Targeted destruction of fungal structures of Erysiphe trifoliorum on flat leaf surfaces of Marchantia polymorpha

Abstract

In this study, we observed the germination behaviour of airborne conidia from powdery mildews that settle on thalloid surfaces. We inoculated thalli (flat, sheet-like leaf tissues) and gemmae (small, flat, sheet-like leaf tissues that propagate asexually via bud-like structures) of the common liverwort (Marchantia polymorpha) with conidia from tomato powdery mildew (Oidium neolycopersici; KTP-02) and red clover powdery mildew (Erysiphe trifoliorum; KRCP-4N) and examined their germination and subsequent appressorium formation under a high-fidelity digital microscope. Conidial bodies and germ tubes of the inoculated KRCP-4N conidia were destroyed on both the thalli and gemmae. The destruction of these fungal structures was observed only for KRCP-4N conidia inoculated onto M. polymorpha on both leaf surfaces. No differences in destruction of the KRCP-4N fungal structures between thalli and gemmae were observed. At 4 h post-inoculation, destruction of the germ tube tip was observed when it reached the gemmae leaf surface. At 6 h post-inoculation, the conidial bodies and germ tubes were destroyed. In contrast, KTP-02 conidia were not destroyed and formed normal, well-lobed appressoria on the surface of M. polymorpha gemmae.