Measurements and diagram of maize stalk infection process.

<p>(A) Measurements of half lesion size and hyphal advance distances. Error bars indicate SD. *Significant difference by Student’s <i>t</i>-test (P < 0.05). Sample size n ≥3. (B) The advance rates of the hyphal front calculated based on the data in (A). (C) Diagram of cellular events during the advance of <i>F</i>. <i>graminearum</i> in stalk pith mainly composed of parenchyma cells. The top of each column represents the wound site. <i>F</i>. <i>graminearum</i> grew up and down in the stalk in a similar pattern and with a similar expansion speed; for simplicity only the downside from the wound site is shown. Cell viability was judged based on plasmolysis assay. hai: hours after inoculation.