3.1 Pi starvation in rice confers resistance to bacterial blight
To explore the role of Pi starvation in rice during Xooinfection, 5- to 5.5-leaf-stage NIP plants were pre-grown in hydroponic cultures containing 0 and 200 μM Pi for three days, after which the leaves of these plants were inoculated with Xoo . Growth analysis showed the bacterial population under Pi starvation treatment to be significantly lower than that in the Pi-sufficient control at 9 to 15 days after inoculation (Figure 1a). At 14 days after Xooinoculation, the mean lesion lengths in Pi-sufficient plants (200 μM) and Pi-starved plants (0 μM) were consistently 8.33 cm and 5.18 cm, respectively (Figure 1b and c). The significant reductions in bacterial population and mean lesion length observed in Pi-starved plants indicate that Pi starvation could induce rice resistance to Xoo infection.