Attachment of the parasitic weed dodder to the host |
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Authors: | Vaughn K C |
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Institution: | (1) Southern Weed Science Research Unit, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Stoneville, Mississippi, US |
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Abstract: | Summary. The parasitic weed dodder (Cuscuta pentagona L.) invades a number of potential host species, but the mechanisms responsible for ensuring tight adhesion to the wide variety
of host surfaces have yet to be identified. In this study, a battery of microscopy protocols is used to examine the host–parasite
interface in an effort to deduce these mechanisms. As the dodder shoot approaches the host tissue, epidermal cells in the
parasite shoot elongate and differentiate into secretory type trichomes. The trichome cell walls are malleable, allowing them
to elongate towards the host and bend their walls to conform to the shape of the host cell surface. The presence of osmiophilic
particles (probable cell-wall-loosening complexes) at far greater numbers than found in other species presages the expansion
and malleable nature of the epidermal cells. In addition to the changes in cell shape, the dodder trichome cells secrete an
electron-opaque cementing substance that covers the host–parasite interface. When probed with antibodies that recognize cell
wall components, the cement reacted only with antibodies that recognize chiefly de-esterified pectins but not other common
wall constituents. These data indicate that dodder utilizes both a cementing layer of pectin and a radically modified epidermal
cell wall to secure the parasite to the perspective host.
Received January 29, 2001 Accepted November 28, 2001 |
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Keywords: | : Cuscuta pentagona Osmiophilic particle Parasitic weed Pectin Cell wall Immunocytochemistry |
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