A light touch: minimally invasive imaging of pathogenesis in plants

Rice blast disease is found wherever rice is grown and has a major impact on rice productivity, typically reducing yields by 15% per annum. The development of strategies to control plant pathogens such as the rice blast fungus, Magnaporthe oryzae, are crucially dependent on a firm understanding of the interaction between both partners of the pathosystem. We have used various modes of light microscopy and other imaging techniques to interrogate this biological system and have developed methods for minimising the impact of imaging in leaves which are already under physiological stress. Through this approach, we are improving our understanding of interactions between plant cell components and fungal hyphae, tissue colonisation, and the role of chloroplasts in infection. Ongoing work in the laboratory is also exploring the use of biological imaging in understanding the role of the circadian clock in rice blast disease progression.