Figure 3. HopR1 is functionally redundant with the CEL in promoting bacterial growth in N. benthamiana.

(A) N. benthamiana leaves were infiltrated with ΔIV or ΔIVΔCEL mutant strains transformed with pBBR P _avrPto hop expression constructs at 3×10⁴ CFU/ml (2.5 log CFU/cm² leaf tissue) with a blunt syringe. The avr/hop genes carried by the constructs are indicated by the final portion of their gene names. Asterisks indicate that the construct also expresses the appropriate effector chaperone. Bacterial populations were determined from three 0.8-cm leaf discs 6 days post-inoculation. Results are the mean and standard deviation of bacterial populations collected from four leaf samples. Means marked with the same letter are not statistically different at the 5% confidence level based on Duncan's multiple range test. This experiment was repeated four times with similar results. Tomato leaflets were infiltrated with the indicated strains (described further in Table 1) at 3×10⁴ CFU/ml (2.5 log CFU/cm² leaf tissue) with a blunt syringe. Bacterial populations were determined from three 0.8-cm leaf discs 3 days post-inoculation. Results are the mean and standard deviation of bacterial populations collected from three separate experiments with four leaflets each. Means marked with the same letter are not statistically different at the 5% confidence level based on Duncan's multiple range test.