RNA isolation and cDNA synthesis
The infected leaves and root collars from three biological replicates (one replicate representing a pool of three plants) were flash-frozen after collection and separately ground with a pestle and mortar. Total RNA was extracted using AccuZolTM kit (Bioneer, Korea), according to the manufacturer’s instructions. The genomic DNA in the total RNA was eliminated by digestion with RNase-free DNase (Thermo Scientific) following the manufacturer’s protocol. The quantity and purity of total RNA was evaluated using a Nanodrop NP80 spectrophotometer (Implen Germany). The cDNA was synthesized from 5 μg of total RNA using the cDNA Synthesis commercial kit (YTA, Yekta Tajhiz Azma, Iran) according to the manufacturer’s instructions.