The importance of
plant hormones in clubroot
infection has long been recognized. The morphological changes, such as cell division and cell elongation leading to gall formation are triggered in the early stages of
infection. We analysed cell expansion by localizing
Xyloglucan endoTransglucosylase/Hydrolase (XTH)-action and screened the endogenous concentrations of several classes of
phytohormones by mass spectrometry in the early stages of Plasmodiophora brassicae
infection in Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa spp. pekinensis). Infected plants showed a general transient growth promotion early in
infection. Furthermore a clear XTH action was visible in the epidermal layer of infected roots. Complex changes in the endogenous
phytohormone profile were observed. Initially
infection resulted in an increased total
auxin pool. The
auxin increase, together with an increased XTH action, results in wall loosening and consequently cell expansion. When the first secondary plasmodia are formed, thirteen days after
infection (DAI), can be considered a switch point in
phytohormone metabolism. Twenty-one DAI the plasmodia might act as a
plant hormone sink resulting in a reduction in the active
cytokinin pool and a lower
indole-3-acetic acid content in the infected plants.