About the Cover
On the Cover: Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonize plant root cells to establish a symbiotic relationship for nutrient exchanges. Intracellular fungal hyphae ramify into highly branched haustorial structures called arbuscules. A root cell hosting an arbuscule is undergoing fundamental changes in cellular organization and metabolism. In this issue, Hans et al. (pp. 614-624) demonstrate a reorganization of plastids with an active methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathway during the arbuscular life cycle. The cover image represents a confocal laser scanning micrograph of a developing arbuscule of Glomus intraradices (red structures) in a mycorrhizal root cortex cell of Zea mays. The plant nucleus (stained in blue) is typically found in the center of the fungal structures. Plastids (green) are beginning to form a dense network covering the arbuscule surface. They are labeled by an affinity-purified antibody raised against recombinant maize 1-deoxy-D-xylulose 5-phosphate reductoisomerase, a key enzyme of the plastidial MEP pathway. Ultimately, the activation of this pathway and subsequent metabolic routes leads to the accumulation of apocarotenoids with an as yet unknown function in mycorrhizal physiology.
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Copyright © 2007 by the American Society of Plant Biologists
