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Biophysics

Fungus punches its way in

Nature volume 401, pages 332–333 (1999)Cite this article

The development of a specialized fungal cell known as the appressorium is a wondrous story. This microscopic structure inflates on the surface of a grass leaf, then generates enough force to push through the fatty plant cuticle and glassy epidermal cell wall to tap the juices within. Clemens Bechinger and colleagues have made a breakthrough in understanding how this infection platform works, by using an optical method to measure the forces produced by a single appressorium. This work, reported in Science1, verifies earlier predictions about the magnitude of the invasive force, pushing us closer to a comprehensive picture of the penetration mechanism.

Our understanding of appressorial development draws on experiments using two of the most important cereal pathogens — Magnaporthe grisea (the rice blast fungus) and Colletotrichum graminicola. Infection is initiated when a fungal spore lands, and germinates, on the surface of the host. The appressorium develops as a swelling at the tip of the developing fungal filament (hypha), and the structure becomes bonded to the host by a strong glue2,3. Maturation involves the deposition of melanin within the appressorial wall, and, as the appressorium blackens, accumulation of osmolytes such as glycerol in the cytoplasm4. These osmolytes draw water into the appressorium, generating extraordinary levels of intracellular turgor pressure5. Following this increase in turgor, a thin penetration hypha extends from the base of the appressorium and perforates the host surface.

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References

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  1. Department of Botany, Miami University, Oxford, 45056, Ohio, USA

    Nicholas P. Money

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  1. Nicholas P. Money
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Correspondence to Nicholas P. Money.

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Money, N. Fungus punches its way in. Nature 401, 332–333 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/43797

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