Figure 5
Deletion of STE2 results in decreased virulence of F. graminearum on germinating ‘Roblin’ coleoptiles. (a) Representative images of germinating ‘Roblin’ coleoptiles infected by F. graminearum strains. The tops of newly germinated coleoptiles were excised using sterile scissors and a cotton thread soaked in a conidial suspension of the strain to be tested was wrapped around the wound site (cotton still visible in some images indicated by an asterisk). Infection of germinating coleoptiles by the indicated strains were imaged and quantified after 10 days of incubation. The length of the stalk that turned brown and necrotic (lesion) is indicated by the red arrows next to each figure and was measured in centimetres using a ruler. (b) Average extent of infection of germinating ‘Roblin’ coleoptile stalks infected with the indicated strain of wild type or Fgste2Δ mutant strains of F. graminearum. Measurements of one representative experiment are shown (compared to wild type strain, ***P < 0.001). Error bars represent standard deviation. n = 15. (c) Average extent of infection of germinating ‘Roblin’ coleoptile stalks treated with the indicated strain of wild type or STE2 mutant of F. graminearum. Measurements of one representative experiment are shown (compared to wild type strain, **P < 0.005). Error bars represent standard deviation. n = 12. Graphs were plotted using Graphpad Prism version 6.01 (https://www.graphpad.com). The figure was compiled and labelled using Adobe Illustrator CC 2015 (https://www.adobe.com).
