COLLETOTRICHIN CAUSES RAPID MEMBRANE DAMAGE TO PLANT-CELLS

The effect of colletotrichin, purified from Colletotrichum tabacum, on a diverse array of physiological processes was determined. Colletotrichin caused rapid loss of membrane integrity, as measured by cellular electrolyte leakage, in leaf discs of tobacco, cucumber, and four nightshade (Solanum) species floated on a 0.3 mM solution of the phytotoxin. The first ultrastructural damage observable was plasmolysis and disruption of the plasmalemma. Loss of membrane integrity occurred at similar rates in light or darkness and was dependent upon the presence of atmospheric oxygen. Membrane destruction was associated with an increase in malondialdehyde formation, an indicator of membrane lipid peroxidation. However, several free radical-quenching compounds did not reduce the effect of colletotrichin on cellular leakage. No direct effect of colletotrichin was found on photosynthesis, respiration, ATPase activity, or membrane-generated proton gradients. Calcium uptake and transport by plant roots were inhibited by the compound; however, the effect was relatively slow and was probably a secondary effect. Colletotrichin acted synergistically with atrazine, additively with paraquat, and antagonistically with acifluorfen. Acifluorfen activity requires oxidation of plastid-synthesized protoporphyrinogen to protoporphyrin IX at the plasmalemma. This process was inhibited by colletotrichin. These data indicate that colletotrichin causes oxidative plasmalemma destruction by an unknown mechanism.