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Updated: Jan 28, 2026

Visualizing Early Infection Sites of Rice Blast Disease Magnaporthe oryzae on Barley Hordeum vulgare Using a Basic Microscope and a Smartphone
Published on: March 17, 2023
A strikingly-angled spindle mediates nuclear migration during colonization of rice cells infected by Magnaporthe
Mariel A Pfeifer1, Kiersun Jones1, Chang Hyun Khang1
1Department of Plant Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
Abstract:
To cause rice blast disease, Magnaporthe oryzae must properly organize microtubules and position nuclei during colonization of host cells. Live cell confocal imaging of fluorescently-tagged microtubules and nuclei of M. oryzae invasive hyphae reveals that microtubules form a cage-like arrangement around nuclei during interphase and that the mitotic spindle forms and mediates nuclear migration while integrity of the nuclear envelope is lost. Our results also unveil a strikingly-angled spindle during nuclear migration through the narrow invasive hyphal peg, suggesting a yet-to-be discovered mechanism of mitotic nuclear migration when invasive hyphae move to adjacent rice cells.
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