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Cytology and Histology

Histopathological Examination of Pelargonium Infected With Tomato Ringspot Virus. Deborah J. Murdock, Graduate Student, Department of Plant Pathology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park 16802; Paul E. Nelson(2), and Samuel H. Smith(3). (2)(3)Professors, respectively, Department of Plant Pathology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park 16802. Phytopathology 66:844-850. Accepted for publication 23 January 1976. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-66-844.

An anatomical study was carried out on tomato ringspot virus (TomRSV)-infected Pelargonium × hortorum ‘Nittany Lion Red’ to determine the relationship between macroscopic and microscopic symptoms and to determine the relationship between microscopic symptoms and male sterility in TomRSV-infected plants. Leaves, stems, roots, florets; individual anthers; and shoot, root, and floral meristems were examined. No anatomical changes were detected in vegetative tissues using light microscopy. However, pollen grain abortion, abnormal ovules, aborted ovules, and generalized tissue disintegration were detected in TomRSV-infected florets. Many of the symptoms seen in anthers and pollen grains resembled those of genetic male sterility in P. × hortorum.