Young cassava (Manihot esculenta) leaves inoculated with conidiospores or treated with an autoclaved conidiospore suspension of Microcyclus ulei, a pathogen to several species of the genus Hevea, react strongly with induction of blue fluorescing compounds in the contact areas, demonstrating local cell growth and irregular tissue formation, leaf distortion and, occasionally, leaf abscission. Restricted hyphal growth also occurs in areas inoculated with living spores, but without formation of new conidiospores. The plant reaction resembles a complex resistance reaction to a biotrophic pathogen rather than a typical non host defense reaction.
host range; defense reactions; Manihot esculenta; Hevea spp
