If i am preserving cut tree shoot samples in distilled water in the fridge with no antibacterial compound, will bacteria grow just on the base of the cut, or will it spread up the shoot in the vascular system?
Bacterial growth is dependent on several factors in this particular case. Plant type, radius of the plant, age of the plant cut and most importantly the time for storage. Bacterial growth can progress "usually slowly into plant tissue but could be destructive.
Well let's say stone fruit 1 year old shoots, few millimeters in diameter, a week or two in the refrigerator with cut bases submerged into distilled water.
It can be as destructive as it likes, but i do not want it traveling up the shoot let's say 5cm upward or more since it might be false positive for PCR for another bacterium.
I would say it is very likely that the bacteria will ascend up in the vascular system.
(assuming you have considered the surface sterilization and antibacterial growth measures)
If the shoot is infected with a vascular pathogen eventually present in the plant surface, lets say as an endophyte, the bacterium can infect the vessels upon cutting and move upwards. However, I do not expect it will move fast, since bacterial multiplication and infection is supposed to be slow under cold temperatures. But take into consideration that infection and spread is dependent on the pathogen and its adaptation to cold temperatures.
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