title: OHMS**: Phytoplasmas dictate changes in sieve-element ultrastructure to accommodate their requirements for nutrition, multiplication and translocation.
abstract: Phytoplasmas are among the most recently discovered plant pathogenic microorganisms so, many traits of the interactions with host plants and insect vectors are still unclear and need to be investigated. At now, it is impossible to determine the precise sequences leading to the onset of the relationship with the plant host cell. It is still unclear how phytoplasmas, located in the phloem sieve elements, exploit host cell to draw nutrition for their metabolism, growth and multiplication. In this work, basing on microscopical observations, we give insight about the structural interactions established by phytoplasmas and the sieve element plasma membrane, cytoskeleton, sieve endoplasmic reticulum, speculating about a possible functional role.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences , University of Udine , Udine , Italy.
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Musetti
authors.affiliation: a Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences , University of Udine , Udine , Italy.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pagliari
authors.affiliation: b Department of Phytopathology and Applied Zoology , Justus Liebig University , Giessen , Germany.
authors.forename: Stefanie V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Buxa
authors.affiliation: c Department of Life Sciences , University of Parma , Parma , Italy.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Degola
authors.affiliation: a Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences , University of Udine , Udine , Italy.
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: De Marco
authors.affiliation: a Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences , University of Udine , Udine , Italy.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Loschi
authors.affiliation: b Department of Phytopathology and Applied Zoology , Justus Liebig University , Giessen , Germany.
authors.forename: Karl-Heinz
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Kogel
authors.affiliation: b Department of Phytopathology and Applied Zoology , Justus Liebig University , Giessen , Germany.
authors.forename: Aart J E
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: van Bel
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000382:microbiology; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000382:microbiology; D018551:Solanum lycopersicum / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D008954:Models, Biological; D045582:Phytoplasma / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000382:microbiology
keywords: Akctin, plasma membrane; phytoplasma; phytoplasma adhesion; phytoplasma anchoring; sieve elements; sieve-element reticulum