Figure 4.

Silencing of NbRTP5 genes by virus‐induced gene silencing (VIGS) enhanced plant resistance to Phytophthora parasitica. (a) Silencing of NbRTP5 genes resulted in plants growing more robust. (b) Detached leaves of VIGS plants were challenged by P. parasitica zoospores and the lesion diameters were measured at 3 days post‐inoculation (dpi). Water‐soaked lesions of TRV‐NbRTP5s leaves were more visible compared to TRV‐GFP leaves. (c) Statistical analysis of lesion diameters showed that TRV‐NbRTP5s plants were more resistant to P. parasitica. (d) Relative DNA ratio of P. parasitica compared to Nicotiana benthamiana (PPTG_09948/NbActin) at 3 dpi was determined by qPCR. Amount of colonization in TRV‐NbRTP5s plants was less than that in TRV‐GFP plants. Student’s t‐test was conducted for statistical analysis in (c) and (d). Error bars in (c) and (d) indicate SD of three biological replicates, with more than ten leaves per replicate. **Indicates significant differences from control at P < 0.01.