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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, July 2009, p. 4829-4834, Vol. 75, No. 14
0099-2240/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.00635-09
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Specific In Situ Visualization of the Pathogenic Endophytic Fungus Aciculosporium take, the Cause of Witches’ Broom in Bamboo{triangledown}

Eiji Tanaka*

Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Ishikawa Prefectural University, Nonoichi-cho, Ishikawa 921-8836, Japan

Received 18 March 2009/ Accepted 14 May 2009

The endophytic fungus Aciculosporium take (Ascomycota; Clavicipitaceae) causes continuous shoot growth in bamboo. The colonized shoot eventually results in witches’ broom formation but maintains normal leaf arrangement and branching pattern. To analyze the mechanism of well-regulated symptom development, the location of the fungal endophytic hyphae in host tissues was visualized. A colorimetric in situ hybridization technique using a species-specific oligonucleotide probe targeting the 18S rRNA of A. take was used. In situ hybridization was performed on tissue sections of diseased shoots with or without external signs of fungal colonization. Specific signals were detected in intercellular spaces of the bamboo tissues. Most signals were detected in the shoot apical meristem and the leaf primordia. In addition, fewer signals were detected in the lateral buds, juvenile leaves, and stems. These results indicate that A. take grows endophytically, particularly in the shoot apical meristem of the host. The location of A. take hyphae suggests that the mechanism of symptom development can be explained by the action of exogenous fungal auxin, which continuously induces primordium initiation within the host.

* Mailing address: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Ishikawa Prefectural University, Nonoichi-cho, Ishikawa 921-8836, Japan. Phone: 81-76-227-7473. Fax: 81-76-227-7410. E-mail: tanakae{at}ishikawa-pu.ac.jp

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 22 May 2009.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, July 2009, p. 4829-4834, Vol. 75, No. 14
0099-2240/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.00635-09
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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