Localization of Fungal Components in the Pea-Fusarium Interaction Detected Immunochemically with Anti-chitosan and Anti-fungal Cell Wall Antisera

Antisera specific for purified cell walls of Fusarium solani f. sp. pisi and phaseoli and of shrimp shell chitosan were utilized as immunochemical probes to determine the location of fungal components in the pea-Fusarium interaction.Within 15 minutes after inoculation, fungal cell wall components appear to enter the plant cell and to accumulate inside the plant cell wall as fungal growth on the plant tissue is inhibited. The accumulation patterns of chitosan and all components containing hexosamine polymers resembled those of the fungal wall components.Chitosan is present on, and is released from, the outer surface of the fungal spore. Within 15 minutes after applying [(3)H]chitosan to the surface of the plant tissue, the label is readily detectable within the plant cytoplasm and conspicuously detectable within the plant nucleus. It is proposed that the potential for transport of chitosan between the spores of Fusarium solani and pea cells, in addition to its potential to inhibit fungal growth and elicit disease resistance responses, suggests chitosan has a major regulatory role in this host-parasite interaction.