Leaf wax layer may prevent appressorium differentiation but does not influence orientation of the leaf rust fungus Puccinia hordei on Hordeum chilense leaves

The infection process of most rust fungi start with spore germination, directional growth of the germ tube towards a stoma, differentiation of an appressorium over the stoma, and penetration into the substomatal cavity. In the South American wild barley Hordeum chilense Roem. & Schult., wide variation occurs in the degree to which several rust fungal species are able to form appressoria over the stomata. Apparently, features of the plant may hamper early stages of the infection process. Such an early defence is called avoidance. In order to find out how germ tube growth is directed towards stomata, and whether the cuticular wax layer plays a role in this orientated growth and in appressorium differentiation, several orientation and differentiation parameters of Puccinia hordei germ tubes were measured on H. chilense leaves with and without the wax layer. Orientated growth of the germ tubes started upon contact with the epidermal cell junctions. The growth of lateral branches of the germ tube over the first epidermal cell junction that it meets, may help the germ tube to grow along the transverse axis of the leaf. No evidence was found of attraction of the germ tube to stomata. Removal of the cuticular wax layer did not result in loss of germ tube orientation. This suggests that the leaf wax layer has no role in the guidance of germ tubes. On high avoidance accessions, removal of the wax layer allowed appressoria to develop over stomata that would otherwise be overgrown. No effect of the cell widths in stomatal complexes was found on the chance that stomata were overgrown. This suggests that the overgrowth of stomata on H. chilense leaves by P. hordei germ tubes is mainly caused by the wax covering of the stomatal apparatus.