Fig. 5

Resistance to M. oryzae infection of AM-inoculated rice. Rice seedlings (one-week-old) were inoculated with an AM fungus: F. mosseae or R. irregularis. Three weeks later, the rice seedlings were infected with M. oryzae spores (see Additional file 3: Figure S3 for the experimental design). Pictures show blast symptoms in each variety at the following times after M. oryzae infection: 4 dpi, Loto and Guara; 5 dpi, Puntal, TN67, Gleva and Maratelli; 6 dpi, JSendra, Gigante Vercelli, Gines, Galileo and Bomba, and 7dpi, Selenio. Three independent experiments were carried out with similar results. Box plots represent the percentage of leaf area affected by blast lesions as determined by image analysis. Values obtained for each biological replicate were plotted (n = 10). Error bars represent the first and third quartiles. The horizontal line within the box represents the median value (i.e., 50th percentile). Asterisks denote statistical differences (*p < 0.05, ANOVA test). Outliers are included. Representative images of M. oryzae-infected leaves from mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal plants are shown