Fig. 1: PSK signaling activation is required for Vd infection.

a Gene expression in Nicotiana benthamiana following infection with Verticillium dahliae was assessed by RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) at 0, 3, 6, 9, and 12 days post-inoculation (dpi). Expression levels were quantified as fragments per kilobase of transcript per million mapped reads (FPKM). b Gene expression in N. benthamiana following pattern treatment at 1 day and 2 days post infiltration (1 µM concentration). Water served as mock control. c Representative images of Arabidopsis Col-0, pskr1-3, pskr1-3pskr2-1, and bak1-5bkk1-1 lines infected with Vd at 20 days post inoculation. Water treatment served as mock controls. d Quantification of Vd biomass in infected Arabidopsis plants from panel (c). DNA was extracted from whole plants above the soil, and the relative fungal biomass was assessed by comparing Ct values of Vd actin and Arabidopsis EF1α genes. For a and b, bars represent means ± SE of two (a) and three (b, n = 8 for SOBIR1, n = 12 for PSKR1 and PSK3a) independent experiments. Data points are indicated as black dots. Statistical differences to any time points (a) or to mock treatments at the respective time (b) are indicated (two-sided Student’s ttest). d Data points are indicated as black dots from four independent experiments (n = 16) and plotted as box plots (center line, median; bounds of box, the first and the third quartiles; whiskers, 1.5 x IQR; error bar, minima and maxima). Statistical differences between Col-0 and the indicated mutants were analysed using a two-sided Student’s ttest.