FIGURE 4.

Effect of bacterial isolates on cells types of Ectocarpus sp. (A) Elongated cells (E cells) and (B) round cells (R cells) present in axenic and non-axenic individuals, respectively, as part of the prostrate body of the alga. (C) Typical upright filament cells in non-axenic individuals, in this case inoculated with isolate Z3. (D) Representative epifluorescence microscopy image of Ectocarpus individual inoculated with strain Z3. Arrows indicate bacterial presence on Ectocarpus sp. filaments determined by SYBR Green II staining. All bars correspond to 10 μm. (E) Comparison between length and width of elongated cells and filament cells. Cell lengths and widths of 60 individuals were measured. The ^∗ indicates means statistically different at p < 0.05.