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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Columbia, Missouri » Plant Genetics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #72668
Title: CHITINASES IN RHIZOMATOUS BIRDSFOOT TREFOIL

Author
item ROBERTS, CRAIG - UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI
item KARR, ARTHUR - UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI
item SCHAFFER, HAL - UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI
item Beuselinck, Paul

Submitted to: Newsletter of the Missouri Forage and Grassland Council
Publication Type: Research Notes
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/20/1996
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: In early 1996, a new rhizomatous birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L.) was released by the USDA-ARS under the name "ARS-2620." According to recent research at the University of Missouri, the new ARS-2620 may be even more persistent than expected. Diseases are the main cause of birdsfoot trefoil stand loss. While rhizomes should allow the new plants to "outrun" "diseased crowns, the crown itself appears to be more disease resistant tha non-rhizomatous birdsfoot trefoil. The increased resistance is related to chitinase, a natural enzyme associated with disease resistance in many crops. Research linked chitinase level in birdsfoot trefoil to resistance to the pathogen, Rhizoctonia solani, just one of the pathogens involved in diseases of the crown. In a repeated greenhouse experiment, rhizomatous and non-rhizomatous birdsfoot trefoil plants were inoculated with R. solani. After inoculation, the plants were grown for several weeks, then analyzed for chitinase and resistance to Rhizoctonia. All non-rhizomatous plants died and all lacked detectable chitinase. In contrast, all of the rhizomatious plants that had high chitinase levels survived. Future studies will allow us to determine how much more resistant the new plants are.