Wound repair and disease resistance in stems of Pachysandra terminalis

Abstract

Changes in cortical cells around wounds in pachysandra (Pachysandra terminalis Sieb. & Zucc.) stems were monitored by microscopic examination of some wounds and by inoculation of others with conidia of Volutella pachysandricola B. O. Dodge. Stems with young wounds ( < 3 days old) were readily colonized by the pathogen. In progressively older wounds, reduced frequency of infection was correlated with deposition of lignin in cell walls and intercellular spaces, and of suberin on inner lignified cell wall surfaces in one or two layers of parenchyma around the wound. Histological events associated with wound repair in pachysandra appear to be similar to those described for other species of angiosperms and gymnosperms.