Figure 3.

Comparative proteolytic and penetration assays between WT and mutant strains. (a) Casein degradation. Spore suspension (3 μl of 1 × 10⁶ conidia ml⁻¹ each spot) was inoculated on MM medium containing 1% casein for 3 days. (b) Caseinolytic assay with the purified protease. Different amounts of MrM35-4 were loaded in MM medium containing 1% casein for 4 h. (c) Cellophane membrane penetration assays. The phenotypes of the WT and mutants grown on the MM medium after the inoculated cellophane membranes were removed for 4 days. (d) Locust wing penetration assays. The locust hind wings lined on the MM medium were inoculated in the middle for 3 days (top panels) and then removed. The plates were kept for incubation for another 4 days (lower panels). (e, f) Comparative analysis of the colony diameter size after removing the cellophane membranes (e) or locust hind wings (f) for 4 days. The difference was compared between WT and individual mutant. **, P < 0.01.