THE PHYSIOLOGY OF HOST–PARASITE RELATIONS: XVIII. DISTRIBUTION OF TRITIUM-LABELLED CYTIDINE, URIDINE, AND LEUCINE IN WHEAT LEAVES INFECTED WITH THE STEM RUST FUNGUS

Abstract

Wheat leaves were detached 6 days after inoculation with the stem rust fungus (Puccinia graminis var. tritici Erikss. and Henn.) and fed with tritiated leucine, cytidine, uridine, or thymidine. Mesophyll cells in infected zones incorporated more leucine into protein and more cytidine and uridine into RNA than did cells in adjacent uninfected tissue. Leucine, cytidine, and uridine were also heavily incorporated by fungal mycelium and developing uredospores. Grain counts over host nuclei in the infected zone were two to three-fold of those over nuclei in adjacent uninfected zones. There was no detectable incorporation of thymidinemethyl-3H into either the fungus or the host cells. The results are discussed.