Figures
Appressorium of the plant pathogenic fungus Colletotrichum higginsianum.
The spores of Colletotrichum higginsianum germinate on plant surfaces to produce highly specialized cells called appressoria with thick, darkly melanized cell walls. Long-recognized as organs of attachment and penetration, appressoria also function in the focal delivery of secreted effector proteins (see Kleemann et al., doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1002643). Transmission electron microscopy reveals a needle-like penetration hypha emerging from a nanoscale pore (200 nm diameter) in the base of the appressorium to puncture the plant cuticle and cell wall.
Image Credit: Richard O'Connell, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Cologne
Citation: (2012) PLoS Pathogens Issue Image | Vol. 8(4) April 2012. PLoS Pathog 8(4): ev08.i04. https://doi.org/10.1371/image.ppat.v08.i04
Published: April 26, 2012
Copyright: © 2012 O'Connell. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
The spores of Colletotrichum higginsianum germinate on plant surfaces to produce highly specialized cells called appressoria with thick, darkly melanized cell walls. Long-recognized as organs of attachment and penetration, appressoria also function in the focal delivery of secreted effector proteins (see Kleemann et al., doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1002643). Transmission electron microscopy reveals a needle-like penetration hypha emerging from a nanoscale pore (200 nm diameter) in the base of the appressorium to puncture the plant cuticle and cell wall.
Image Credit: Richard O'Connell, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Cologne