Record ID No. |
1914 |
Author(s) |
Sukno S.A., Garcia V.M., Shaw B.D., Thon M.R , 2008 |
Affiliation |
Univ Salamanca, Dept Genet & Microbiol, Ctr Hispano Luso Invest Agrarias CIALE, Avda Campo Charro S-N, Salamanca 37007, SPAIN |
Title |
Root infection and systemic colonization of maize by Colletotrichum graminicola |
Source. Vol.(no):Page |
Applied and Environmental Microbiology.74(3):823-832p. |
Categories |
Arbuscular Mycorrhiza |
Subjects |
Biochemistry |
Sub-subjects |
Miscellaneous |
Organism |
n.a. |
Country |
SPAIN, Europe |
Abstracts |
Colletotrichum graminicola is a filamentous ascomycete that causes anthracnose
disease of maize. While the fungus can cause devastating foliar leaf blight and stalk rot
diseases, little is known about its ability to infect roots. Previously published reports suggest
that C. Graminicola may infect maize roots and that root infections may contribute to the
colonization of aboveground plant tissues, leading to disease. To determine whether C.
Graminicola can infect maize roots and whether root infections can result in the colonization of
aboveground plant tissues, we developed a green fluorescent protein-tagged strain and used it to
study the plant root colonization and, infection process in vivo. We observed structures produced
by other root pathogenic fungi, including runner hyphae, hyphopodia, and microsclerotia. A mosaic
pattern of infection resulted from specific epidermal and cortical cells becoming infected by
intercellular hyphae while surrounding cells were uninfected, a pattern that is distinctly
different from that described for leaves. Interestingly, falcate conidia, normally restricted to
acervuli, were also found filling epidermal cells and root hairs. Twenty-eight percent of plants
challenged with soilborne inoculum became infected in aboveground plant parts (stem and/or
leaves), indicating that root infection can lead to asymptomatic systemic colonization of the
plants. Many of the traits observed for C. Graminicola have been previously reported for other
root-pathogenic fungi, suggesting that these traits are evolutionally conserved in multiple
fungal lineages. These observations suggest that root infection may be an important component of
the maize anthracnose disease cycle. |