Ultrastructural Study of Mycoparasitism of Gliocladium Roseum on Botrytis Cinerea

Conidia and germ tubes of Botrytis cinerea were highly susceptible to infection by the mycoparasite Gliocladiurn roseurn, when both organisms were grown as a mixed culture in sterile water containing 8-9×10^(4) pollen grains of alfalfa per ml solution. Scanning electron microscopic studies revealed that infection of conidia and germ tubes occurred through direct penetration by hyphal tips of G. roseum without the formation of appressoria. Transmission electron microscopic studies indicated indentation and rupture of the host cell walls at penetration sites. The parasitized conidia and germ tubes of B. cinerea showed signs of cytoplasmic disintegration and the presence of hyphae of G. roseum.