CYTOPLASMIC AUTOFLUORESCENCE OF AN ARBUSCULAR MYCORRHIZAL FUNGUS GIGASPORA-GIGANTEA AND NONDESTRUCTIVE FUNGAL OBSERVATIONS IN PLANTA

Spores and hyphae of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, grown in vitro with or without Ri T-DNA transformed roots of Daucus carota, were examined via epifluorescence microscopy. Hyphae and root infection structures of the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Gigaspora gigantea exhibited a br ight yellowish-green fluorescence when exposed to 450-490 nm light. St ructures of G. margarita showed no fluorescence under the same conditi ons. The autofluorescent component of G. gigantea is cytoplasmic and m obile in the cytoplasmic stream, so it can be used as a natural vital marker. This phenomenon makes time-course, nondestructive examination of mycorrhizal and studies of the competition between G. gigantea and other fungi possible for the first time.