Time course of anatomical changes to stem vascular tissues of alfalfa, Medicago sativa, from probing injury by the potato leafhopper, Empoasca fabae

Abstract

We used a videomicrography technique to apply standard-duration pulses of leafhopper probing damage to alfalfa stems, or manually punctured stems with an implement resembling leafhopper stylets, to compare damage induction and chronicle the plant's anatomical responses over time. Plants were examined at 0.5, 1, 2, 4, and 8 days after probing. Leafhopper probing occurred primarily in phloem tissue: stylets damaged and deposited sheath saliva primarily in phloem. Between days 1 and 4, collapsed phloem cells and sheath saliva deposits were dissolved and removed as surviving cells adjacent to stylet pathways underwent enlargement and division. By day 8, phloem tissue assumed a near-normal appearance when viewed in cross section, although it is not known whether phloem functionality was restored. In contrast, xylem tissue suffered reduction in size, quantity, and total cross-sectional area of mature tracheary elements. These effects to vascular tissue may be responsible for all subsequent symptoms of hopperburn in alfalfa. Damage to phloem and xylem in mechanically punctured stems was slight and was similar for all time points. Key words: plant wound response, plant vascular development, phloem, xylem, hopperburn, insect feeding behaviour.