshouse when nonlocal isolates are being screened. Alternatively, a detached-leaf assay (DLA-droplet method) can be used in which leaf segments laid out in a covered tray are inoculated with droplets of a conidial suspension, confining the inoculum. However, using this method, net and spot form symptoms cannot be distinguished from each other. We have developed an improved DLA (DLA-spray method) in which detached whole leaves are sprayed with the inoculum to produce distinct lesions. We compare the results for the three phenotyping methods above using four isolates from both net and spot forms of the disease to inoculate a standard set of eight barley genotypes. Results indicate that the DLA-spray method is a functional, informative and rapid test that readily differentiates the two forms of the pathogen in a biosecure environment.

Investigating successive Australian barley breeding populations for stable resistance to leaf rust.

KEY MESSAGE: Genome-wide association studies of barley breeding populations identified candidate minor genes for pairing with the adult plant resistance gene Rph20 to provide stable leaf rust resistance across environments. Stable resistance to barley leaf rust (BLR, caused by Puccinia hordei) was evaluated across environments in barley breeding populations (BPs). To identify genomic regions that can be combined with Rph20 to improve adult plant resistance (APR), two BPs genotyped with the Diversity Arrays Technology genotyping-by-sequencing platform (DArT-seq) were examined for reaction to BLR at both seedling and adult growth stages in Australian environments. An integrated consensus map comprising both first- and second-generation DArT platforms was used to integrate QTL information across two additional BPs, providing a total of four interrelated BPs and 15 phenotypic data sets. This enabled identification of key loci underpinning BLR resistance. The APR gene Rph20 was the only active resistance region consistently detected across BPs. Of the QTL identified, RphQ27 on chromosome 6HL was considered the best candidate for pairing with Rph20. RphQ27 did not align or share proximity with known genes and was detected in three of the four BPs. The combination of RphQ27 and Rph20 was of low frequency in the breeding material; however, strong resistance responses were observed for the lines carrying this pairing. This suggests that the candidate minor gene RphQ27 can interact additively with Rph20 to provide stable resistance to BLR across diverse environments.

Association mapping of resistance to Puccinia hordei in Australian barley breeding germplasm.

KEY MESSAGE: "To find stable resistance using association mapping tools, QTL with major and minor effects on leaf rust reactions were identified in barley breeding lines by assessing seedlings and adult plants." Three hundred and sixty (360) elite barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) breeding lines from the Northern Region Barley Breeding Program in Australia were genotyped with 3,244 polymorphic diversity arrays technology markers and the results used to map quantitative trait loci (QTL) conferring a reaction to leaf rust (Puccinia hordei Otth). The F3:5 (Stage 2) lines were derived or sourced from different geographic origins or hubs of international barley breeding ventures representing two breeding cycles (2009 and 2011 trials) and were evaluated across eight environments for infection type at both seedling and adult plant stages. Association mapping was performed using mean scores for disease reaction, accounting for family effects using the eigenvalues from a matrix of genotype correlations. In this study, 15 QTL were detected; 5 QTL co-located with catalogued leaf rust resistance genes (Rph1, Rph3/19, Rph8/14/15, Rph20, Rph21), 6 QTL aligned with previously reported genomic regions and 4 QTL (3 on chromosome 1H and 1 on 7H) were novel. The adult plant resistance gene Rph20 was identified across the majority of environments and pathotypes. The QTL detected in this study offer opportunities for breeding for more durable resistance to leaf rust through pyramiding multiple genomic regions via marker-assisted selection.

Mapping Rph20: a gene conferring adult plant resistance to Puccinia hordei in barley.

A doubled haploid (DH) barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) population of 334 lines (ND24260 × Flagship) genotyped with DArT markers was used to map genes for adult plant resistance (APR) to leaf rust (Puccinia hordei Otth) under field conditions in Australia and Uruguay. The Australian barley cultivar Flagship carries an APR gene (qRphFlag) derived from the cultivar Vada. Association analysis and composite interval mapping identified two genes conferring APR in this DH population. qRphFlag was mapped to the short arm of chromosome 5H (5HS), accounting for 64-85% of the phenotypic variation across four field environments and 56% under controlled environmental conditions (CEC). A second quantitative trait locus (QTL) from ND24260 (qRphND) with smaller effect was mapped to chromosome 6HL. In the absence of qRphFlag, qRphND conferred only a low level of resistance. DH lines displaying the highest level of APR carried both genes. Sequence information for the critical DArT marker bPb-0837 (positioned at 21.2 cM on chromosome 5HS) was used to develop bPb-0837-PCR, a simple PCR-based marker for qRphFlag. The 245 bp fragment for bPb-0837-PCR was detected in a range of barley cultivars known to possess APR, which was consistent with previous tests of allelism, demonstrating that the qRphFlag resistant allele is common in leaf rust resistant cultivars derived from Vada and Emir. qRphFlag has been designated Rph20, the first gene conferring APR to P. hordei to be characterised in barley. The PCR marker will likely be effective in marker-assisted selection for Rph20.

[Treatment mapping of lower urinary tract symptoms due to benign prostatic hyperplasia-an analysis of the Governing Body of German Prostate Centers]. / Versorgungsabbild des benignen Prostatasyndroms ­ eine Analyse des Dachverbandes der Prostatazentren Deutschlands (DVPZ) e. V.

BACKGROUND: Due to the high incidence and demographic development, there is an urgent need for healthcare research data on lower urinary tract symptoms due to benign prostatic hyperplasia (LTUS/BPH). Since 2005 the Governing Body of German Prostate Centers (DVPZ) has been collecting data from 22 prostate centers in order to determine the quality and type of cross-sectoral care in particular for LUTS/BPH patients. OBJECTIVES: Presentation of the DVPZ database in general, as well as an investigation of treatment patterns for medical and instrumental therapies. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The analysis is based on UroCloud data sets from 30 November 2017. In the UroCloud data on diagnostics, therapy and course of disease are recorded in a web-based manner. RESULTS: A total of 29,555 therapies were documented for 18,299 patients (1.6/patient), divided into 48.5% instrumental, 29.2% medical treatment, and 18.0% "wait and see" (in 4.3% no assignment was possible). Patients treated with an instrumental therapy were oldest (median: 72 years, interquartile range: 66-77), had the largest prostate volumes (50 ml, 35-75 ml), and were mostly bothered by symptoms (International Prostate Symptom Score = 19/4). The majority of patients under medical treatment received alphablockers (56%); phytotherapeutics were used least frequently (3%). Instrumental therapies are dominated by transurethral resection (TUR) of the prostate (60.0%), open prostatectomy (9.4%) and laser therapy (5.0%), with laser therapy having the shortest hospital stay (5 days) and the lowest transfusion and re-intervention rates (1.0% and 4.6%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The DVPZ certificate covers the complete spectrum of cross-sectoral care for LUTS/BPH patients and documents the use of the various therapies as well as their application and effectiveness in the daily routine setting.

[Treatment mapping of prostate cancer in DVPZ prostate centers in Germany]. / Versorgungsabbild zum Prostatakarzinom in DVPZ-Prostatazentren in Deutschland.

BACKGROUND: In prostate centers of the Governing Body of German Prostate Centers (DVPZ, Dachverband der Prostatazentren Deutschlands e.V.) treatment data from 3 university clinics, 21 treatment clinics, 3 private clinics and 330 general practitioners incorporated under 22 certificates are collated, in order to document the quality and type of cross-sectoral and interdisciplinary treatment, in particular of prostate cancer (PCA) patients. METHODS: This analysis is based on the DVPZ UroCloud data sets from 20 July 2015. The UroCloud reflects the web-based chronological disease development and quality parameters. For the descriptive analysis of particular key figures, available complete data sets were selected. RESULTS: Of the centers 22 held a valid certificate and fulfilled all required case numbers and structural prerequisites at the primary certification or recertification. In three cases a reauditing led to requirements before certification. Since 2005 a total of 9650 PCA patients have been pseudonymized and followed up (41,247 follow-up forms, 4.3 forms per patient). In 2014 the median number of newly documented PCA patients was 61 per center (minimum 7 and maximum 295). Radical prostatectomy (RP) dominated with 4491 (56 %) cases followed by primary hormonal therapy (1210 cases, 15 %), irradiation (809, 10 %) and non-interventional therapy, such as active surveillance (AS) or watchful waiting (WW) in 760 cases (10 %). A prostate-specific antigen (PSA) reduction was documented in 50 % of the patients with a preoperative PSA value > 20, in 60 % of pT4 tumors and in 50 % of patients with a tumor Gleason score of 9-10. A positive incision margin (R+) was found in in 15 % of pT2 stages, 41 % of pT3 stages and 85 % of pT4 stages. A secondary intervention was documented in 6.5 % of RP. CONCLUSION: The DVPZ certificate reflects the complete spectrum of treatment of PCA patients. The strength of the certificate lies in the documentation of patient development and a simultaneous collation of quality parameters.

Crystal structures and thermotropic properties of alkyl alpha-D-glucopyranosides and their hydrates.

Thermotropic properties and crystal structures of alkyl alpha-D-glucopyranosides and their hydrates were estimated by X-ray, DSC and thermogravimetric measurements (TGA). Monohydrates rapidly lose their crystal water several degrees below the melting point of the anhydrous glucopyranosides. The melting points of the monohydrates measured in DSC pressure cells (chain length longer than seven) are lower, and the clearing points higher than those of the anhydrous glucosides. Layer distances of smectic and crystalline phases of anhydrous compounds were established. Melting points, densities and layer distances of the crystalline anhydrous glucopyranosides display strong even-odd effects. The strong decrease of these effects in the case of the monohydrates can be elucidated by the results of X-ray crystal structure analysis.

Lyotropic Liquid Crystalline Phases from Symmetric Double-Tailed Surfactants: Sodium 1'-(6)-Undecylbenzenesulfonate, 1'-(7)-Tridecylbenzenesulfonate, and 1'-(8)- Pentadecylbenzenesulfonate in Water.

Phase diagrams of binary symmetric double-tailed alkylbenzenesulfonate surfactant/water systems, as well as the structure of the phases, were determined using crossed polars, polarized light microscopy, 2H NMR spectroscopy, Nomarski differential interference contrast optics, and cryo-transmission electron microscopy. The isotropic phase, the lamellar phase, and a high-viscosity solution representing an intermediate between the isotropic phase and the mesophase, which refers to the beginning of the formation of vesicles, were found. As may be expected, the isotropic phases at higher concentrations are formed mostly at higher temperatures. Isotropic regions are followed by regions characterized as the isotropic solutions containing vesicles; the optically isotropic phase contains a lamellar dispersion of vesicles in solution. The viscosity of these phases is found to be high near the borderline of the two-phase regions. At the same concentrations two-phase regions were found to contain the isotropic + lamellar phases at the higher temperature and the isotropic + crystalline phase at the lower temperature. Molecular-mechanical and semiempirical quantum-mechanical calculation searches for the global minimum in the conformational space of alkylbenzenesulfonate ions were conducted to examine the influence of monomer molecular structure on the micellar shape. Copyright 1998 Academic Press.