Figure 10.

Spore germination assay. Spores were extracted from the plant tumors produced from the infection of 1/2 a1b1 × 2/9 a2b2, Δptn1 a1b1 × Δptn1 a2b2, ptn1^otef a1b1 × ptn1^otef a2b2, and Δptn1c a1b1 × Δptn1c a2b2, and plated onto water agar plates. The plates were incubated at 30 °C for 72 h, and observed for the presence of colonies formed from the germination of spores. Spore germination was reduced in Δptn1 a1b1 × Δptn1 a2b2, and ptn1^otef a1b1 × ptn1^otef a2b2 combinations, with few colonies being observed after germination. The difference in germination rate (percentage germination per spores plated (± standard deviation) for Δptn1 was statistically significant, indicated by * (p < 0.05) by Tukey’s Test; the differences for the overexpression strain were not statistically significant.