Cell wall changes during the formation of aerenchyma in sugarcane roots.

Background and Aims: Aerenchyma develops in different plant organs and leads to the formation of intercellular spaces that can be used by the plant to transport volatile substances. Little is known about the role of cell walls in this process, although the mechanism of aerenchyma formation is known to involve programmed cell death and some cell wall modifications. We assessed the role that cell wall-related mechanisms might play in the formation of aerenchyma in sugarcane roots. Methods: Sections of roots (5 cm) were subjected to microtomography analysis. These roots were divided into 1-cm segments and subjected to cell wall fractionation. We performed analyses of monosaccharides, oligosaccharides and lignin and glycome profiling. Sections were visualized by immunofluorescence and immunogold labelling using selected monoclonal antibodies against polysaccharide epitopes according to the glycome profiles. Key Results: During aerenchyma formation, gas spaces occupied up to 40 % of the cortex cross-section within the first 5 cm of the root. As some of the cortex cells underwent dissolution of the middle lamellae, leading to cell separation, cell expansion took place along with cell death. Mixed-linkage ß-glucan was degraded along with some homogalacturonan and galactan, culminating in the formation of cell wall composites made of xyloglucan, arabinoxylans, cellulose and possibly lignin. Conclusion: The composites formed seem to play a role in the physical-chemical properties of the gas chambers, providing mechanical resistance to forces acting upon the root and at the same time decreasing permeability to gases.

Transmission of Pantoea ananatis and P. agglomerans, causal agents of center rot of onion (Allium cepa), by onion thrips (Thrips tabaci) through feces.

Frankliniella fusca, the tobacco thrips, has been shown to acquire and transmit Pantoea ananatis, one of the causal agents of the center rot of onion. Although Thrips tabaci, the onion thrips, is a common pest of onions, its role as a vector of P. ananatis has been unknown. The bacterium, P. agglomerans, is also associated with the center rot of onion, but its transmission by thrips has not been previously investigated. In this study, we investigated the relationship of T. tabaci with P. ananatis and P. agglomerans. Surface-sterilized T. tabaci were provided with various acquisition access periods (AAP) on onion leaves inoculated with either P. ananatis or P. agglomerans. A positive exponential relationship was observed between thrips AAP duration and P. ananatis (R² = 0.967; P = 0.023) or P. agglomerans acquisition (R² = 0.958; P = 0.017). Transmission experiments conducted with T. tabaci adults indicated that 70% of the seedlings developed center rot symptoms 15 days after inoculation. Immunofluorescence microscopy with antibodies specific to P. ananatis revealed that the bacterium was localized only in the gut of T. tabaci adults. Mechanical inoculation of onion seedlings with fecal rinsates alone produced center rot but not with salivary secretions. Together these results suggested that T. tabaci could efficiently transmit P. ananatis and P. agglomerans.

Location of Acidovorax citrulli in infested watermelon seeds is influenced by the pathway of bacterial invasion.

Watermelon seeds can become infested by Acidovorax citrulli, the causal agent of bacterial fruit blotch (BFB) of cucurbits via penetration of the ovary pericarp or by invasion of the pistil. This study investigated the effect of these invasion pathways on A. citrulli localization in seeds. Seed samples (n = 20 or 50 seeds/lot) from pistil- and pericarp-inoculated lots were dissected into testa, perisperm-endosperm (PE) layer, and embryo tissues and tested for A. citrulli by species-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and by plating on semiselective media. Less than 8% of the testa samples were A. citrulli-positive regardless of the method of seed inoculation. Additionally, the difference in percentages of contaminated testae between the two seed lot types was not significant (P = 0.64). The percentage of A. citrulli-positive PE layer samples as determined by real-time PCR assay was significantly greater for seeds from pistil-inoculated lots (97%) than for seeds from pericarp-inoculated lots (80.3%). The mean percentage of A. citrulli-positive embryo samples was significantly greater for seeds from pistil-inoculated lots (94%) than for seeds from pericarp-inoculated lots (≈8.8%) (P = 0.0001). Removal of PE layers and testae resulted in a significant reduction in BFB seed-to-seedling transmission percentage for seeds from pericarp-inoculated lots (14.8%) relative to those from pistil-inoculated lots (72%). Additionally, using immunofluorescence microscopy, A. citrulli cells were observed in the PE layers and the cotyledons of pistil-inoculated seeds but only in the PE layers of pericarp-inoculated seeds. These results suggest that pericarp invasion results in superficial contamination of the testae and PE layers while pistil invasion results in the deposition of A. citrulli in seed embryos.