This is a germinating spore of the fungus
Cochliobolus heterostrophus, a pathogen that causes the Southern corn leaf blight disease.
The fungus has been stained with nigrosin and India ink in order to visualize the two-layered sheath of extracellular matrix material that surrounds the germ tube. The inner layer of sheath material acts as an adhesive, causing the spore and germ tube to stick to the leaf surface. The broad outer layer that appears here as a halo surrounding the germ tube, plays an important role in helping the fungus colonize the corn leaf tissues.
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