Glycerol generates turgor in rice blast

Many plant pathogenic fungi are able to penetrate the cuticles of their host plants by elaborating specialized cells known as appressoria. The morphology and development of appressoria have been well studied, but little is known about how these cells are able to breach the tough plant surface. We ha...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature (London) 1997-09, Vol.389 (6648), p.244-244
Main Authors: de Jong, Joke C, McCormack, Barbara J, Smirnoff, Nicholas, Talbot, Nicholas J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biosynthesis
Glycerol
Host plants
Humanities and Social Sciences
Instituut voor Agrobiologisch en Bodemvruchtbaarheidsonderzoek
Magnaporthe grisea
Membranes
multidisciplinary
Oryza sativa
Research Institute for Agrobiology and Soil Fertility
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
scientific-correspondence
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Many plant pathogenic fungi are able to penetrate the cuticles of their host plants by elaborating specialized cells known as appressoria. The morphology and development of appressoria have been well studied, but little is known about how these cells are able to breach the tough plant surface. We have now found that the appressoria of rice blast fungus (Magnaporthe grisea) use glycerol to generate pressure which ruptures plant cuticles.
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/38418