Tordable, M. del C., P. Lax, M. E. Doucet, O. Luque, and N. Rojas. 2010. Histopathological study in Salsola kali roots infected by Nacobbus aberrans. Nematropica 40:105-109. Nacobbus aberrans attacks a wide host range of plants that includes not only crop species but also several weeds. Russian thistle plants (Salsola kali) were collected from a potato field that had remained uncultivated for five years in the locality of El Pucara del Aconquija (Province of Catamarca, Argentina). The roots had numerous galls induced by N. aberrans. Histological alterations of the root tissues were analyzed; samples were fixed in FAA and processed following conventional histological and optical microscopy techniques. The study revealed the presence of syncytia in the central cylinder, occupying an important portion of it, causing breakdown, reduction and displacement of vascular tissues. Functional syncytia, composed of numerous mononuclear cells of variable size with dense, vacuolized cytoplasm, and with starch grains were recognized. Results show this weed ensures pathogen survival in the field when the crop is not present, and at the same time, promote its dispersal and possible damage to neighboring crops. This is the first description of histological alterations induced by N. aberrans in this weed of wide distribution in Argentina.
