Influence of stigmatic morphology on flower colonization by Erwinia amylovora and Pantoea agglomerans

The morphology of apple and pear stigma was investigated with confocal laser scanning microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The floral colonization process by Erwinia amylovora was studied with gfp-labelled bacteria and confocal laser scanning microscopy to allow the in vivo observation of the pathogen colonization on intact, viable plant tissues without any kind of staining of the specimens. The interaction on the stigma between Erwinia amylovora and Pantoea agglomerans, both labelled with genes encoding for fluorescent proteins (DsRed-GFP), was also investigated. A stylar groove, covered by papillae and dwelling from the stigma along the style, was visualized. In laboratory conditions, this groove was shown to be an important way for E. amylovora migration towards the nectarthodes. Due to its anatomical structure the groove can sustain bacterial multiplication and thus may play an important role on the interactions between the pathogen and the bacterial antagonist P. agglomerans.