Ultrastructure of a Feeding Peg and Tube Associated With Rotylenchul Us Reniformis in Cotton

Abstract

Ultrastructural studies of Rotylenchulus reniformis feeding on cotton roots revealed: 1) the tip of the nematode stylet was inserted into the prosyncyte or initial syncytial cell (ISC); 2) the stylet tip was covered by a cell wall-like feeding peg apparently formed by the ISC in response to stylet penetration and/or nematode feeding; 3) the lumen of the stylet was continuous with that of the feeding tube at the stylet aperture; 4) the feeding tube and feeding peg appear to be lasting structures associated with feeding by R. reniformis; and 5) the feeding peg and feeding tube appear to be mostly of plant and of nematode origin, respectively. The differences between R. reniformis feeding peg and Heterodera glycines feeding plug formation are discussed. Key Words: prosyncyte, initial syncytial cell, Gossypium hirsutum, G. arboreum, endoplasmic reticulum, feeding peg, feeding plug, reniform nematodes, feeding tube, Heterodera glycines.