High resolution cytochemical study of the vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhizal association, Glomus clarum×Allium porrum

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Abstract
Roots of leek, colonized or not by Glomus clarum Nicolson & Schenck, were ultrastructurally examined for the presence of different sugars using lectin‐gold complexes. N‐acetyl‐d‐glucosamine (GlcNAc), N‐acetyl‐d‐galactosamine (GalNAc), l‐fucose (l‐FUC), d‐mannose (d‐Man) and sialic acid sugar residues were localized in various cellular components of the mycorrhizal fungus. GlcNAc, GalNAc, d‐Man and sialic acid residues were localized in the colonized host, particularly in the plasmalemma and cytoplasm surrounding the arbuscular hyphae. The same sugars were not present in the non‐colonized host. These results indicated that the production of these sugars had been triggered during the plant‐fungus association. In the interfacial matrix, GalNAc and d‐Galactose (d‐Gal) residues were present in moderate amounts. In cell walls and protoplasm of non‐colonized and colonized hosts, mainly d‐Gal was detected. Ribonucleic acid (RNA) was cytochemically localized in the fungus and host by means of a RNAse‐gold complex. Of interest, was the specific localization of RNA in the granular wall layer of vesicles. The ultracytochemical results are discussed in relation to host‐symbiont interaction, along with speculations on the function and significance of these macromolecules.