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Cytology and Histology

Scanning Electron Microscopy of the Ingress and Establishment of Pseudomonas alboprecipitans in Sweet Corn Leaves. R. D. Gitaitis, Former graduate research assistant, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Florida, Gainesville 32611, Present title and address of senior author: Assistant professor, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Georgia, Coastal Plain Experiment Station, Tifton 31793; D. A. Samuelson(2), and J. O. Strandberg(3). (2)Research associate, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville 32611; (3)Professor, Department of Plant Pathology, Agricultural Research and Education Center, Sanford, FL 32771. Phytopathology 71:171-175. Accepted for publication 27 June 1980. Copyright 1981 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-71-171.

Leaf tissues from whorl areas of sweet corn plants inoculated with Pseudomonas alboprecipitans were prepared for scanning electron microscopy. The bacterium was detected in stomata and substomatal cavities of corn leaves after corn-plant whorls were exposed to inocula for 160–320 min. Although stomata were manipulated successfully with 10^–4 M abscisic acid, the partial closure of stomata prior to inoculation did not affect significantly the amount of leaf damage due to the bacterium. Bacteria were observed frequently in the basinlike depressions surrounding “closed” stomata. It was concluded that “closed” as well as open stomata in whorl areas could serve as portals of ingress for the small (0.57 × 1.5 μm) rod-shaped cells.