After being onto 22nd recoverable satellite of China for 18-day spaceflight under microgravity condition,the growth and pathogenicity of Penicillium expansum were investigated.Spore germination rate of the spaceflight pathogen was insignificantly lower than that of the ground control.After germination,germ tube elongation of spaceflight pathogen was slower,as well as mycelia growth.However,there was no significant difference according to independent-samples T-test.The consistent results were obtained in vivo.The spaceflight pathogen exhibited a little weaker pathogenicity in peach fruit.These findings suggested that the microgravity reduced the growth and pathogenicity of P.expansum,but the effect was not marked.
The present study was performed mainly to investigate the antagonist-pathogen-host interaction in wounds of the sweet cherry fruits. The antagonistic yeast Cryptococcus laurentii could significantly reduce the brown rot of the sweet cherry fruit caused by Monilinia fructicola at 25 and 1 ℃. The populations of yeast increased faster in the presence of the pathogen initially, but then decreased rapidly. In the fruits inoculated with M. fructicola alone or combined with C. laurentii, an induction of lipid peroxidation as well as activities of the antioxidant enzymes, such as, superoxide dismutases （SOD）, catalase （CAT）, and peroxidase （POD）, was observed. The isoenzyme pattern of polypheno/oxidase （PPO） changed greatly after the symptoms appeared, with new PPO isoforms being induced. By contrast, the induction of lipid peroxidation and activities of SOD, CAT, and POD were low, although no significant changes were found in the PPO isoenzyms in the fruits inoculated with antagonist C. laurentii alone. The inhibition of brown rot during the antagonist- pathogen-host interaction in wounds of the sweet cherry fruits was mainly on account of the stimulated growth of C. laurentii as well as the induction of antioxidant enzymes of the fruits by M. fructicola.
