Abstract
Isolated cell walls obtained from young (1 da) and mature (5 da) cultures of Choanephora cucurbitarum, susceptible and resistant, respectively, to the biotrophic mycoparasite, Piptocephalis virginiana, were analyzed by microchemical and electron microscopic techniques. Comparison of the chemical composition of both young and mature cell walls revealed no qualitative difference. However, as the cultures aged, an increase in chitin, protein, neutral sugars (especially glucose and mannose), and a decrease in chitosan content were noted. Glutaraldehyde-osmium-fixed thin sections and metal shadow replicas revealed that the cell walls of hyphae in young cultures had a single layer of randomly distributed microfibrils of chitin, whereas the hyphal walls in mature cultures possessed two layers, randomly- and parallel-oriented microfibrils. The presence of a secondary layer of cell wall in mature hyphae coincided with the ability of the host to form a papilla at the infection site when challenged by the parasite. The role of the host cell wall in age-related resistance to a mycoparasite is discussed.
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