Figure 5.
Silencing of SlMKK2 and SlMKK4 increased severity of disease caused by B. cinerea. Disease phenotype (A) and fungal growth (B) on the TRV-SlMKK2/4- and TRV-GUS-infiltrated plants in whole plant inoculation assays. Botrytis inoculation was done by foliar spraying with spore suspension (2 × 105 spores/mL) onto leaves of whole plants. Fungal growth in planta was assumed by analyzing the transcript levels of BcActinA gene by qRT-PCR using SlActin as an internal control at the indicated time points after inoculation. At least ten leaves from ten individual silenced or control plants were used for each experiment. Data presented in (B) are the means ± SD from three independent experiments and different letters above the columns indicate significant differences at p < 0.05 level.