Colonization in cotton plants by a green fluorescent protein labelled strain of Verticillium dahliae

Verticillium wilt of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) is a widespread and destructive disease caused by the soil-borne fungal pathogen Verticillium dahliae. In this study, a green fluorescent protein (GFP) labelled V. dahliae strain (TV7) was obtained by transforming gfp into defoliating strain V991. Strain TV7 was used to study infection and colonization of wilt resistant cotton cultivar Zhongzhimian KV1 and susceptible cultivar 861 with the aid of confocal laser scanning microscopy. The results showed that initial infection and colonization of V. dahliae in Zhongzhimian KV1 and 861 were similar. Conidia and hyphal colonies formed and penetrated in the root meristematic and elongation zones and in the conjunction of the lateral and main roots. The invaded conidia started to germinate by 2 hpi (hours post-inoculation), penetrated into the root cortex and vascular bundles, eventually colonized in the stem xylem vessels and grew restrictedly in the individual tracheae of both resistant and susceptible cultivars. Moreover, pathogen DNA could be detected by qPCR in roots and stems of both cultivars, but its content in the wilt susceptible cultivar 861 was much higher than that in the wilt resistant cultivar Zhongzhimian KV1. The results indicated that the resistant cultivar has ability to suppress V. dahliae reproduction.