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Biomechanics of Spore Release in Phytopathogens

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Plant Relationships

Part of the book series: The Mycota ((MYCOTA,volume 5))

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Abstract

Movement is one of the defining characteristics of living organisms. Contrary to common perceptions, fungi show a remarkable range of motion. Motion inside fungal cells, including mass flow of cytoplasm, was first observed by Antonie van Leewenhoek and influenced the eighteenth-century view of fungi as an eccentric branch of the animal kingdom (Ainsworth 1976). This flow of cytoplasm accompanies the extension of hyphae, and there are a number of similarities between this growth process and amoeboid locomotion (Heath and Steinberg 1999). Faster movements include invertebrate capture by constricting rings and microscopic harpoons (Müller 1958; Beakes and Glocking 1998) and a series of spectacular mechanisms that launch fungal spores into air (Ingold 1971). Spore discharge and dispersal are related and it is important to distinguish between them. Discharge refers to the mechanical process that separates the spore, or sporangium, from its parent mycelium; dispersal follows discharge. Both processes are vital to the activities of phytopathogens. This chapter emphasizes spore discharge in pathogens, but mechanisms among saprobes are also discussed to provide an overview of the diversity of launch processes among the fungi.

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Authors and Affiliations

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

    Nicholas P. Money

  2. Department of Chemistry and Physical Science, College of Mount St Joseph, Cincinnati, OH, 45233, USA

    Mark W. F. Fischer

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  1. Nicholas P. Money
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  2. Mark W. F. Fischer
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  1. Phytopathologie und Pflanzenschutz, Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät III Institut für Agrar- und Ernährungswissenschaften, Ludwig-Wucherer-Str. 2, 06099, Halle (Saale), Germany

    Holger B. Deising

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Money, N.P., Fischer, M.W.F. (2009). Biomechanics of Spore Release in Phytopathogens. In: Deising, H.B. (eds) Plant Relationships. The Mycota, vol 5. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-87407-2_6

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