Transcriptome analysis of cultivar IR28 and WX98 during Ustilaginoidea virens infection

Rice false smut is caused by the ascomycete fungal pathogen Ustilaginoidea virens (Cooke) Takahashi. It hijacks host nutrients for mycelial growth and forms false smut balls in rice flowers leading to grain contamination of poisonous mycotoxins.Due to the infection rate and number of smut balls in resistant cultivar IR28 were significantly lower than those of susceptible cultivar WX98 during conidia injection inoculation. Thus, a compared transcriptome analysis between IR28 and WX98 was deployed during U. virens infection.