Fig 3. Phenotypic analysis of xopAU gene inactivation.

Leaves of the pepper line ECW30R were syringe-infiltrated with a 10 mM MgCl₂ mock solution or with suspensions (1 x 10⁷ CFU/ml) of the indicated strains. (A) Photograph of an inoculated leaf at 5 days post-inoculation (dpi). (B) Chlorophyll content relative to mock-inoculated areas at 5 dpi. The box plot displays 25^th, 50^th (middle line) and 75^th percentiles (n = 4 or 5 biological repeats). An asterisk indicates a significant difference (Mann-Whitney U test, p value <0.05) relative to Xe avrBs2:Kn^R. (C) Total protein was extracted from the infected leaves at 3 days post -inoculation (dpi) and immunoblotted with the indicated antibodies. Rbs, Rubisco loading control stained by Ponceau S. (D) mRNA abundance of the PR-1 gene in the inoculated areas was measured by qRT-PCR at 72 h post-inoculation and calculated relative to areas inoculated with the Xe avrBs2:Kn^R strain. Values are means ± SD of three biological repeats. Asterisks indicate a significant difference (Student’s t test, p value < 0.05) relative to Xe avrBs2:Kn^R.