Enhanced germination and electrotactic behaviour of Phytophthora palmivora zoospores in weak electric fields

Abstract

Soil-dwelling microorganisms use a variety of chemical and physical signals to navigate their environment. Plant roots produce endogenous electric fields which result in characteristic current profiles. Such electrical signatures are hypothesised to be used by pathogens and symbionts to track and colonise plant roots.
The oomycete pathogen Phytophthora palmivora generates motile zoospores which swim towards the positive pole when exposed to an external electric field in vitro.
Here, we provide a quantitative characterization of their electrotactic behaviour in 3D. We found that a weak electric field (0.7 - 1.0 V/cm) is sufficient to induce an accumulation of zoospore at the positive pole, without affecting their encystment rate. We also show that the same external electric field increases the zoospore germination rate and orients the germ tube’s growth. We conclude that several early stages of the P. palmivora infection cycle are affected by external electric fields.
Taken together, our results are compatible with the hypothesis that pathogens use plant endogenous electric fields for host targeting.