Skip Navigation


JXB Advance Access originally published online on June 22, 2006
Journal of Experimental Botany 2006 57(10):2211-2226; doi:10.1093/jxb/erj186
This Article
Right arrow Abstract Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrowOA All Versions of this Article:
57/10/2211    most recent
erj186v2
erj186v1
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (7)
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Prats, E.
Right arrow Articles by Carver, T. L. W.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Prats, E.
Right arrow Articles by Carver, T. L. W.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Prats, E.
Right arrow Articles by Carver, T. L. W.
Social Bookmarking
 Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Published by Oxford University Press [2006] on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/uk/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.This paper is available online free of all access charges (see http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/open_access.html for further details)


RESEARCH PAPER

Stomatal lock-open, a consequence of epidermal cell death, follows transient suppression of stomatal opening in barley attacked by Blumeria graminis

Elena Prats1,*, Alan P. Gay1, Luis A. J. Mur2, Barry J. Thomas1 and Timothy L. W. Carver1

1Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion SY23 3EB, UK
2University of Wales Aberystwyth, Institute of Biological Sciences, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion SY23 2DA, UK

*To whom correspondence should be addressed at Instituto de Agricultura Sostenible, Alameda del Obispo, Menéndez Pidal s/n, 14080 Córdoba, Spain. E-mail: bb2prpee{at}uco.es

Received 4 November 2005; Accepted 13 March 2006


    Abstract
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
Blumeria graminis f.sp. hordei (Bgh) attack disrupted stomatal behaviour, and hence leaf water conductance (gl), in barley genotypes Pallas and Risø-S (susceptible), P01 (with Mla1 conditioning a hypersensitive response; HR), and P22 and Risø-R (with mlo5 conditioning papilla-based penetration resistance). Inoculation caused some stomatal closure well before the fungus attempted infection. Coinciding with epidermal cell penetration, stomatal opening in light was also impeded, although stomata of susceptible and mlo5 lines remained largely able to close in darkness. Following infection, in susceptible lines stomata closed in darkness but opening in light was persistently impeded. In Risø-R, stomata recovered nearly complete function by ~30 h after inoculation, i.e. after penetration resistance was accomplished. In P01, stomata became locked open and unable to close in darkness shortly after epidermal cells died due to HR. In the P22 background, mlo5 penetration resistance was often followed by consequential death of attacked cells, and here too stomata became locked open, but not until ~24 h after pathogen attack had ceased. The influence of epidermal cell death was localized, and only affected stomata within one or two cells distance. These stomata were unable to close not only in darkness but also after application of abscisic acid and in wilted leaves suffering drought. Thus, resistance to Bgh based on HR or associated with cell death may have previously unsuspected negative consequences for the physiological health of apparently ‘disease-free’ plants. The results are discussed in relation to the control of stomatal aperture in barley by epidermal cells.

Key words: Barley, Blumeria, hypersensitive response, papilla, powdery mildew, stoma, stomatal conductance, stomatal lock-up


    Introduction
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
Disease control through inherent plant resistance is a vital component in sustainable crop production because it eliminates dependence on costly fungicides with their potential and perceived threats to the environment and consumer. A serious pathogen of small grain cereals, powdery mildew, incited by the obligate biotrophic fungal pathogen Blumeria graminis DC Speer f.sp. hordei Marchal (Bgh) is studied here. The relationship between expression of different resistance mechanisms and the time-courses of stomatal action are considered because of the pivotal role of stomatal function in regulating photosynthesis and transpiration.

A good understanding of temporal and spatial development of powdery mildew is required to interpret our results, thus these will now be described (Fig. 1). Over the first 12 h after inoculation (h.a.i.), Bgh germling development follows an ordered morphogenetic sequence (Green et al., 2002). First, the short primary germ tube (PGT; Fig. 1A, B) emerges at ~1 h.a.i., attaches to the plant, and forms a short peg that penetrates the cuticle (Edwards, 2002). The appressorial germ tube (AGT; Fig. 1A, B) emerges soon after the PGT, elongates and differentiates a lobed, apical appressorium by ~10 h.a.i. (Fig. 1C). A penetration peg formed under the appressorium (10–12 h.a.i.) attempts to breach the cuticle and epidermal cell wall. On susceptible hosts, penetration tends to be successful and the peg tip swells within the host cell (12–15 h.a.i.) differentiating (15–20 h.a.i.) into a haustorium (Fig. 1D) that develops numerous digitate processes over the next 4–5 d. Haustoria absorb nutrient to feed ectophytic mycelia (Fig. 1E, F) from which subsequent generations of haustoria (from 3 d) and conidiophores (from 4 d; Fig. 1G) are produced.


Figure 1
View larger version (65K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
Fig. 1 Cryo-SEM, transmitted light, and fluorescence (blue light excitation) micrographs of key stages in Bgh development and barley cell responses. (A–C) Up to 10 h after inoculation (h.a.i.), fungal development is indistinguishable on susceptible and resistant plant genotypes such as Pallas, P01, and P22. (A) By 5 h.a.i., the primary germ tube (PGT) has emerged from the conidium (C) and adhered to the leaf surface. The appressorial germ tube (AGT) has elongated partially but not yet differentiated an apical lobe. (B) Fluorescence microscopy reveals autofluorogenic material accumulated within a small papilla (Pa) deposited as a plant epidermal cell response to the PGT. (C) By 10 h.a.i., the appressorium (Ap) has differentiated a hooked apical lobe. (D–G) Successful infection of a susceptible host. (D) By 15–18 h.a.i., a penetration peg emerging beneath the Ap has penetrated the plant cell and its tip has swollen to form a rudimentary haustorium (H) visible by light microscopy. (E) Scanning electron and (F) light microscope images of developing colonies 30 h.a.i. By 30 h.a.i., ectophytic mycelium (M) has grown from the AGT as the haustorium develops a digitate process from each end of its central body. (G) By 96 h.a.i., mycelial growth is extensive. Repeated penetration from hyphal appressoria has resulted in the formation of further haustoria (not shown), and bulbous conidiophores (Co) have started generating chains of conidia (CC) for wind dispersal. (H–K) Resistance responses viewed 30 h.a.i. (H) Transmitted light and (I) fluorescence images of a germling that failed to penetrate a living plant cell from its first appressorial lobe and therefore formed a second lobe (L2). Refractive, autofluorescent papillae subtend both appressorial lobes and the PGT, although fluorescence is weak in the smaller papilla subtending L2. (J, K) Epidermal cell death (CD) as a result of single gene-controlled hypersensitivity that prevents further pathogen growth. By SEM (J), dead epidermal cells are obviously collapsed while they show whole-cell autofluorescence viewed by fluorescence microscopy (K). In lines carrying Mla1 attacked by an avirulent fungal isolate, most cells that do not form an effective papilla collapse and become autofluorescent by 24 h.a.i.

 
Even in susceptible hosts, not all infection attempts succeed, and two distinct host cell responses can arrest fungal development. In one, a defensive papilla formed by the living plant epidermal cell (Fig. 1H, I) prevents penetration. Small papillae form beneath PGT tips (Fig. 1H), but the larger ones formed beneath appressoria (Fig. 1H) have been studied in greater detail (Zeyen et al., 2002). AGTs may sequentially differentiate further lobes (Fig. 1H, I), each attempting penetration in turn until fungal resources are exhausted. Papillae are chemically complex appositions comprising inorganic and organic constituents including callose, and autofluorogenic phenolics (Fig. 1B, I). Their deposition involves generation of nitric oxide (Prats et al., 2005) and hydrogen peroxide (Vanacker et al., 2000), cytoskeletal rearrangement (Kobayashi et al., 1997; Opalski et al., 2005), and redirected cytoplasmic streaming and aggregation (Zeyen et al., 2002). These events are likely to be directing vesicles containing papilla components to the site of attempted penetration. Vesicle targeting involves SNARE proteins and the general membrane trafficking factor SNAP (Collins et al., 2003; Assaad et al., 2004), suggesting that papilla formation is mediated by processes akin to membrane/vesicle trafficking in animal systems (Pelham, 2001). Effective papilla defence also enhances the ability of cells adjacent to the attacked cell to form papillae in response to subsequent attacks (Lyngkjær and Carver, 2000), indicating that intercellular communication is a consequence of the response.

MLO is a calmodulin-binding membrane protein which acts to suppress papilla-based defences (Kim et al., 2002). In mlo varieties, papillae are readily formed following Bgh challenge, and barley varieties with mlo show effective and durable field resistance (Schulze-Lefert and Panstruga, 2003). However, mlo alleles are often associated with adverse pleiotropic effects including spontaneous necrotic flecking and reduced yield (Kjær et al., 1990), although the severity of these effects is strongly influenced by genetic background (Bjørnstad and Aastveit, 1990).

The second type of response is enhanced epidermal cell death, which occurs much more frequently in resistant compared with susceptible barley genotypes. In resistant genotypes, cell death results from a race-specific, single gene-controlled hypersensitive response (HR) and prevents nutrient flow to the fungus (Fig. 1J, K). If a fungus overcomes the papilla defence, plants with such ‘major’ gene resistance, for example, with alleles at the Mla locus, will elicit a localized HR (Panstruga and Schulze-Lefert, 2002). In Mla1 barley, epidermal HR occurs before or soon after a haustorium forms (Zeyen et al., 1995). Among the first signs of HR are H+ and Ca2+ efflux from the apoplast (12–24 h.a.i.; Felle et al., 2004) and, within the attacked cell, the transient generation of nitric oxide (12–16 h.a.i.; Prats et al., 2005) and H2O2 (15–16 h.a.i.; Thordal-Christensen et al., 1997; Huckelhoven and Kogel, 2003). The whole epidermal cell subsequently shows autofluorescence (Fig. 1K; Vanacker et al., 2000), as phenolic compounds accumulate, and this is a good indicator of cell death (Lyngkjær et al., 2001). As with papilla formation, HR also enhances the papilla response in neighbouring cells (Lyngkjær et al., 2001), again indicating intercellular communication due to a resistance response.

These disease responses impact on whole plant physiology. In susceptible plants, infection increases respiration, decreases photosynthesis, accelerates leaf senescence, impairs shoot and root growth, and reduces yield (Jenkyn and Bainbridge, 1978). Attack can also reduce yield and grain protein in plants with effective major gene resistance that develop no apparent disease (Smedegaard-Petersen and Stølen, 1981): these losses were ascribed to increased respiration associated with HR, although this effect was transient.

Stomata are important regulators of plant interactions with their environment, and their movements control transpiration. They respond to factors such as partial pressures of CO2, light, and water status, and can exhibit circadian rhythms (Webb, 2003). Abscisic acid (ABA), often produced by roots in drying soil, has long been implicated in stomatal control, and acts by liberating calcium from internal stores via cADPR and IP3-mediated signalling (Leckie et al., 1998; Staxen et al., 1999; Hamilton et al., 2000). The calcium liberated inhibits K+ influx, H+ efflux, and the H+/sucrose symporter which reduce internal osmolyte levels and thus guard cell turgidity (reviewed by Outlaw, 2003). Possible impacts of plant–pathogen interactions on stomatal function may be via defence-associated H2O2 and NO generation, which have also been shown to mediate ABA effects on stomata (Pei et al., 2000; Garcia-Mata and Lamattina, 2001; Desikan et al., 2002). Further, ABA effects on plant–pathogen interactions are now being noted. Tomato mutants with reduced ABA levels showed enhanced resistance to the necrotrophic pathogen Botrytis cinerea (Audenaert et al., 2002), and the hemibiotroph Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato (Thaler and Bostock, 2004), and the Arabidopsis ABA-deficient mutant aba1-1 shows reduced susceptibility to virulent isolates of Peronospora parasitica (Mohr and Cahill, 2003). In such cases, ABA may act by suppressing defence signalling mediated by salicylic acid, ethylene, or jasmonates (Audenaert et al., 2002; Anderson et al., 2004). Interestingly, the fungal pathogen itself could be a source of ABA (Siewers et al., 2004). Conversely, ABA can also increase plant resistance. For example, ABA treatments increased resistance to Bgh in barley (Wiese et al., 2004).

Given these data, it is perhaps unsurprising that several studies suggest that pathogens can affect plant stomatal function (reviewed by Ayres, 1981) and thereby indirectly affect plant performance. For example, Ayres and Zadoks (1979) showed that stomata of powdery mildewed barley fail to open fully in the light. However, two earlier time-course studies of transpiration (Majernik and Mansfield, 1971) and stomatal behaviour (Priehadny, 1975) in susceptible and resistant barley failed to detect substantial effects of powdery mildew attack until at least 5 d after inoculation, by which time secondary effects, such as leaf senescence, may have occurred.

The relationships between stomatal behaviour and disease development in susceptible barley and the execution of resistant responses in isolines with the Mla1 allele conditioning HR or the mlo5 allele conditioning papilla-based resistance have been studied here. Rapid non-destructive methods have been combined with direct microscopic observation and a range of stomatal responses depending on the presence or absence of papilla- and HR-based resistance have been demonstrated. The mechanisms responsible for previously unreported responses and their consequences for plant performance are discussed.


    Materials and methods
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
Pathogen, plants, inoculation, and incubation
Isolate CC1 of Bgh was maintained in a spore-proof greenhouse on seedlings of susceptible barley cv. Pallas shaken 1 d before experimentation to remove ageing conidia. The barley genotypes used were cv. Pallas and its near-isogenic derivatives P01, with Mla1, and P22, with mlo5 (Kolster et al., 1986), as well as the susceptible barley genotype Risø 4567-S (abbreviated Risø-S) and its near-isogenic derivative Risø 4567-R (Risø-R) with mlo5 (Jørgensen and Jensen, 1976). Plants were grown individually in 30x110 mm plastic centrifuge tubes (with two 5 mm drainage holes) containing nutrient-balanced, peat-based compost (Levington M2; Levington Horticulture, Ipswich, Suffolk, UK). Tubes stood in trays filled to ~50 mm depth with the same compost which was watered freely throughout (unless stated otherwise). Plants were grown in a room at 20 °C, 70% relative humidity and under 12 h dark/12 h light with 450 µmol m–2 s–1 photon flux density supplied by high-output white fluorescent tubes.

When first-formed leaves were fully expanded (10–11 d), plants for inoculation were taken to a laboratory while controls were removed to an adjacent room so that all experienced the same environmental fluctuations. For inoculation, plants were arranged around the base of a settling tower beneath which the first-formed leaves were laid flat, adaxial surface up, before inoculation with 100–110 conidia mm–2. One experiment required inoculation of only the tip or base half of leaves, in which case the other portion was temporarily covered with a polyethylene mask. After inoculation, all plants were returned to the growth room. Unless stated otherwise, the 12 h dark period commenced immediately after inoculation.

Stomatal conductance of inoculated and healthy leaves
Leaf water conductance (gl) was measured with an AP4 cycling porometer (Delta-T Devices Ltd, Cambridge, UK). gl is the sum of epidermal and stomatal conductance but, as epidermal conductance of barley is low, changes in gl largely reflect changes in stomatal aperture. The porometer allows rapid measurement that is non-destructive and samples a relatively large area (17.5x2.5 mm) of leaf. It was usually used on the centre of the adaxial surface of leaf laminae. However, to determine whether inoculation of the tip half of a lamina affected gl in the basal, uninoculated half, and vice versa, measurements were made in the centres of the two regions and from equivalent regions of uninoculated leaves. In light, a single measurement took <20 s and 10 replicate plants were measured in <5 min. In darkness it took slightly longer because gl was lower. In each experiment, sets of 10 healthy and 10 inoculated plants of the chosen barley lines were measured, each set being held in adjacent trays on the growth room bench. The porometer was wiped clean after measuring inoculated leaves to avoid transferring the pathogen.

Comparisons of gl between inoculated and healthy plants of a barley line were made by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) using Genstat (Baird et al., 2002). Since different barley lines were inoculated under separate settling towers, uncontrolled factors (e.g. spore viability) may have differed, so no direct comparisons between lines were made. Where only leaf tips or bases were inoculated, ANOVA compared gl of inoculated and uninoculated regions within leaves and equivalent regions of healthy leaves. Mean separation was determined by calculating the least significant difference (LSD), and P <0.05 was taken to indicate significance.

Effects of drought on stomatal conductance in P01
Measurement of gl was made on well-watered inoculated and healthy P01 plants 59 h.a.i. (1 h before the end of the third dark period) and 110 h.a.i. (2 h after the start of the fifth light period). At 120 h.a.i., all tubes were transferred to racks, allowing the compost to dry, and gl was re-measured during the two successive light periods (132–144 and 156–168 h.a.i.) and, finally, 1 h before the end of the next dark period (179 h.a.i.; i.e. 59 h after water was withheld). ANOVA compared gl between healthy and inoculated leaves within sample times.

Effects of abscisic acid (ABA) on stomatal conductance in P01
Measurement of gl was made on inoculated and healthy P01 leaves 59 h.a.i. (before the end of the third dark period) and 64 h.a.i. (4 h into the third light period). Starting at 65 h.a.i., leaves were immersed for 5 s in 100 µM ABA [containing 326 µM methanol and 0.01% (v/v) Tween-20], one after another (the entire procedure was accomplished within 10 min). Within 30 min, all leaves appeared dry, and gl was re-measured. ANOVA compared gl before and after ABA treatment within inoculated and healthy leaves, and between healthy and inoculated leaves within sample times.

Transmitted light and incident fluorescence microscopy
At the termination of certain time-course experiments, fungal development and host cell responses were assessed by transmitted light and incident fluorescence microscopy (blue exciter filter, maximum transmittance 480 nm; dichroic mirror and barrier filter transmittance >530 nm; x400 magnification). The central 30 mm segment from four of the 10 inoculated leaves of each line was fixed, cleared, and stained with 1% aniline blue in lactoglycerol by methods that avoid germling displacement (Lyngkjær et al., 2001). The presence of fungal structures and the outcome of attacks on 40 randomly selected stomatal complexes (guard and subsidiary cells) and on epidermal cells directly adjacent to each complex (type ‘A’ cells sensu Koga et al., 1990; Fig. 4) were determined for every leaf. Note was made of whether leaf cells were in contact with an appressorium, whether they were alive but had been penetrated and contained a primary haustorium, or whether they had been killed as a result of attack. As in many previous studies (Zeyen et al., 1995; Lyngkjær et al., 2001; Prats et al., 2005), plant cell death was recognized by their whole-cell autofluorescence (Fig. 1K) and cytoplasmic disorganization.


Figure 4
View larger version (23K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
Fig. 4 Considerations of stomatal condition in relation to events in nearby epidermal cells of P01 leaves. Observations were made by LTSEM of leaves cryofixed 52 h.a.i., i.e. 4 h after the onset of the dark period, when >99% of stomata in healthy leaves were closed (Table 2). Twenty cases were examined for each of three different situations. In situation 1, open stoma were located and adjacent type A cells and their immediate outlying neighbours (labelled ‘O’) were examined to determine whether they were attacked by an appressorium and, if so, whether they had survived. In situation 2, stomatal complexes that lay adjacent to a dead type A cell were located and note was made of whether the stoma was fully or partially open, or closed. In situation 3, stomatal complexes that lay adjacent to one living type A cell in contact with an appressorium were located, and note was made of whether the stoma was fully or partially open, or closed.

 
Low-temperature scanning electron microscopy (LTSEM)
At various times after inoculation, 5 mm square pieces cut from inoculated or healthy leaves of plants grown for the purpose were attached to flat copper SEM stubs using colloidal graphite. Mounts were then cryofixed within 30 s by immersing stubs in liquid nitrogen where they were stored until required. Stubs were introduced to a precooled stub holder (approximately –190 °C) and transferred to the cold stage (approximately –160 °C) of a JEOL JSM 840 SEM which was then warmed (10 min at –70 °C) to remove surface ice. Stubs were then returned to a sputter-cryo system (Emscope SP2000A) and gold coated before observation at approximately –160 °C on the SEM cold stage using 3.0 or 5.0 kV electron accelerating voltage. Images were recorded digitally using a digitizer board and software (SemAforeTM, JEOL) running under a WindowsTM operating system.


    Results
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
Challenge with Bgh affects stomatal behaviour in susceptible barley cv. Pallas and in P01 carrying the Mla1 allele conditioning HR
Measurements of leaf water conductance (gl): Figure 2 shows temporal changes in gl for healthy and inoculated Pallas and P01 leaves measured frequently during either light (Fig. 2A) or dark (Fig. 2B) periods over 2–3 d following inoculation. In healthy leaves of both lines, gl was high (but somewhat variable) in the light and low and stable in darkness. During the first light period (14–24 h.a.i.), inoculation with Bgh reduced gl in both lines. This suggested that, irrespective of host resistance, attempted pathogen penetration impaired stomatal opening in the light. During the first dark period (to 12 h.a.i.), Bgh inoculation significantly reduced gl in P01, but the effect was inconsistent and less noticeable in Pallas. As appressoria had only recently matured when these reductions in gl first occurred, these effects on stomatal changes preceded attempted penetration.


Figure 2
View larger version (36K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
Fig. 2 Time-course of gl of healthy (open circles) and inoculated (filled triangles) Pallas and P01 barley leaves incubated under 12 h dark (shaded)/12 h light (unshaded). (A) Readings taken mainly in the light and (B) readings taken mainly in the dark. *, **, and *** above a data pair indicate a significant difference between healthy and inoculated plants at P <0.05, 0.01, and 0.001, respectively; ns indicates no significant difference.

 
In inoculated leaves of susceptible Pallas, gl fell rapidly with the onset of subsequent dark periods and remained low and similar to that of healthy leaves. However, in each light period, gl remained substantially and significantly lower than for healthy leaves in both experiments. Thus, stomatal opening in response to light was permanently impaired after fungal colonies became established at ~24 h.a.i. In contrast, during the second and third light periods, gl of inoculated P01 leaves gradually increased to approach that of healthy leaves. However, a more striking difference between the barley lines became evident in the second and third dark periods. Unlike in Pallas, the gl of inoculated P01 remained relatively (and increasingly) high in successive dark periods. Thus, following epidermal cell death due to HR, i.e. from ~24 h.a.i., stomata of inoculated P01 leaves progressively lost their ability to close in darkness.

A follow-up experiment assessed longer term effects of inoculation in P01. At 107 h.a.i., gl in the dark remained very high in inoculated leaves (~290 mmol m–2 s–1) compared with healthy leaves (~97 mmol m–2 s–1; P <0.001). During the next light period (114 h.a.i.), gl was unaffected by inoculation (~397 and 474 mmol m–2 s–1 in inoculated and healthy leaves, respectively; not significantly different). Thus, stomatal ‘lock-up’ seen in Fig. 2 was maintained into at least the fifth day, with stomata apparently remaining unable to respond to darkness even though HR would have been executed >80 h earlier.

Relationships between fungal attack, host cell responses, and stomatal action: It was important to relate the trends seen in Fig. 2 to stomatal function. Very few stomatal complexes were in direct contact with appressoria in leaves fixed at the termination of experiments 1 and 2. Of the 640 examined (40 from each of four leaves/barley line/experiment), there were only 19 cases (<3%) of appressoria with direct guard or subsidiary cell contact. This is not surprising since these occupy only a small percentage of the leaf surface (Hirata, 1967). However, image analysis showed that in Pallas 42.4% (SD 5.9), and in P01 45.6% (SD 9.6), of leaf area was occupied by type A epidermal cells. In both barley lines and experiments, >50% of type A epidermal cells had contact with at least one fungal appressorium (Table 1). Somewhat higher values were obtained for experiment 1 (probably due to small differences in inoculum viability) in which inoculation had greater effects on gl (Fig. 2). In Pallas, 16% and 7% (experiments 1 and 2, respectively) of living type A cells contained a primary haustorium, whereas P01 contained virtually none. Cell death was infrequent in Pallas, whereas in P01 a high proportion of stomatal complexes (40–50%) were adjacent to at least one type A cell killed as a result of HR. Where attacks did not produce a haustorium or cause cell death, papilla-based penetration resistance had prevented infection.


View this table:
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
Table 1 Types of B. graminis–barley interaction in cells adjacent to stomata

 
Subsequently, the effects of each Bgh–barley genotype interaction on individual stomata (Table 1) were observed in cryofixed leaf segments by LTSEM (Fig. 3A–E). To characterize stomatal behaviour in response to light during the phase of attempted penetration, leaves were sampled at 15 h.a.i. (Fig. 3A, B), i.e. 3 h into the first light period. Of 50 randomly selected stomata in each of two healthy Pallas leaves, virtually all were fully open (96%; Fig. 3A) whilst on two inoculated leaves, none was fully open, few were partially open (16%), and the majority (84%) were closed (Fig. 3B). Although not recorded in detail, similar effects of Bgh inoculation on stomatal behaviour were noted in P01 at this time (Fig. 3C).


Figure 3
View larger version (159K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
Fig. 3 LTSEM images of leaves of various barley lines cryofixed at different times after inoculation with Bgh. (A) Healthy Pallas 3 h after the onset of the first light period, i.e. 15 h after other leaves had been inoculated. Stomata are fully open (clearly shown in the inset). (B) Pallas, 15 h.a.i. An appressorium (Ap) lies on a living (turgid) type A epidermal cell, and the adjacent stoma is closed. (C) P01, 15 h.a.i. (D) Pallas, 39 h.a.i., i.e. 3 h after onset of the second light period. The colony has produced several hyphae, indicating that a functional haustorium lies within the type A epidermal cell subtending the appressorium. The adjacent stoma is closed. (E) P01, 35 h.a.i., i.e. 11 h after onset of the second dark period. A type A epidermal cell in contact with a single appressorium has died (DCA; note collapsed anticlinal wall), and so has an outlying cell (DCO) attacked separately out of view. The central stoma is open. (F) P22, 14 h.a.i., i.e. 2 h after onset of the first light period. A single appressorium lies on a living (turgid) type A epidermal cell, and the adjacent stoma is closed (similar to A). (G) Risø-R, 43 h.a.i., i.e. 7 h after onset of the second light period. A single appressorium with two lobes lies on a living (turgid) type A epidermal cell, and the adjacent stoma is open. (H) P22, 34 h.a.i., i.e. 10 h after onset of the second dark period. The central, open stoma is adjacent to a type A cell that has died and collapsed following attack by a single appressorium. The stoma to the left is shut but adjacent to a turgid type A cell attacked by an appressorium.

 
To investigate the effects of established fungal colonies, segments from three healthy and three inoculated Pallas leaves 39 h.a.i. (second light period; Fig. 2) were sampled. Examination of 100 stomata from healthy segments (at least 33 observations from each leaf) showed that virtually all were fully or partially open (94%). In inoculated segments, every stoma adjacent to a single type A cell supporting a growing colony and therefore containing a functioning haustorium (as in Fig. 3D), as well as stomata with no contact in type A cells, were examined. Where a colony was present, 90% of adjacent stomata were closed (45 of 50 cases found), and even where there was no appressorial contact with an adjacent cell, most stomata were closed (34%) or only partially open (39%; 50 and 57 of 145 cases, respectively). Thus, infection of a type A cell strongly impaired opening of adjacent stomata in light.

For investigations into longer term effects of inoculation on stomatal behaviour in darkness, two healthy and two inoculated Pallas and P01 leaf segments were sampled at the termination of experiment 2, i.e. ~4–5 h into the third dark period (Fig. 2B). Of 100 randomly selected stomata examined in each segment, virtually all were closed in healthy Pallas and P01 as well as in inoculated Pallas (Table 2). In inoculated P01, many stomata were fully (27.5%, Fig. 3E) or partially open (8%). These data clearly show that the observed effects on gl (Fig. 2) were due to changes in stomatal aperture.


View this table:
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
Table 2 Stomatal behaviour 52 h.a.i. of barley cultivars Pallas and P01 with Blumeria graminis f.sp. hordei

 
To establish which outcome of plant epidermal cell–fungal interaction in P01 was most influential in establishing stomatal lock-up, populations of 20 (10 per segment) stomatal complexes (without direct fungal contact) were examined in the three situations illustrated in Fig. 4. Observations of situation 1 and 2 (Fig. 4) suggested that HR of a type A cell or its immediate neighbour has a high potential to inhibit stomatal closure during darkness, whereas if cells survive attack and are not penetrated (situation 3), adjacent stomata are most likely to maintain their ability to close in darkness.

Inoculation with Bgh compromises the ability of P01 to respond to drought
One predicted effect of stomatal lock-up (Fig. 2) would be an inability of plants expressing HR to respond to drought stress by stomatal closure. Thus, gl was measured in healthy and inoculated plants during developing drought stress (Fig. 5A). From 49 h.a.i., stomatal conductance of inoculated plants remained approximately constant and high, indicating failure of stomatal closure in both the early dark period (49 h.a.i.) and later during the developing water deficit. This contrasted with healthy plants in which gl fell continually as drought developed and stomata became increasingly closed. Throughout the experiment, healthy leaves remained turgid, but by 164 h.a.i. inoculated leaves were wilted (Fig. 5B).


Figure 5
View larger version (32K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
Fig. 5 Effects of drought on gl of healthy and inoculated leaves of P01 plants that were well watered until 120 h.a.i. when water was withheld. (A) Time-course of gl of inoculated and healthy plants with shaded areas indicating dark periods. Other details as in Fig. 2. (B) Images of inoculated and healthy leaves taken at 164 h.a.i. For clarity, leaves other than the inoculated (first) leaf were excised just before the picture was taken.

 
Stomata of P01 leaves inoculated with Bgh fail to respond to ABA
As stomatal closure is often initiated by ABA, the responses of locked stomata to ABA were investigated (Fig. 6). Healthy leaves showed low gl in the dark period preceding treatment (59 h.a.i.), much higher gl in the light 1 h before treatment (64 h.a.i.), and very low gl 30 min after ABA treatment (65.5 h.a.i.). This contrasts dramatically with the situation in inoculated leaves where high (and statistically indistinguishable) gl was recorded before and after treatment. Thus, whereas ABA application caused rapid closure of stomata in healthy leaves, it had virtually no effect on the locked open stomata of inoculated leaves.


Figure 6
View larger version (13K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
Fig. 6 Effects of treating healthy and inoculated P01 with 100 µM ABA on (gl). gl was measured before application of ABA in darkness at 59 h.a.i. (black bars), in the light at 64 h.a.i. (white bars), and 30 min after ABA application at 65.5 h.a.i. (grey bars). Different letters above the bars indicate a significant difference (P <0.001).

 
Expression of mlo5-mediated penetration resistance has only a transient effect on stomatal conductance
Since papilla-based resistance conferred by mlo5 almost totally prevents Bgh penetration, it was predicted that plants with this allele may not show stomatal lock-up but may show a transient reduction in gl as a consequence of papilla formation. To test this, gl in healthy and inoculated leaves of Pallas and its isoline P22 (with mlo5) as well as the susceptible barley line Risø-S and its near isogenic sister line Risø-R (with mlo5) were compared (Fig, 7). As before (Fig. 2), from 11 until at least 18 h.a.i., healthy leaves of all lines showed higher gl than inoculated leaves responding to attempted penetration. Thereafter, colony development on both susceptible lines (Pallas and Risø-S) was associated with impaired stomatal opening in light periods but with little effect on closure in darkness.


Figure 7
View larger version (33K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
Fig. 7 Time-course of gl in healthy and inoculated leaves of the barley isolines Pallas and P22, Risø-S and Risø-R. Other details as in Fig. 2.

 
From 22 h.a.i., inoculated leaves of Risø-R behaved similarly to healthy leaves but with a slightly slower reduction of gl with the onset of darkness. In contrast, during the third dark period, inoculated P22 leaves had relatively high gl throughout the dark period, indicating that stomata had failed to close. This suggested that expression of penetration resistance in P22 was leading to cell death and consequential stomatal lock-up (Fig. 3). To confirm these changes were due to stomatal responses, four inoculated leaves of each line were examined by light microscopy and LTSEM. In both susceptible lines, only a relatively small proportion of stomata were directly adjacent to dead cells (11.9% and 2.5% in Pallas and Risø-S, respectively). As expected, penetration resistance of both mlo5 lines prevented haustorial formation in all epidermal cells other than stomatal subsidiary cells in which haustoria were seen very occasionally (4.5% and 5.0% were infected in Risø-R and P22, respectively). Crucially, very few attacks killed epidermal cells of Risø-R so that only 4.4% of stomata were adjacent to dead cells. In contrast, cell death was far more frequent in P22 where 25.6% of stomata were adjacent to at least one dead type A cell.

The LTSEM observations of P22 and Risø-R (Fig. 3F–H) showed that where appressoria lay on living type A cells of Risø-R or P22, most adjacent stomata failed to open during the first light period (Fig. 3F), and were almost invariably open during the second light period (Fig. 3G), but were closed during the second dark period (Fig. 3H, left hand attack). This supports the conclusion that effective penetration resistance has only a transient effect and that stomata recover function after papilla deposition is completed. However, in P22, as seen previously in P01, wherever a type A cell was killed, the adjacent stoma was almost invariably open in later dark periods (Fig. 3H, central attack).

Very early responses to inoculation
Previous experiments showed reduced gl by 11 h.a.i. in response to infection, even though the first 12 h.a.i. were in darkness when stomata are mostly closed and thus their inherent capacity to respond is low (Figs 2, 6). To increase gl during these early hours, the light cycle was reversed so that 12 h light immediately followed inoculation (Fig. 8). In all lines, inoculation led to a rapid reduction in gl that was significant by 2 h.a.i. in P01, by 3 h.a.i. in Risø-R, and by 4 h.a.i. in Pallas. Differences between inoculated and healthy leaves stabilized by 4–5 h.a.i. before gl fell in both healthy and inoculated leaves towards the end of the light period. At the end of the following dark period (23 h.a.i.), gl remained slightly lower in inoculated leaves of all lines except Risø-R.


Figure 8
View larger version (22K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
Fig. 8 Early time-course of gl for barley isolines Pallas, P01, and Risø-R with reversal of the photoperiod compared with other experiments. Details as in Fig. 2.

 
Inoculation effects are not transmitted acro- or basipetally
Inoculation of the leaf tips or bases had no effect on gl in the dark of the uninoculated region except in P01 where the uninoculated base had a slightly reduced gl (Fig. 9). In the light, changes in gl were not transferred acro- or basipetally from the infected region, although in Risø-R, the effect of inoculation was small so that changes would be difficult to detect. Thus, localization of responses to the region of infection is confirmed.


Figure 9
View larger version (25K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
Fig. 9 gl of tips and bases of healthy leaves (white bars) and, for leaves inoculated on the tip or base, gl in inoculated (black bars) and non-inoculated regions (grey bars) of the same leaf, in barley lines Pallas, P01, and Risø-R. Measurements were made in the third dark (59 h.a.i.) and light (66 h.a.i.) periods following inoculation. Different letters above the bars indicate a significant difference (P <0.05) within a treatment/lighting environment combination.

 

    Discussion
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
Blumeria graminis infection is known to impair stomatal opening in light (Majernik, 1971; Ayres and Zadoks, 1979), but here the first report of stomatal responses occurring as a consequence of HR- or papilla-based resistance is provided. Each outcome had different consequences that have particular implications for vital plant functions that include coping with drought, controlling dark respiration, and maximizing photosynthetic efficiency. For entire plants, stresses due to stomatal dysfunction may be temporary if, for instance, unfavourable weather or fungicide application curtails disease development. For an individual leaf, however, effects may persist throughout its life which, in turn, is likely to be shortened as a result. This may be of great significance to the final performance (e.g. yield) of an annual plant such as barley if photosynthetic potential is lost at a critical time (Carver and Griffiths, 1982).

In line with earlier reports (Majernik, 1971; Ayres and Zadoks, 1979), powdery mildew disease development on susceptible cultivars impaired stomatal opening in the light (Fig. 2). Ayres and Zadocks (1979) also observed impaired stomatal closure in darkness, but no evidence of this was found (Figs 2, 6, 8; Table 2). Our measurements were intentionally terminated before the onset of disease-induced senescence, whereas Ayres and Zadoks used naturally infected flag leaves which may have contained senescent tissues that affected their measurements. Nevertheless, in accordance with Ayres and Zadoks (1979), the effect of established colonies was localized as no acro- or basipetal transmission was detected between infected and healthy portions of the same leaf.

Induced stomatal closure was detected within 2–4 h.a.i. (Fig. 8), well before appressoria matured (Green et al., 2002; Fig. 1). The effect was sufficient to reduce significantly circadian rhythm-mediated anticipation of the dark–light transition. The findings align well with studies by Martin et al. (1975) showing reduced transpiration (indicating stomatal closure) by wheat seedlings within 3–6 h of applying B. graminis conidia. Their conclusion that this was a non-specific response to inoculation is supported by the similarity of effects seen in all barley genotypes used here, irrespective of their resistance.

It is not clear exactly how the fungus instigated stomatal closure this early in the interaction. PGT contact initiates host cell responses at ~2 h.a.i., leading to papilla deposition (Zeyen et al., 2002) and increased transcription of various genes (Clark et al., 1993; Boyd et al., 1994; Eckey et al., 2004; Hein et al., 2004). A second wave of cytological and transcriptional events occurs after appressoria mature when attempted penetration of the host cell is underway at ~10–18 h.a.i. (Clark et al., 1993, 1994; Boyd et al., 1994; Zeyen et al., 2002; Eckey et al., 2004; Hein et al., 2004). Many of these are common to the PGT-associated activity but of generally much greater magnitude and, importantly, many are common to both susceptible and resistant lines including those carrying Mla1 and mlo5. Such commonality is to be expected because all lines show some degree of papilla-based, background resistance irrespective of their single gene resistance. Furthermore, even where penetration succeeds, some papilla constituents accumulate to form the haustorial neck collar that seals the penetration site. It seems plausible, therefore, that plant cell activities common to deposition of PGT-associated papillae, effective papillae formed beneath appressoria, and haustorial neck collars lead to the non-specific consequence of temporary closure of stomata or loss of their ability to respond to light.

There can only be speculation on the mechanistic basis of this non-specific effect. Recent evidence shows that oxalate produced by Sclerotinia spp. alters guard cell osmoregulation in dicot hosts, interfering with ABA-induced stomatal closure and facilitating secondary spread of the fungus (Guimãres and Stotz, 2004; Livingstone et al., 2005). However, available evidence indicates that fungally derived oxalate is not involved in the Bgh–barley interaction. There is no evidence that Bgh generates oxalate, and, if it did so, the anticipated effect would be opposite to the observed impairment of stomatal opening seen here. Furthermore, impaired stomatal opening in susceptible Pallas leaves persisted as colonies established and grew, and if the growing fungus was generating oxalate, stomatal lock-open in darkness would have been expected; but there was no evidence for this. Many factors other than oxalate may play a part in the early stages. Papilla initiation and deposition is associated with the transient localized generation of NO (Prats et al., 2005) which is a rapidly diffusible, highly reactive signalling molecule associated with stomatal closure (Garcia-Mata and Lamattina, 2001; Desikan et al., 2002). Further, PGT contact is associated with a dramatic, transient export of protons from the substomatal apoplast (Felle et al., 2004), and their movement to the guard cell cytosol could be associated with stomatal closure. Attempted penetration from appressoria is associated with rapid fluctuation in apoplastic proton concentration and decreasing Ca2+ concentration (Felle et al., 2004), and this could be due to its transport into the guard cell cytosol where increased [Ca2+] would inhibit the K+-in channel (Grabov and Blatt, 1999) and impair opening. Alternatively, it may be that energy-consuming activities associated with host responses lead to increased respiration elevating the partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2), increasing pH, and therefore closing the stomata (McAinsh et al., 1991). There is, however, no evidence for a sustained apoplastic pH rise during the phase of attempted fungal penetration (Felle et al., 2004), so this is unlikely to explain stomatal closure/failure to open at this time. On the other hand, a sustained apoplastic pH rise in susceptible leaves occurs when colonies start to develop (Felle et al., 2004), and this may contribute to the persistent impedance of stomatal opening. This is not likely to be the only important factor, however. As biotrophy establishes, the pathogen will probably act as a sink for osmolytes such as sucrose which would otherwise be diverted towards guard cells to increase turgidity (Outlaw, 2003). These consequences of infection would all impair stomatal opening in light but allow closure in darkness.

Though behaving similarly to susceptible lines in the early stages, following HR, from ~24 h.a.i., P01 showed symptoms consistent with severe disruption of stomatal function (Fig. 2). Persistently from this time forward, stomata became locked up and unable to respond properly either to darkness where respiration predominates and pCO2 is elevated, or in light where pCO2 is reduced. The strength of this effect was demonstrated by the inability of stomata to close in response to drought or after treatment with ABA. As stomatal and subsidiary cells were turgid, this phenomenon cannot be explained as a loss of cell viability. Also, although lock-up becomes apparent during or immediately after the generation of NO and H2O2 associated with cell death (Vanacker et al., 2000; Prats et al., 2005), these signals are unlikely to play a role since both initiate stomatal closure, not opening (Pei et al., 2000; Garcia-Mata and Lamattina, 2001; Desikan et al., 2002). Similarly, the significant and prolonged elevation in pH of the stomatal apoplast that follows elicitation of HR by Bgh (Felle et al., 2004) cannot explain the effect since stomatal opening is ultimately due to proton extrusion that leads to acidification of the apoplast (reviewed by Outlaw, 2003). However, a possible explanation is that type A epidermal cells and their neighbours have a substantial influence on the turgor relationships of barley stomatal complexes. As noted earlier, Sclerotinia infection in certain dicot hosts has been shown to impair severely the ability of stomata to shut, and release of oxalate by the fungus has been implicated in this effect (Guimãres and Stotz, 2004; Livingstone et al., 2005). However, this is unlikely to be the cause of stomatal lock-open seen as a consequence of HR in P01 primarily because the fungus is arrested within 24 h.a.i. and this would halt any putative oxalate generation. Furthermore, the strong accumulation of oxalate oxidase transcripts and of the encoded protein that occurs 15–24 h.a.i. within mesophyll underlying P01 epidermal cells undergoing HR (Gregersen et al., 1997; Zhou et al., 1998) would degrade oxalate and produce H2O2 which should close stomata. However, when epidermal cells die as a result of HR (e.g. as in P01), or as a consequence of uncontrolled H2O2 production (Piffanelli et al., 2002) following papilla formation (e.g. as in P22), their collapse (Fig. 3E, H) will reduce their turgor drastically relative to the stomatal complex and perhaps reduce water flow to the subsidiary cell which would in turn lose turgor. If guard cell turgor is maintained by water flow from other routes (e.g. via living type A cells lying between complexes or via the mesophyll), alteration of turgor balance could cause the stomatal pore to open since opening depends on the balance between guard cell and subsidiary cell turgor. Confirmation of such a model requires further experimentation which is beyond the scope of the present paper. It is also possible that other more complex controls (e.g. involving cell signalling) underlie stomatal lock-up.

Besides the Mla1-mediated HR, other evidence suggests that lock-up can be a general result of pathogen-induced cell death. Thus, a similar, albeit delayed, effect was found in P22 where the ultimate death of attacked epidermal cells was also relatively frequent. This was unexpected because in P22, resistance is generally considered to be dependent on mlo5-mediated papilla formation in epidermal cells that survive (Lyngkjær and Carver, 2000; Schulze-Lefert and Panstruga, 2003). However, papilla formation in mlo5 barley is associated with a particularly strong H2O2 burst (Freialdenhoven et al., 1996; Hückelhoven et al., 1999) and in the cv. Ingrid background this can lead to a second burst in underlying mesophyll cells which subsequently die (Piffanelli et al., 2002). Furthermore, in certain genetic backgrounds, the gene is also associated with extensive spontaneous cell death (Bjørnstad and Aastveit, 1990). It is interesting to compare the results from P-22 and Risø-R where resistance is also mlo5 mediated. In the case of Risø-R, cell death occurred infrequently and, while the early, transient suppression of stomatal opening was evident, lock-up was not. It can be assumed, therefore, that cell death in P22, like the HR of P01, led to stomata locking open. Similarly, loss of stomatal ability to close in darkness was reported after the onset of HR in cucumber cotyledons infiltrated with avirulent bacteria (Pike and Novacky, 1988) and in a band of living epidermis surrounding necrotic lesions in potato leaf tissues killed by Phytophthora infestans infection (Farrell et al., 1969). Thus, although sparse, the evidence from several different pathosystems indicates that the death of cells close to stomatal complexes impedes closure.

Our data have implications for plant breeding strategies. The ease of incorporating single resistance genes into high yielding backgrounds has stimulated proposals for strategies aimed at increasing the durability of resistance conferred by major genes (Wolfe and McDermott, 1994; Hsam and Zeller, 2002). These include ‘pyramiding’ two or more major genes from different loci into a single cultivar, incorporating major gene resistance into a genetic background with quantitative resistance, and using multilines or cultivar mixtures in which individual component plants within a crop carry different major genes. While these approaches may increase durability of crop resistance conditioned by major genes, our observations indicate potential danger in using any strategy that relies upon HR in situations of high inoculum potential. Here, the plant may suffer not only from transient expenditure of energy required for execution of HR (Smedegaard-Petersen and Stølen, 1981), but also from locking open of stomata in the proximity of dead cells. Such a loss of stomatal control that persists for the life of the leaf will have obvious deleterious consequences for the control of carbohydrate synthesis and metabolism and the ability of plants to withstand drought.

There has been no detailed evaluation of the cost of effective papilla formation although it is often considered an ‘energetically frugal means of plant defence’ (Mellersh et al., 2002). Our observations show that expression of the highly effective papilla-based resistance in Risø-R has only a temporary effect on stomatal function. This is a previously unsuspected advantage of papilla-based resistance that provides a further argument for its use in plant breeding. The measurement of gl with a diffusion porometer clearly has potential for rapidly screening plants where B. graminis attack causes minimal disruption to stomatal function, and this may have direct application for plant breeding.


    Acknowledgements
 
EP was supported by a Marie Curie Individual Fellowship, TC and BT by Defra Project AR0712, and APG by ERDF Interreg. IIIB Atlantic Area Project 190 (PIMHAI).


    Abbreviations
 
ABA, abscisic acid; AGT, appressorial germ tube; ANOVA, anaysis of variance; h.a.i., hours after inoculation; HR, hypersensitive response; LTSEM, low-temperature scanning electron microscopy; PGT, primary germ tube.


    References
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
Anderson JP, Badruzsaufari E, Schenk PM, Manners JM, Desmond OJ, Ehlert C, Maclean DJ, Ebert PR, Kazan K. (2004) Antagonistic interaction between abscisic acid and jasmonate–ethylene signaling pathways modulates defense gene expression and disease resistance in Arabidopsis. The Plant Cell 16:3460–3479.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Assaad FF, Qiu JL, Youngs H, et al. (2004) The PEN1 syntaxin defines a novel cellular compartment upon fungal attack and is required for the timely assembly of papillae. Molecular Biology of the Cell 15:5118–5129.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Audenaert K, Pattery T, Cornelis P, Hofte M. (2002) Induction of systemic resistance to Botrytis cinerea in tomato by Pseudomonas aeruginosa 7NSK2. Role of salicylic acid, pyochelin, and pyocyanin. Molecular Plant–Microbe Interactions 15:1147–1156.

Ayres PG. (1981) Powdery mildew stimulates photosynthesis in uninfected leaves of pea plants. Journal of Phytopathology 100:312–318.

Ayres PG and Zadoks JC. (1979) Combined effects of powdery mildew disease and soil water level on the water relations and growth of barley. Physiological Plant Pathology 14:347–361.

Baird DB, Harding SA, Lane PW, Murray DA, Payne RW, Soutar DM. (2002) Introduction. Genstat for Windows 6th edn (VSN International, Oxford).

Bjørnstad A and Aastveit K. (1990) Pleiotropic effects on the Ml-O mildew resistance gene in barley in different genetic backgrounds. Euphytica 46:217–226.[CrossRef]

Boyd LA, Smith PH, Green RM, Brown JKM. (1994) The relationship between the expression of defense-related genes and mildew development in barley. Molecular Plant–Microbe Interactions 7:401–410.

Carver TLW and Griffiths E. (1982) Effects of barley mildew on green leaf area and grain yield in field and greenhouse experiments. Annals of Applied Biology 101:561–572.

Clark TA, Zeyen RJ, Smith AG, Bushnell WR, Szabo LJ, Vance CP. (1993) Host response gene transcript accumulation in relation to visible cytological events during Erysiphe graminis attack in isogenic barley lines differing at the Ml-A locus. Physiological and Molecular Plant Pathology 43:283–298.[CrossRef]

Clark TA, Zeyen RJ, Smith AG, Carver TLW, Vance CP. (1994) Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase messenger-RNA accumulation, enzyme-activity and cytoplasmic responses in barley isolines, differing at Ml-A and Ml-O loci, attacked by Erysiphe graminis f sp hordei. Physiological and Molecular Plant Pathology 44:171–185.[CrossRef]

Collins NC, Thordal-Christensen H, Lipka V, et al. (2003) SNARE-protein-mediated disease resistance at the plant cell wall. Nature 425:973–977.[CrossRef][Medline]

Desikan R, Griffiths R, Hancock J, Neill S. (2002) A new role for an old enzyme: nitrate reductase-mediated nitric oxide generation is required for abscisic acid-induced stomatal closure in Arabidopsis thaliana. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 99:16314–16318.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Eckey C, Korell M, Leib K, Biedenkopf D, Jansen C, Langen G, Kogel KH. (2004) Identification of powdery mildew-induced barley genes by cDNA-AFLP: functional assessment of an early expressed MAP kinase. Plant Molecular Biology 55:1–15.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

Edwards H. (2002) Development of primary germ tubes by conidia of Blumeria graminis f.sphordei on leaf epidermal cells of Hordeum vulgare. Canadian Journal of Botany 80:1121–1125.

Farrell GM, Preece TF, Wren MJ. (1969) Effects of infection by Phytophthora infestans (Mont) De Bary on stomata of potato leaves. Annals of Applied Biology 63:265.

Felle HH, Herrmann A, Hanstein S, Huckelhoven R, Kogel KH. (2004) Apoplastic pH signaling in barley leaves attacked by the powdery mildew fungus Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei. Molecular Plant–Microbe Interactions 17:118–123.

Freialdenhoven A, Peterhansel C, Kurth J, Kreuzaler F, SchulzeLefert P. (1996) Identification of genes required for the function of non-race-specific mlo resistance to powdery mildew in barley. The Plant Cell 8:5–14.[Medline]

Garcia-Mata CG and Lamattina L. (2001) Nitric oxide induces stomatal closure and enhances the adaptive plant responses against drought stress. Plant Physiology 126:1196–1204.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Grabov A and Blatt MR. (1999) A steep dependence of inward-rectifying potassium channels on cytosolic free calcium concentration increase evoked by hyperpolarization in guard cells. Plant Physiology 119:277–287.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Green JR, Carver TLW, Gurr SJ. (2002) The formation and function of infection and feeding structures. In Belanger RR, Bushnell WR, Dik AJ, Carver TLW (Eds.). Powdery mildews: a comprehensive treatise (APS Press, St Paul, MN) pp. 66–82.

Gregersen PL, Thordal-Christensen H, Förster H, Collinge DB. (1997) Differential gene transcript accumulation in barley leaf epidermis and mesophyll in response to attack by Blumeria graminis f.sp hordei (syn. Erysiphe graminis f.sp. hordei). Physiological and Molecular Plant Pathology 51:85–97.[CrossRef]

Guimarães RJ and Stotz HU. (2004) Oxalate production by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum deregulates guard cells during infection. Plant Physiology 136:3703–3711.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Hamilton DWA, Hills A, Kohler B, Blatt MR. (2000) Ca2+ channels at the plasma membrane of stomatal guard cells are activated by hyperpolarization and abscisic acid. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 97:4967–4972.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Hein I, Campbell EI, Woodhead M, et al. (2004) Characterisation of early transcriptional changes involving multiple signalling pathways in the Mla13 barley interaction with powdery mildew (Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei). Planta 218:803–813.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

Hirata K. (1967) Notes on haustoria, hyphae and conidia of the powdery mildew fungus of barley. Memoirs of the Faculty of Agriculture of Niigata University 6:207–259.

Hsam S and Zeller F. (2002) Breeding for powdery mildew resistance in common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). In Belanger RR, Bushnell WR, Dik AJ, Carver TLW (Eds.). The powdery mildews: a comprehensive treatise (ASP Press, St Paul, MN) pp. 219–238.

Huckelhoven R, Fodor J, Preis C, Kogel KH. (1999) Hypersensitive cell death and papilla formation in barley attacked by the powdery mildew fungus are associated with hydrogen peroxide but not with salicylic acid accumulation. Plant Physiology 119:1251–1260.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Huckelhoven R and Kogel KH. (2003) Reactive oxygen intermediates in plant–microbe interactions: who is who in powdery mildew resistance? . Planta 216:891–902.[Web of Science][Medline]

Jenkyn J and Bainbridge A. (1978) Biology, pathology of cereal powdery mildews. In Spencer D (Ed.). The powdery mildews (Academic Press, London) pp. 248–321.

Jørgensen JH and Jensen HP. (1976) Screening of Hordeum species for resistance to take-all fungus. Gaeumannomyces graminis. Journal of Plant Breeding 76:200–203.

Kim MC, Panstruga R, Elliott C, Muller J, Devoto A, Yoon HW, Park HC, Cho MJ, Schulze-Lefert P. (2002) Calmodulin interacts with MLO protein to regulate defence against mildew in barley. Nature 416:447–450.[CrossRef][Medline]

Kjær B, Jensen HP, Jensen J, Jorgensen JH. (1990) Associations between 3 Ml-O powdery mildew resistance genes and agronomic traits in barley. Euphytica 46:185–193.[CrossRef]

Kobayashi Y, Kobayashi I, Funaki Y, Fujimoto S, Takemoto T, Kunoh H. (1997) Dynamic reorganization of microfilaments and microtubules is necessary for the expression of non-host resistance in barley coleoptile cells. The Plant Journal 11:525–537.[CrossRef][Web of Science]

Koga H, Bushnell WR, Zeyen RJ. (1990) Specificity of cell type and timing of events associated with papilla formation and the hypersensitive reaction in leaves of Hordeum vulgare attacked by Erysiphe graminis f. sp hordei. Canadian Journal of Botany 68:2344–2352.

Kolster P, Munk L, Stolen O, Lohde J. (1986) Near isogenic barley lines with genes for resistance to powdery mildew. Crop Science 26:903–907.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Leckie CP, McAinsh MR, Allen GJ, Sanders D, Hetherington AM. (1998) Abscisic acid-induced stomatal closure mediated by cyclic ADP-ribose. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 95:15837–15842.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Livingstone DM, Hampton JL, Phipps PM, Grabau EA. (2005) Enhancing resistance to Sclerotinia minor in peanut by expressing a barley oxalate oxidase gene. Plant Physiology 137:1354–1362.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Lyngkjær MF and Carver TLW. (2000) Conditioning of cellular defence responses to powdery mildew in cereal leaves by prior attack. Molecular Plant Pathology 1:41–49.

Lyngkjær MF, Carver TLW, Zeyen RJ. (2001) Virulent Blumeria graminis infection induces penetration susceptibility and suppresses race-specific hypersensitive resistance against avirulent attack in Mla1-barley. Physiological and Molecular Plant Pathology 59:243–256.[CrossRef]

Majernik O. (1971) A physiological study of the effects of SO2 pollution, phenylmercuric acid sprays, and parasitic infection on stomatal behaviour and ageing in barley. Phytopathology 72:255–268.

Majernik O and Mansfield TA. (1971) Effects of SO2 pollution on stomatal movements in Vicia faba. Phytopathology 71:123–128.

Martin TJ, Stuckey RE, Safir GR, Ellingboe AH. (1975) Reduction of transpiration from wheat caused by germinating conidia of Erysiphe graminis f. sp. tritici. Physiological Plant Pathology 7:71–77.

McAinsh MR, Ayres PG, Hetherington AM. (1991) The effects of infection by powdery mildew (Erysiphe graminis f. sp hordei) and low temperature on the respiratory activity of winter barley. Physiological and Molecular Plant Pathology 39:13–23.[CrossRef]

Mellersh DG, Foulds IV, Higgins VJ, Heath MC. (2002) H2O2 plays different roles in determining penetration failure in three diverse plant–fungal interactions. The Plant Journal 29:257–268.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

Mohr PG and Cahill DM. (2003) Abscisic acid influences the susceptibility of Arabidopsis thaliana to Pseudomonas syringae pvtomato and Peronospora parasitica. Functional Plant Biology 30:461–469.[CrossRef]

Opalski KS, Schultheiss H, Kogel KH, Huckelhoven R. (2005) The receptor-like MLO protein and the RAC/ROP family G-protein RACB modulate actin reorganization in barley attacked by the biotrophic powdery mildew fungus Blumeria graminis f. sp hordei. The Plant Journal 41:291–303.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

Outlaw WH. (2003) Integration of cellular and physiological functions of guard cells. Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences 22:503–529.[CrossRef][Web of Science]

Panstruga R and Schulze-Lefert P. (2002) Live and let live: insights into powdery mildew disease and resistance. Molecular Plant Pathology 3:495–502.[CrossRef]

Pei ZM, Murata Y, Benning G, Thomine S, Klusener B, Allen GJ, Grill E, Schroeder JI. (2000) Calcium channels activated by hydrogen peroxide mediate abscisic acid signalling in guard cells. Nature 406:731–734.[CrossRef][Medline]

Pelham HRB. (2001) Traffic through the Golgi apparatus. Journal of Cell Biology 155:1099–1101.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Piffanelli P, Zhou FS, Casais C, Orme J, Jarosch B, Schaffrath U, Collins NC, Panstruga R, Schulze-Lefert P. (2002) The barley MLO modulator of defense and cell death is responsive to biotic and abiotic stress stimuli. Plant Physiology 129:1076–1085.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Pike S and Novacky A. (1988) Pathologically opened stomata: a mechanism for tissue desiccation in bacterial hypersensitivity? . In Randall D, Blevins D, Campbell W (Eds.). Current topics in plant biochemistry and physiology (University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, Interdisciplinary Plant Group) Vol. 7: pp. 233.

Prats E, Mur LAJ, Sanderson R, Carver TLW. (2005) Nitric oxide contributes both to papilla-based resistance and the hypersensitive response in barley attacked by Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei. Molecular Plant Pathology 6:65–78.[CrossRef]

Priehadny S. (1975) Response to fungus pathogen in susceptible and resistant barley varieties. Journal of Phytopathology 83:109–118.

Schulze-Lefert P and Panstruga R. (2003) Establishment of biotrophy by parasitic fungi and reprogramming of host cells for disease resistance. Annual Review of Phytopathology 41:641–667.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

Siewers V, Smedsgaard J, Tudzynski P. (2004) The P450 monooxygenase BcABA1 is essential for abscisic acid biosynthesis in Botrytis cinerea. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 70:3868–3876.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Smedegaard-Petersen V and Stølen O. (1981) Effect of energy requiring defense reactions on yield and grain quality in a powdery mildew resistant barley cultivar. Phytopathology 71:396–399.

Staxen I, Pical C, Montgomery LT, Gray JE, Hetherington AM, McAinsh MR. (1999) Abscisic acid induces oscillations in guard-cell cytosolic free calcium that involve phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 96:1779–1784.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Thaler JS and Bostock RM. (2004) Interactions between abscisic-acid-mediated responses and plant resistance to pathogens and insects. Ecology 85:48–58.[CrossRef][Web of Science]

Thordal-Christensen H, Zhang ZG, Wei YD, Collinge DB. (1997) Subcellular localization of H2O2 in plants. H2O2 accumulation in papillae and hypersensitive response during the barley–powdery mildew interaction. The Plant Journal 11:1187–1194.[CrossRef][Web of Science]

Vanacker H, Carver TLW, Foyer CH. (2000) Early H2O2 accumulation in mesophyll cells leads to induction of glutathione during the hyper-sensitive response in the barley–powdery mildew interaction. Plant Physiology 123:1289–1300.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Webb AAR. (2003) The physiology of circadian rhythms in plants. New Phytologist 160:281–303.[CrossRef][Web of Science]

Wiese J, Kranz T, Schubert S. (2004) Induction of pathogen resistance in barley by abiotic stress. Plant Biology 6:529–536.[CrossRef][Medline]

Wolfe MS and McDermott JM. (1994) Population genetics of plant pathogen interactions. The example of Erysiphe graminis–Hordeum vulgare pathosystem. Annual Review of Phytopathology 32:89–113.[Web of Science]

Zeyen RJ, Bushnell WR, Carver TLW, Robbins MP, Clark TA, Boyles DA, Vance CP. (1995) Inhibiting phenylalanine ammonia-lyase and cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase suppresses Mla1 (HR) but not Mlo5 (non-HR) barley powdery mildew resistances. Physiological and Molecular Plant Pathology 47:119–140.[CrossRef]

Zeyen RJ, Carver TLW, Lyngkjaer MF. (2002) Epidermal cell papillae. In Belanger RR, Bushnell WR, Dik AJ, Carver AJ (Eds.). The powdery mildews: a comprehensive treatise (ASP Press, St. Paul, MN) pp. 107–125.

Zhou FS, Zhang ZG, Gregersen PL, Mikkelsen JD, de Neergaard E, Collinge DB, Thordal-Christensen H. (1998) Molecular characterization of the oxalate oxidase involved in the response of barley to the powdery mildew fungus. Plant Physiology 117:33–41.[Abstract/Free Full Text]


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USAHome page
N. Gottig, B. S. Garavaglia, L. D. Daurelio, A. Valentine, C. Gehring, E. G. Orellano, and J. Ottado
Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri uses a plant natriuretic peptide-like protein to modify host homeostasis
PNAS, November 25, 2008; 105(47): 18631 - 18636.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J Exp BotHome page
L. A. J. Mur, P. Kenton, A. J. Lloyd, H. Ougham, and E. Prats
The hypersensitive response; the centenary is upon us but how much do we know?
J. Exp. Bot., February 1, 2008; 59(3): 501 - 520.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J Exp BotHome page
L. Chaerle, I. Leinonen, H. G. Jones, and D. Van Der Straeten
Monitoring and screening plant populations with combined thermal and chlorophyll fluorescence imaging
J. Exp. Bot., March 1, 2007; 58(4): 773 - 784.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


This Article
Right arrow Abstract Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrowOA All Versions of this Article:
57/10/2211    most recent
erj186v2
erj186v1
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (7)
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Prats, E.
Right arrow Articles by Carver, T. L. W.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Prats, E.
Right arrow Articles by Carver, T. L. W.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Prats, E.
Right arrow Articles by Carver, T. L. W.
Social Bookmarking
 Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?