Cucumber (Cucumis sativus) is a widely cultivated plant in the gourd family worldwide. However, cucumber is susceptible to many pathogens and insects, which results in a great deal of economic losses. Cucumber target leaf spot is an important disease caused by Corynespora cassiicola, which has been documented in Liaoning, Shandong, Shanghai, Henan, Hebei, Gansu and Ningxia provinces in mainland China (C. S. Li, et al. 2009; R. C. Wang, 1997; Z. H. Liu, et al. 2012; R. Zeng, et al. 2011). In June of 2013, a survey for Cucumber target leaf spot was undertaken in the city of Harbin, Qiqihar, Mudanjiang and Jiamusi of Heilongjiang province. The results showed that the disease was only observed in Harbin. However, the pathogen spread quickly and reoccurred in other cities of Heilongjiang province including Daqing, Jiamusi, Mudanjiang, Qiqihar and Suihua. An accurate diagnosis is necessary for effective and economic management of disease, therefore an attempt was made to reaffirm the cause of disease in these n...

Plant parasitic nematode, Heterodera glycines (Soybean cyst nematode, SCN) is the major pathogen of Glycine max (soybean). This pathogen is widely distributed, seriously disserving, and has a wide approach for spreading. Huipizhi Heidou (ZDD2315), a germplasm resource of soybean originated in China, has an excellent resistance to SCN. In this paper, two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) and mass spectrometry (MS) were employed to separate the differentially expressed proteins from soybean induced by SCN. The F 4 separated populations from the cross between the resistant Huipizhi Heidou and the susceptible Liaodou 15 were used as test materials by bulked segregant analysis. The 2-DE gels analysis revealed 367 protein spots from the resistant samples and 372 protein spots from the sensitive samples. Among those protein spots, 23 protein spots from the resistant samples and 4 protein spots from the sensitive samples were differentially expressed, and then were selected for peptide mass fingerprinting (PMF) and sequencing assay by MS. Of the 27 differentially expressed proteins, 16 protein spots were identified by MALDI-TOF-MS and 11 were not identified due to low scores. Further analysis showed that the majority of these 16 proteins were involved in defense, energy and metabolism, suggesting that they might be related to the soybean resistance to SCN.

Phlox drummondii Hook., belonging to the Polemoniaceae, is an annual herbaceous ornamental plant, which is used for urban landscaping in the north of China. Unfortunately, the parasitic powdery mil...