Morphological and cytochemical study of the pelotonic and ono-pelotonic hyphae of the orchid Spathoglottis plicata

摘要

Orchids have a special type of endomycorrhizae in which the fungal hyphae produce very characteristic pelotons (coiled balls) in the host cortical cells (Senthilkumar and Krishnamurthy 1998). The mycorrhizal association with orchids has been the subject of intensive study, yet the nature of the relationship remains obscure. Peterson, Mueller, and Englander (1980) described a relationship involving at least two different fungi (a basidiomycete and an ascomycete). Later, Couture, Fortin, and Dalpe (1983) obtained isolates of a sterile fungus and Oidiodendron griseum from the roots of Vaccinium. Resolution of these differences is hampered by the inability to isolate and identity some of the fungi (Muller, Tessier, and Englader 1985) and by the inability to differentiate the fungi by cytochemical procedures. To overcome the latter problem, we have used a variety of cytochemical and cytoenzymological procedures for direct differentiation of the fungi in roots. We describe here the procedure for pelotonic and non-pelotonic hyphae in the roots of Spathoglottis plicata.