Figure 1.

A. alternata VCs promote growth and the accumulation of exceptionally high levels of starch in the mesophyll cells of pgi1-2 plants. Rosette fresh weight (FW; A) and time course of starch content in the leaves (B) are shown for wild-type (WT) and pgi1-2 plants cultured in the absence or continuous presence of adjacent cultures of A. alternata. Values represent means ± se determined from four independent experiments using 12 plants in each experiment. The asterisks in A indicate significant differences between microbial VC-treated plants and controls (nontreated plants) according to Student’s t test (P < 0.05). The plants in A were exposed to VCs for 1 week.