TITLE:
Colonization of Rice Roots by a Green Fluorescent Protein-Tagged Isolate of Ustilaginoidea virens
AUTHORS:
Mebeaselassie Andargie, Luoye Li, Aiqing Feng, Jianxiong Li
KEYWORDS:
Endophytes, Plant-Fungal Interactions, Rhizosphere, Root Colonization, Ustilaginoidea virens
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.6 No.14,
September
10,
2015
ABSTRACT: The fungus U. virens is the causal agent of rice false smut disease. The green fluorescent protein
(GFP) was used to mark this fungus in order to visualize and analyze the colonization and infection
processes in vivo. Using epifluorescence microscopy colonization and infection on rice roots
were visualized in vivo. After inoculation for 2 to 15 d, it was observed that the conidia and their
germ-tubes had penetrated into epidermis of young roots. The hyphae were found inside the root
xylem 18 d after inoculation. Generally, the transformed fungus colonized the rhizosphere, the
cortex as well as the vascular tissues with symptoms of root necrosis observed. The results of this
work show that U. virens colonize not only rice panicles but also the roots.