Phenotypic alterations in Arabidopsis thaliana plants caused by Rhodococcus fascians infection

Byline: Carmem-Lara Manes (1,2), Tom Beeckman (1), Tita Ritsema (1,3), Marc Van Montagu (1), Koen Goethals (1), Marcelle Holsters (1) Keywords: Endophyte; Epiphyte; Rhodococcus fascians; Shoot induction; Tissue colonization Abstract: Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. plants were challenged with Rhodococcus fascians at several developmental stages and using different inoculation procedures. A variety of morphological alterations was scored on the infected plants some of them resembled phenotypes of A. thaliana mutants in their shoot apical meristem (SAM) organization. Infection with R. fascians did not affect SAM organization in wild type nor in SAM mutants. Anatomical studies on the new organs formed after infection with R. fascians demonstrated extensive bacterial colonization. Colonization and concomitant production of specific signals are the likely cause of malformations. Author Affiliation: (1) Department of Plant Systems Biology, Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology, Ghent University, Technologiepark 927, 9052, Gent, Belgium (2) Laboratoire Arago, Observatoire Oceanique, Banyuls-sur-Mer, France (3) Molecular Plant Physiology, University Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands Article History: Registration Date: 07/01/2003 Received Date: 11/04/2003 Accepted Date: 12/12/2003 Online Date: 13/02/2004