INFRARED MONITORING OF THE ADHESION OF CATENARIA-ANGUILLULAE ZOOSPORES TO SOLID-SURFACES

Electron microscopic studies of nematodes infected with the chytridiomycetous fungusCatenaria anguillulae indicated that zoospores of the fungus adhered to the cuticle of nematodes by a layer of extracellular polymers. The chemical composition of the adhesive polymers and their interaction with a solid surface were examined with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, using an attenuated total reflectance cell. On-line monitoring of the adhesion of zoospores to a germanium crystal with this technique showed that the adhesive polymers consisted of a protein(s) containing amide I and II bands. The adsorption of these proteins, measured as the increase in the amide II band, had a rapid initial phase of ca. 20 minutes, followed by a slower increase during the course of incubation. Fluorescein isothiocyanate staining of the attached cells at the end of the experiment showed that the adhesion of the zoospores occurred before the formation of the cyst wall. © 1991 Academic Press, Inc.