INTRODUCTION Since their colonization of terrestrial ecosystems, plants have developed numerous strategies to cope with the diverse bi-otic and abiotic challenges that are a consequence of their sedentary life cycle. One of the most successful strategies is the ability of root systems to establish mutualistic and reciprocally beneficial symbiotic relationships with microorganisms. Mycorrhizas, ...

AIMS In this study, a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay has been developed and evaluated for the rapid and sensitive detection of Verticillium dahliae Kleb., the causal agent of vascular wilts in many economically important crops. METHODS AND RESULTS LAMP primers were designed based on a previously described RAPD marker, and the LAMP assay was applied for direct detection of...

Using stable isotope dilution, we determined the bioavailability of soilborne lead (Pb) in human adult volunteers. Soil from a residential yard at a mining-impacted federal Superfund site that had negligible amounts of other priority pollutants was dried and screened through a 25-micron mesh sieve. The < 250-micron fraction, which likely represents that ingested via hand-to-mouth activity, was ...

ABSTRACT Pseudomonas spp. are ubiquitous bacteria in agricultural soils and have many traits that make them well suited as biocontrol agents of soilborne pathogens. Tremendous progress has been made in characterizing the process of root colonization by pseudomonads, the biotic and abiotic factors affecting colonization, bacterial traits and genes contributing to rhizosphere competence, and the ...

Mbofung, G. C. Y., Fessehaie, A., Bhattacharyya, M. K., and Leandro, L. F. S. 2011. A new TaqMan real-time polymerase chain reaction assay for quantification of Fusarium virguliforme in soil. Plant Dis. 95:1420-1426. The quantification of the soilborne pathogen Fusarium virguliforme inoculum in soil is important for epidemiological studies of soybean sudden death syndrome (SDS). Classical dilut...