Abstract
The fungus U. virens is the causal agent of rice false smut disease. The green fluorescent protein (GFP) was used to mark this fungus in order to visualize and analyze the colonization and infection processes in vivo. Using epifluorescence microscopy colonization and infection on rice roots were visualized in vivo. After inoculation for 2 to 15 d, it was observed that the conidia and their germ-tubes had penetrated into epidermis of young roots. The hyphae were found inside the root xylem 18 d after inoculation. Generally, the transformed fungus colonized the rhizosphere, the cortex as well as the vascular tissues with symptoms of root necrosis observed. The results of this work show that U. virens colonize not only rice panicles but also the roots.
Highlights
Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is an important cereal crop and staple food for a large number of populations all over the world
The pathogenic strain Ustilaginoidea virens isolated from a diseased rice plant was transformed with the green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene as described previously by [23]
GFP-transformed pathogens can be visualized in living tissues without any further processing or manipulation of the samples and have a paramount importance in order to study the interaction of plants with different pathogenic organisms
Summary
Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is an important cereal crop and staple food for a large number of populations all over the world. Observing fungi in soil was very difficult and most of the studies describing the colonization of root surfaces by a fungus were carried out using hydroponic systems [12]-[14] or with a substrate such as sand or vermiculite [15]. More detailed knowledge on the in vivo interactions between the pathogenic fungus and the plant could lead to the discovery of more efficient ways to control the disease. Details of these interactions can be essential in studies of the biological control of the fungus by beneficial antagonistic microorganisms that colonize the rice rhizosphere. Using a GFP-labeled fungal strain, this study was initiated to investigate the systemic infection and colonization of this fungus on/in rice roots
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