Resistance responses of albino leaves of Triticum timopheevii mutants inoculated with Erysiphe graminis f.sp. tritici

Albino chlorophyll mutants induced in Triticum timopheevii by gamma-irradiation were used to study the influence of photosynthetic activity on the development of two isolates of Erysiphe graminis f.sp. tritici. and host resistance responses, 72 h after inoculation. The results showed that the percentage of pathogenic units inhibited by papilla response and epidermal cell hypersensitivity was lower on albino primary seedling leaves than on normal green seedling leaves. On albino leaves, the development of pathogenic units which established a successful penetration was either decreased or retarded, depending on the isolate used. This effect could be attributed to the limited supply of assimilates from the albino host due to the lack of photosynthetic activity.