FIGURE 4.
Conidium and appressorium development analysis of the wild type and created strains. (A) Conidia formation on conidiophores. Conidia of the wild type and the four created strains (ΔMoPTEN, ΔMoPTEN/MoPTEN, ΔMoPTEN/MoPTEN-1, and ΔMoPTEN/MoPTEN-2) from 10-day-old OTA were transferred to cover slips, induced for 48 h, and observed and counted under a light microscope at room temperature. (B) Statistical analysis of conidial productivity. The conidia were harvested from the 10-day-old colonies grown on OTA media, and counted using a hemocytometer for all the 5 strains. (C) Conidial germination rate. Conidial germination was measured on a hydrophobic surface (plastic cover slips or gel-bond films) and onion epidermal cells and was calculated under the microscope at 2, 4, and 6 hpi. (D,E) Appressorial formation rate. Appressorial formation was measured on a hydrophobic cover slips and onion epidermis surface and was calculated under the microscope at 12 hpi. Error bars represent ± SD of three independent repeated samples. Two asterisks (**) represent an extremely significant difference at 0.001 < P < 0.01, and three asterisks (***) represent an extremely significant differences at P < 0.001. Scale bar = 50 μm.