About the Cover
On the Cover: Nematodes such as Heterodera schachtii enslave root phloem tissue by transforming vascular parenchyma into a giant syncytial envelope. The nematode which regularly feeds from the saliva-induced syncytium benefits from masses of substances withdrawn from the sieve tubes. Using SUC2-GFP Arabidopsis transformants, Juergensen et al. (pp. 61-69) demonstrate that AtSUC2 sucrose transporters, exclusively present in the plasma membrane of companion cells in non-infected plants, are strongly expressed in the syncytium. The nematode-activated syncytial expression of AtSUC2 transporters (greenish yellow against red root background) is suspected to enhance the accumulatory potential (courtesy of Paul Hess and Aart J.E. van Bel).
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Copyright © 2007 by the American Society of Plant Biologists
