Fig. 2

UvHOS2 positively regulates pathogenicity and ustilaginoidin biosynthesis in U. virens. a, b The representative disease symptoms, and the average number of false smut balls per rice panicles after inoculation with the wild-type, ΔUvhos2, and the complemented strains. The images were captured, and the disease incidence rate and false smut balls were counted at four weeks after inoculation. The data from three independent assays are shown as mean ± standard deviation (SD) (n = 31, 30, and 33 for the wild-type, mutant, and complemented strains, respectively). Different lowercase letters indicate statistically significant differences (P < 0.05, one-way ANOVA with Duncan’s multiple comparisons). c. HPLC assays to detect the amount of ustilaginoidins produced by the wild-type, ΔUvhos2-51, ΔUvhos2-52, and CΔUvhos2 strains after 28 d of culturing on PSA plates