Germination of Phyllosticta ampelicida pycnidiospores: Prerequisite of adhesion to the substratum and the relationship of substratum wettability

Pycnidiospores of Phyllosticta ampelicida, the causal agent of black rot of grape, were found to germinate only on substrata on which they were firmly attached. Such surfaces were poorly wettable and had advancing contact angles (theta a) formed by a water drop of >80 degrees, e.g., grape leaf, polystyrene, Teflon, polycarbonate, collodion, and glass treated with the silanes n-octadecyltrichlorosilane, dimethyldichlorosilane, or diphenyldichlorosilane. When pycnidiospores were deposited on more wettable surfaces they did not attach firmly and did not germinate, Such highly wettable surfaces had theta a less than or equal to 40 degrees and were represented by heat-treated glass, cellophane, nutrient- and water-agars, polystyrene treated with UV-irradiation or sulfuric acid, and glass silanized with n-2-aminoethyl-3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane n-(trimethoxysilylpropyl)ethylenediamine triacetic acid trisodium, or 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane. Adhesion of pycnidiospores was assessed with and without a hydraulic shearing force. Pycnidiospore adhesion occurred over several minutes in distilled deionized water, unless it was first acidified, which decreased attachment time to < 0.03 s, Attachment of pycnidiospores treated with sodium azide, formaldehyde, or boiled in water for 10 min was similar to nontreated conidia. Possible mechanisms of adhesion of the conidia to surfaces include hydrophobic and ionic interactions. (C) 1996 Academic Press, Inc.