Relative susceptibilities of eleven potato cultivars and breeders' clones toGlobodera pallida pathotype Pa 3, with a discussion of the interpretation of data from pot experiments
Curves according to the equationPf=M′ (1-e−aPi/M′) fitted well to the relations according to Seinhorst's (1993) modelPf=yeyhM(1-e−aPi/M) between initial egg densities of potato cyst nematodes (Globodera rostochiensis, G. pallida)Pi up to 5Th (Th=the tolerance limit of haulm weight) andPf at the end of the growing season (a=maximum rate of reproduction,M, M′=different theoretical maximum egg densities). Variation of estimates ofM′, due to variation of the parameters of the submodelsye andyh for the effect of weight reduction of haulms (and, therefore, of roots) on cyst production and damage to root tissue on egg production, respectively, was small enough to be ignored relative to experimental error. Therefore, ratios of values ofM′, determined in simultaneous pot experiments with different potato cultivars, are reliable measures of the relative host status of these cultivars at initial egg densitiesPi of these nematodes up to about 5Th. Variation between potato cultivars of growth reduction and damage to root tissue by the nematodes reduces the reliability of ratios of rates of relative susceptibility of these cultivars.The ratios between the maximum rates of reproduction ofG. pallida, pathotype Pa 3, on 8 out of 9 cultivars and one breeder's clone of potatoes and this rate on the susceptible cvs Bintje and Irene (relative susceptibilitiesrsa) could be considered to be equal to the ratios of maximum population densitiesM′ on these cultivars (relative susceptibilitiesrsM′) (relative susceptibilities independent of initial egg density). The latter ratios were 0.59 times the first (relative susceptibilities negatively correlated with initial egg density) in one cultivar and one breeder's clone. Relative susceptibilitiesrsa andrsM′ of the tested cultivars and breeders clones suggest the existence of continuous ranges of both relative susceptibilities between 0.50 and 0.15 with, in a great majority of cases,rsa=rsM′.
The Effect of Initial Population Density On the Reproduction of Globodera Pallida On Partially Resistant Potato Clones Derived From Solanum Vernei
The reproductive rates of two populations of Globodera pallida over a range of initial population densities (Pi) were compared on a non-resistant and two partially resistant potato clones derived from Solanum vernei. The final number of eggs/g soil (Pf) increased with Pi, as did the differences between clones. In contrast the reproductive rate (Pf/Pi) progressively decreased as Pi increased. The form of the curve relating Pf to Pi for the partially resistant clones was similar to that for the non-resistant clone but the rates of response to Pi and the final maximum densities were less on the partially resistant clones and related to their levels of resistance. Each population ranked the clones consistently for degree of resistance at all inoculation levels. This observation is related to other published results and it is concluded that Pf/Pi values are too sensitive to changes in initial nematode density and other environmental factors to be used either to define and separate categories of resistance in the plant or to identify pathotypes in the nematode. A new scheme for assessing the resistance of clones is proposed in which partially resistant clones are used as controls to delineate resistance classes.
Chemosymbiotic bivalves and stable carbon isotopes indicate hydrocarbon seepage at four unusual Cenozoic fossil localities
Four unusual Cenozoic fossil localities are identified here as ancient hydrocarbon seep sites using palaeontological, petrological, and stable carbon isotope data. Late Eocene carbonate-cemented sandstone bodies in the Wagonwheel Mountains in California were previously suspected to represent ancient hydrocarbon seep sites, but the relatively high δ13Ccarbonate values (−12.2 to −5.0‰) suggest oil rather than methane seepage. The Oligocene fauna of the Elmira asphalt mine, Cuba, was previously interpreted as a mix of freshwater and marine taxa, but all species are here identified as belonging to marine groups, including the bivalve families Lucinidae and Vesicomyidae, whose extant members live largely in symbiosis with chemoautotrophic endosymbionts. A carbonate concretion from this site showed δ13Ccarbonate values as low as −32.2‰, which most likely indicates methane seepage. A previously unpublished Oligocene fossil locality in Atlantico, northern Colombia, is dominated by large solemyid, mytilid, lucinid, and vesicomyid bivalves, which most likely lived with chemotrophic endosymbionts. Seepage of biogenic methane without a significant contribution of thermogenic methane is indicated by δ13Ccarbonate values as low as −51.3‰. We confirm that the Pleurophopsis-dominated sites of the Heath Shale and Lomitos Chert in northern Peru are ancient seep sites, although the previous identification of Pleurophopsis peruviana as a vesicomyid is doubtful.