Filamentous brown algae infected by the marine, holocarpic oomycete Eurychasma dicksonii: first results on the organization and the role of cytoskeleton in both host and parasite.

The important role of the cytoskeletal scaffold is increasingly recognized in host-pathogen interactions. The cytoskeleton potentially functions as a weapon for both the plants defending themselves against fungal or oomycete parasites, and for the pathogens trying to overcome the resisting barrier of the plants. This concept, however, had not been investigated in marine algae so far.