Figure 5.

The Ability of a Δslp1 Mutant to Cause Rice Blast Disease Is Restored When Inoculated onto a Rice Cultivar in Which CEBiP Has Been Silenced by RNAi.

(A) At 48 HAI, host cell colonization of the Δslp1 mutant was similar to that of Guy11 on a CEBiP RNAi line of cultivar Nipponbare (two-tailed t test, P = 0.323). On wild-type nontransformed Nipponbare, the Δslp1 mutant was significantly reduced in its ability to colonize host tissue (two-tailed t test, P < 0.01). Error bars represent 1 sd.

(B) Micrographs of typical infection sites of Guy11 and Δslp1 on leaf sheath tissue from the CEBiP RNAi line. White asterisks mark the initial site of host cell entry. Bars = 35 μm.