The vacuoles containing multivesicular bodies: a new observation in interaction between Ustilago esculenta and Zizania latifolia

Ustilago esculenta infects Zizania latifolia plants and induces swelling on their upper culms. As an edible aquatic vegetable, these swellings are called jiaobai (white bamboo). The process of fungal development in Huijiao (grey bamboo) plants from seedlings to upper culm swelling was investigated using knife cut tissues, light and electron microscopy. All Huijiao plants were relatively taller than all jiaobai plants and in knife-cut sections sori development differed after culm swelling in Huijiao plants. Light microscope examination show that hyphae were both intracellular and intercellular, forming hyphal aggregations, and were more abundant in nodes than in internodes. Rapid increase of hyphal aggregations occurred 15 days before culm swelling, causing the death of abundant host cells, and hyphal aggregations differentiated into sori initiates. Ultrastructural observation showed that intracellular hyphae at the interface of fungus-host interaction were encased in a sheath with outer electron-opaque and inner electron-dense layer. Scale-like material and membrane-bounded vesicles were often present in an outer electron-opaque matrix of the sheath. Vacuoles, lipid globules (LGs) and multivesicular bodies (MVBs) were occasionally seen in these fungal cells. In summer, abundant electron-dense MVBs, LGs and fewer vacuoles containing MVBs were present in a fungal cell. As the temperature decreased, some MVBs became electron-opaque, some internal vesicles were also electron-opaque, and subsequently, the MVBs disappeared, leaving irregular remnant materials in vacuoles. During the rapid increase in hyphal aggregations, the irregular remnants of material within the vacuoles disappeared and LGs were rare. At the beginning of sori development, LGs once again became abundant in the cells of hyphal aggregation. The process of sorus and teliospore development was observed systematically and relationships between each developmental stage examined from knife cut tissues, and cytological and ultrastructural sections. Sorus development occurred with the commencement of upper culm swelling and differed in the same tissues. Teliospore development was also uneven in a sorus. The inner region of a sorus developed earlier than the outer part.