Rearrangement of cell wall polymers in flax infected with a pathogenic strain of Fusarium culmorum

Abstract

A pathogenic strain of Fusarium culmorum caused flax disease whose first visible symptom was pigmentation and possible necrosis of the root tip. To better understand the process of infection we tried to determine the role of cell wall polymers in flax treated with F. culmorum. F. culmorum infection caused cell wall rearrangement which was associated with changes in the cell wall structure without changes in the amount of polymers. Moreover, pathogenic fungi strongly induced chitinase, β-1,3-glucanase, cellulase2, α-galactosidase and lignin-related genes, while mRNA levels of the majority of genes involved in metabolism of cell wall polysaccharide polymers decreased in time.