The effects of microgravity and clinorotation on the interaction of plant cells with fungal pathogen

The influence of microgravity and slow horizontal clinorotation (2 rev/min), which partly mimics microgravity, on the interaction of plant cells of soybean roots to Phytophthora sojae and of potato minitubers to Phytophthora infestans was studied during the Space Shuttle Mission STS-87 and during clinorotation. Seedlings of soybean cultivar Williams 82 grown in spaceflight and at 1 g were untreated or inoculated with pathogen P. sojae; minitubers of potato (cv Adreta) grown at horizontal clinorotation and the vertical control also were untreated or inoculated with pathogen P. infestans. The methods of light microscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, confocal microscopy and also cytochemistry for the determination of callose content and peroxydase activity were used in the experiments. Post-landing analysis of the meristem cells of soybean roots infected with P. sojae and post-clinorotation analysis of the parenchyma cells of potato minitubers cells infected with P. infestans showed more destroying symptoms in cells of plant-host, which were more extensive colonized relative to the controls exposed to the pathogen fungus. Infected cells of plants-host were divided in two types: cells of first type were completely destroyed and hyphae of pathogen fungus were into these cells or in intercellular spaces; cells of second type characterized by partly changed ultrastructure and a calcium sites were contained above in mentioned cells. These data suggest that root cells of soybean seedlings grown in microgravity and cells of potato minitubers grown at slow horizontal clinorotation are more susceptible to penetration of a fungal pathogen in comparison with the corresponding controls.