Invasion and Colonization Pattern of Fusarium fujikuroi in Rice

Bakanae disease in rice can cause abnormal elongation of the stem and leaves, development of adventitious roots, a larger leaf angle, and even death. Little is known about the infection, colonization, and distribution of Fusarium fujikuroi in rice plants across different growth stages. In this study, microscopic observation and quantitative real-time PCR were combined to investigate the pathogenesis of bakanae, using artificially inoculated seedlings of a susceptible rice cultivar, Zerawchanica karatals (ZK), a resistant cultivar, Tainung 67 (TNG67), naturally infected adult field plants (cultivars Kaohsiung 139, Taikeng 2, and Tainan 11), and an F. fujikuroi isolate expressing green fluorescent protein. In rice seedlings, F. fujikuroi hyphae were found to directly penetrate the epidermis of basal stems and roots, then extend inter- and intracellularly to invade the vascular bundles. Occlusion of vascular bundles and radial hyphal expansion from vascular bundles to surrounding parenchyma were observed in adult plants. Analysis of consecutive 3-cm segments of the whole plant revealed that F. fujikuroi was largely confined to the embryo, basal stem, and basal roots in seedlings, and distributed unevenly in the lower aerial parts (including nodes and internodes) of adult plants. The elongation and development of adventitious roots did not necessarily correlate with the amount of F. fujikuroi in diseased plants. Treatment of rice seeds with gibberellic acid-3 (GA₃) at 0.5 mg/liter resulted in significantly more elongation of ZK than TNG67 seedlings, suggesting that the susceptibility of ZK to bakanae is associated with its higher sensitivity to GA₃.