FIGURE 3.

Performance of VqSTS21 transgenic Arabidopsis lines and untransformed controls following inoculation with Botrytis cinerea and expression of defense-related genes. Leaves from transgenic lines (L1, L2, and L3) and untransformed controls (Col-0) were infected with B. cinerea spores. (A) Representative images of disease symptoms on leaves 4 days post-inoculation (dpi). (B,C) Trypan blue and nitro blue tetrazolium (NBT) staining were carried out 3 dpi in order to detect cell death (B) and superoxide anion (${\mathrm{O}}_{\mathrm{2}}^{\mathrm{–}}$) accumulation (C), respectively, as noted by arrows. (D) B. cinerea lesion diameter at 4 dpi. (E) Relative expression levels of defense-related genes in leaves collected 0, 24, 48, 72, and 96 h post-inoculation (hpi) as established via qPCR. Data represent mean values ± SD (with values from time point 0 hpi set to 1) from three independent experiments. Asterisks indicate significant differences between Col-0 and transgenic lines as determined by Student’s t-test (^∗∗P < 0.01). Scale bars = 10 mm.