Fungal strains and incubation condition

M. oryzae wild type strain Guy11 (French Guiana) was used throughout this study. Complete medium agar/broth was used for testing vegetative growth and preparing materials for DNA, RNA and protein extraction [66]. Rice polish agar (rice polish 25 g/L, 16 g/L agar, autoclaved for 46 mins) was used for testing vegetative growth and conidiation. TB3 medium (Sucrose 200 g/L, Casamino acid 6 g/L, yeast extract 6 g/L, agar 15 g/L) was used for screening fungal transformants. For test vegetative growth, M. oryzae strains were grown on complete medium agar plates at 28°C in the dark, and colony diameters were measured after 12 days of growth. M. oryzae strains were grown on rice polish agar plates at 28°C for the first 7 days then cultured under light for the remaining 5 days. For conidiation, conidia were collected from rice polish agar plates under constant light for 10 days by using 5 mL sterilized water. The conidia morphology was checked with Zeiss Axioplan 2 IE MOT microscope. For preparing materials for DNA, RNA and protein extraction, 5 to 7 pieces of fungal plugs from rice polish agar were cultured in the liquid complete medium for 3 to 4 days at 28°C under dark conditions.