Aleksandra Obrepalska-Steplowska

Institute of Plant Protection - National Research Institute | IOR · Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology

Background Root-knot nematodes (RKNs) – Meloidogyne spp. – are a group of nematodes distributed worldwide that infect monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous crop species. Plant responses to RKNs have been described in many studies of various host plants. In the course of parasitism, RKNs induce the transcriptional reprogramming of host cells to establ...

Green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged viruses are basic research tools widely applied in studies concerning molecular determinants of disease during virus infection. Here, we described a new generation of genetically stable infectious clones of tomato torrado virus isolate Kra (ToTVpJL-Kra) that could infect Nicotiana benthamiana and Solanum lycop...

Key message PSV infection changed the abundance of host plant’s transcripts and proteins associated with various cellular compartments, including ribosomes, chloroplasts, mitochondria, the nucleus and cytosol, affecting photosynthesis, translation, transcription, and splicing. Abstract Virus infection is a process resulting in numerous molecular,...

Herbivorous insects, likewise, other organisms, are exposed to diverse communities of microbes from the surrounding environment. Insects and microorganisms associated with them share a range of relationships, including symbiotic and pathogenic. Insects damage plants by feeding on them and delivering plant pathogens to wounded places, from where pat...

Background and aimsOne of the preventive methods used to limit the losses caused by viruses is the application of synthetic immunity inducers, such as benzo(1,2,3)-thiadiazole-7-carbothioic acid S-methyl ester (BTH). This study aimed at explaining how the BTH treatment affects the defence and developmental processes in tomato plants (Solanum lycope...

Background: The continuous use of the herbicides contributes to the emergence of the resistant populations of numerous weed species that are tolerant to multiple herbicides with different modes of action (multiple resistance) which is provided by non-target-site resistance mechanisms. In this study, we addressed the question of rapid acquisition o...

Herbicide resistance in weeds, including corn poppy (Papaver rhoeas L.), is an increasing problem compromising global crop production. The aims of this study were to evaluate the susceptibility of P. rhoeas populations in Poland to acetolactate synthase (ALS) inhibitors and elucidate their mechanisms of resistance. Between 2017 and 2020, 157 seed s...

We investigated gut bacteria from three insect species for the presence of plant growth properties (PGP). Out of 146 bacterial strains obtained from 20 adult specimens of Scolytidae sp., 50 specimens of Oulema melanopus, and 150 specimens of Diabrotica virgifera, we selected 11 strains displaying the following: PGP, phosphate solubility, production...

Wheat production is threatened by the destructive effects of numerous pests, including Oulema melanopus (cereal leaf beetle, CLB). Both adults and larvae of CLB damage grain crops, but the target of insecticide treatments are the larvae. Insect-associated bacteria are important for many of the insects’ life processes and may also modulate plant def...

One of the preventive methods used to limit the losses caused by viruses is the application of synthetic immunity inducers, such as benzo(1,2,3)-thiadiazole-7-carbothioic acid S-methyl ester (BTH). This study aimed to explain how the BTH treatment affects the defence and developmental processes in tomato plants ( Solanum lycopersicum L.) as well as...

Weed resistance to herbicides constitutes a serious problem to world crop production. One of the weeds that are significantly threatening the crops’ yield and quality is Apera spica-venti . The target-site resistance (TSR) mechanism of A. spica-venti has been widely studied, though, little is known about its non-target-site resistance (NTSR) mechan...

Cereal leaf beetle (CLB, Oulema melanopus, Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae) is a serious agricultural pest that causes considerable damages to agricultural production. The aim of this study was to characterize the bacterial communities associated with larvae and imagoes of CLB collected from various cereal host species and locations. The bacterial profil...

Centaurea cyanus, belonging to the Asteraceae family, is an arable weed species being encountered mainly in the fields with cereals, sugar beet, and corn. C. cyanus high genetic variability has recently been reported, however, little is known about sequence variability in the context of herbicide resistance. C. cyanus resistance was found mainly ag...

Bradysia species, commonly known as fungus gnats, are ubiquitous in greenhouses, nurseries of horticultural plants, and commercial mushroom houses, causing significant economic losses. Moreover, the insects from the Bradysia genus have a well-documented role in plant pathogenic fungi transmission. Here, a study on the potential of Bradysia impatien...

Tomato torrado virus (ToTV) induces severe systemic necrosis in Solanum lycopersicum. This work aimed at describing the genetic variability of necrosis-inducing ToTV-Wal'17 collected in the 2017 year, derived from the ToTV-Wal'03 after long-term passages in plant. Sequence analyses of the ToTV-Wal`17 indicated twenty-eight single nucleotide substit...

Wheat (Triticum aestivum) is one of the most economically important crops in the world. During the routine monitoring of wheat pest, the cereal leaf beetle (CLB, Oulema melanopus, Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae), in the Greater Poland region, it was observed that some leaves wounded by CLB also displayed brownish lesions with clear margins and yellow ha...

Honeybees (Apis mellifera L.), which unquestionably play an economically important role in pollination and agricultural production, are at risk of decline. To study changes in gene expression in insects upon exposure to pesticides or other external stimuli, appropriate reference genes are required for data normalization. Since there is no such gene...

Frankliniella intonsa Trybom is a pest causing significant economic losses of crops cultivated in greenhouses and fields, especially losses of ornamental and horticultural plants. This species is responsible for causing direct damage to plants as well as for transmitting viruses, including the tomato spot wilt virus (TSWV), which is considered the...

Systemic acquired resistance (SAR) induction is one of the primary defence mechanisms of plants against a broad range of pathogens. It can be induced by infectious agents or by synthetic molecules, such as benzo(1,2,3)-thiadiazole-7-carbothioic acid S-methyl ester (BTH). SAR induction is associated with increases in salicylic acid (SA) accumulation...

Background: Tomato torrado virus (ToTV) infection manifests with burn-like symptoms on leaves, leaflets and upper stem parts of susceptible infected plants. The symptoms caused by ToTV may be considered as one of the most severe virus-induced forms of systemic necrosis, which spreads within the whole plant and leads to a lethal phenotype. However,...

Positive-sense single-stranded plant RNA viruses are obligate intracellular parasites that infect many agriculturally important crops. Most known plant RNA viruses are characterized by small genomes encoding a limited number of multifunctional viral proteins. Viral pathogens are considered to be absolutely dependent on their hosts, and viruses must...

Signaling in host plants is an integral part of a successful infection by pathogenic RNA viruses. Therefore, identifying early signaling events in host plants that play an important role in establishing the infection process will help our understanding of the disease process. In this context, phosphorylation constitutes one of the most important po...

Peanut stunt virus (PSV) is a widespread virus infecting legumes. The PSV strains are classified into four subgroups and some are defined by the association of satellite RNAs (satRNAs). In the case of PSV, the presence of satRNAs alters the symptoms of disease in infected plants. In this study, we elucidated the plant response to PSV-G strain, whic...

Plants and insects have been coexisting for more than 350 million years. During this time, both have evolved many strategies to successfully exploit or respond to reciprocal adaptation and defense reactions. Plants tend to minimize the damage caused by pest feeding, while pests tend to manipulate plant response by suppressing plant defense mechanis...

Real-time PCR assay for distinguishing Frankliniella occidentalis and Thrips palmi Arnika Przybylska, Żaneta Fiedler, Aleksandra Obrępalska-Stęplowska – ERRATUM - Volume 108 Issue 3 - Arnika Przybylska, Żaneta Fiedler, Patryk Frąckowiak, Aleksandra Obrępalska-Stęplowska

Maize (Zea mays) is a major crop that is cultivated worldwide. It is susceptible to many pathogens, including root-knot nematodes (RKN, Meloidogyne spp.). RKN have a wide host range that includes many monocotyledons and dicotyledons. Infection with RKN induces changes in gene expression of pathogenesis-related (PR) and other defense-related protein...

Nowadays, plant protection against viral diseases is one of the most challenging tasks faced by modern agriculture. One of the possible ways of plant protection is utilization of systemic acquired resistance phenomenon. In this approach biological or chemical factors interact with plants and stimulate their immune system against infections before i...

Thrips palmi and Frankliniella occidentalis (order Thysanoptera) are thrips species that represent major plant pests. They are polyphagous insects capable of adversely affecting crop production. As such, in the European Union, these thrips species should be regulated as quarantine organisms. T. palmi and F. occidentalis can cause considerable damag...

The genus Ditylenchus consists of more than 60 species, some of which are plant parasites. In this paper we report on Ditylenchus laurae sp. n. from Poland, a new species associated with the aquatic plant, Potamogeton perfoliatus L. Ditylenchus laurae sp. n. is characterised by a long and slender body with L = 1881 (1523-2095) μm and 1875 (1690-208...

Full-length cDNA clones of Peanut stunt virus strain P (PSV-P) were constructed and introduced into Nicotiana benthamiana plants via Agrobacterium tumefaciens. The cDNA fragments corresponding to three PSV genomic RNAs and satellite RNA were cloned into pGreen binary vector between Cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S promoter and nopaline synthase...

Abstract: Main conclusion Coleoptera, the largest and the most diverse Insecta order, is characterized by multiple adaptations to plant feeding. Insect-associated microorganisms can be important mediators and modulators of interactions between insects and plants. Interactions between plants and insects are highly complex and involve multiple facto...

The hypersensitive response (HR) is a defence reaction observed during incompatible plant-pathogen interactions in plants infected with a wide range of fungi, bacteria and viruses. Here, we show that an N-terminal polyprotein fragment encoded by tomato torrado virus RNA1, located between the first ATG codon and the protease cofactor (ProCo) motif,...

Reason for Corrigendum: There was a mistake in the grant number in acknowledgment section as published. The correct version appears below. The authors apologize for the mistake. This error does not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way. This paper was supported by the Polish National Center of Science grant UMO-2011/03/B/NZ9/0...

Background: Nicotiana benthamiana has been widely used in laboratories around the world for studying plant-pathogen interactions and posttranscriptional gene expression silencing. Yet the exploration of its transcriptome has lagged behind due to the lack of both adequate sequence information and genome-wide analysis tools, such as DNA microarrays....

Plant resistance induction is one of the most promising ways to support plants in fights against pathogens, especially viruses, due to the fact there are no plant protection agents acting directly on them. Certain chemicals, including benzo[1.2.3]thiadiazole-7-carbothioic acid, S-methyl ester (BTH) and its derivatives, were discovered as effective...

Summary: Avena fatua of the family Poaceae is one of the most common and economically damaging grass weeds. Resistance to herbicides that inhibit acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase and acetolactate synthase activities has recently been detected in A. fatua. The resistance may be due to mutations in the herbicide targets and/or enhanced herbicide metabol...

‘Torrado’ disease caused by tomato torrado virus (ToTV) is responsible for considerable losses in tomato production. Therefore, a one-step reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification protocol for early and fast detection of ToTV isolates has been developed. The RNA extracted from ToTV-infected plants was tested using this protocol...

Thrips from the genus Frankliniella (Thysanoptera, Thripidae) are phytophagous on crops and wild plants. Some of them cause slight economic damage, however, others including F. occidentalis and F. intonsa are responsible for considerable losses in crop production. Moreover, they constitute a double threat for host plants by not only feeding on them...

Tomato torrado virus (ToTV), which is a tomato-infecting member of the genus Torradovirus, induces severe systemic necrosis in Solanum lycopersicum cv. Beta Lux as well as leaf malformation and chlorosis in Nicotiana benthamiana. To date, neither the tomato gene conferring resistance to the pathogen nor the ToTV-encoded necrosis determinant have be...

Temperature is an important environmental factor influencing plant development in natural and diseased conditions. The growth rate of plants grown at 27°C is more rapid than for plants grown at 21°C. Thus, temperature affects the rate of pathogenesis progression in individual plants. We have analyzed the effect of temperature conditions (either 21°...

Colorado potato beetle (CPB, Leptinotarsa decemlineata Say) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) is one of the most serious insect pest feeding on wild and cultivated Solanaceae plants. This pest poses a significant threat to potato crops. CPB originated from North America but has become widespread and has adapted in new localizations. Currently, it is repo...

The genome sequences of two Polish Kra and Ros isolates of Tomato torrado virus (ToTV) were determined and compared with data of previously described ToTV isolates and other Torradovirus members. Whole-genome sequence comparisons revealed 97.0–99.6% nucleotide sequence identities and close relatedness, with other known ToTV isolates. The high homol...

Thrips palmi (from the order Thysanoptera) is a serious insect pest of various crops, including vegetables, fruits and ornamental plants, causing significant economic losses. Its presence constitutes a double threat; not only does T. palmi feed on the plants, it is also a vector for several plant viruses. T. palmi originated in Asia, but has spread...

Background Voltage-sensitive sodium channel (VSSC) is a target for a pharmacological action of pyrethroids which are used in controlling pests including those of agricultural importance. Among them is the pollen beetle (Meligethes aeneus F.) – the most serious pest of Brassica napus. Due to the heavy use of pyrethroids a widespread build-up of res...

We determined some biochemical properties of Oulema melanopus larval gut proteases. We found adult midgut enzyme preparations yielded results similar to whole-larval preparations, permitting studies of the very small whole-larval preparations. Protein preparations were analyzed using FITC–casein as a substrate. Acidic pH is optimal for proteolytic...

The first biologically active infectious clones of tomato torrado virus (ToTV) were generated and delivered into Nicotiana benthamiana and Solanum lycopersicum plants via Agrobacterium tumefaciens. The engineered constructs consisted of PCR-amplified complementary DNAs derived from the ToTV RNA1 and RNA2 components, individually inserted into an en...

In higher plants, evolutionarily conserved processes playing an essential role during gene expression rely on small noncoding RNA molecules (sRNA). Within a wide range of sRNA-dependent cellular events, there is posttranscriptional gene silencing, the process that is activated in response to the presence of double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs) in planta....

The pollen beetle (Meligethes aeneus F.) is the most devastating pest of oilseed rape (Brassica napus) and is controlled by pyrethroid insecticides. However, resistance to pyrethroids in Europe is becoming widespread and predominant. Pyrethroids target the voltage-sensitive sodium channel (VSSC), and mutations in VSSC may be responsible for pyrethr...

Background Nematodes of the genus Ditylenchus are parasites of a wide range of hosts, including higher plants. The most destructive of these species are D. dipsaci and D. destructor, two frequently quarantined pests. No rapid molecular method is available for unambiguous detection and distinguishing these species from each other or from D. gigas,...

Colorado potato beetle (CPB) (Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say in Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 3: 298–331, 1824)) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) is one of the most serious potato pests. It has been reported worldwide, from North America to Europe and Asia. In this study we analyzed the genetic diversity of a mitochondrial D...

Tomato torrado virus (ToTV) is in the genus Torradovirus in the family Secoviridae. ToTV contains a single-stranded, positive-sense, bipartite RNA genome encapsidated in icosahedral particles. It is a serious tomato pathogen causing significant crop reductions. Its occurrence has been reported from many countries worldwide. However, the state of kn...

Pollen beetle ( Meligethes aeneus, Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) is the most important pest of oilseed rape in Europe, causing great yield losses. Due to the heavy use of pyrethroid insecticides in controlling Meligethes , a widespread build-up of resistance to pyrethroid active substances has arisen, reported in many countries where the pest occurs. Mu...

Ten years ago for the first time the new picorna-like virus species - Tomato torrado virus (ToTV) - was found and described on tomato plants. The isolates of this pathogen were reported in Europe, America, and Oceania including Australia. Because of its unique biological and molecular features, ToTV was classified to the new genus Torradovirus, in...

The genus Ditylenchus contains more than 80 recognized nematode species with a very wide host range. The most serious species are Ditylenchus dipsaci and Ditylenchus destructor. Populations of D. dipsaci species complex were collected from Allium cepa, Cichorium endivia and Phlox paniculata in Poland. The Ditylenchus gigas population was collected...

Peanut stunt virus (PSV), which belongs to the Cucumovirus genus, is a pathogen of legumes. Certain PSV strains are associated with a satellite RNA (satRNA) that modify the symptoms of infected plants and interfere with plant metabolism. We used PSV-P genomic transcripts, with and without PSV-P satRNA, and a comparative proteomic 2D-DIGE/MS study t...

The tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is cultivated all over the world and is a vegetable of significant economic importance. However, an increased production of the vegetable is directly connected with an elevated occurrence of pathogens limiting the production efficiency of the vegetable. Both, Tomato torrado virus and Pepino mosaic virus have bee...

Peanut stunt virus (PSV) is a pathogen of legumes, vegetables, trees, and weeds occurring worldwide. The species is characterized by significant genetic variability. PSV strains are classified into four subgroups on the basis of their nucleotide sequence homology. Here, we are presenting two further, fully sequenced PSV strains-PSV-Ag and PSV-G, th...

Globodera rostochiensis is one of the most important plant parasitic nematodes, worldwide. As a quarantine pest of solanaceous crops, the species is often subjected to the morphological and genetic analysis as well as biological tests. They constitute the basis for this nematode detection and control. This paper presents the results of the study on...

Potato mop-top virus (PMTV; genus Pomovirus; family Virgaviridae) is transmitted by the soil-borne Spongospora subterranea f.sp. subterranea, a protoctist that causes powdery scab on potato. PMTV is distributed widely in the potato growing areas in South and North America, Japan and northwestern Europe. This article reviews the current knowledge on...

Potato mop-top virus (PMTV) is a serious pathogen occurring in Northern Europe, North and South America, and Asia that significantly reduces potato (Solanum tuberosum) production. PMTV is transmitted by Spongospora subterranea, the casual agent of potato powdery scab, and causes the characteristic brown arcs and circles (spraing symptoms) in potato...