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Acta Prataculturae Sinica ›› 2017, Vol. 26 ›› Issue (2): 88-94.DOI: 10.11686/cyxb2016123

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Structural changes in leaves in Medicago sativa infected with Erysiphe pisi

ZHANG Yong-Mei1, 2, MA Hui-Ling2, *, TANG Yun-Zhi2   

  1. 1.Instrumental Research & Analysis Center, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China;
    2.Pratacultural College, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
  • Received:2016-03-23 Online:2017-02-20 Published:2017-02-20

Abstract: To explore the relationship between plant cell structure and disease resistance, two alfalfa (Medicago sativa) cultivars with different levels of resistance were analyzed after inoculation with the powdery mildew fungus, Erysiphe pisi. Leaves were harvested at 0, 3, 7, and 10 days after inoculation, embedded in paraffin, and cut into sections to observe cell structural changes. The cellular structure of palisade tissue changed after infection with E. pisi. Palisade cells of the resistant alfalfa line changed from a single long cylindrical cell into several subrotund cells that were distributed evenly and arranged compactly. The mesophyll cell layer increased from 4-5-cells thick before infection to 7-8-cells thick after infection. There were two notable changes in the palisade cell structure of susceptible alfalfa. One was that long cylindrical palisade cells changed into several subrotund cells with a non-uniform distribution and more space between cells. The other was that palisade cells near vascular bundles retained their long cylindrical shape and stayed in a compact arrangement with only small spaces between cells.