Rice blast, caused by Magnaporthe oryzae, is the most devastating fungal disease in the rice-growing world. Between 10% and 30% of the annual rice harvest is lost due to infection by rice blast. Mutant plants with altered response to pathogens, either gain or loss of resistance, are useful for dissecting defense mechanisms. For this purpose two rice genotypes including mutant variety Pooya (resistant) and its wild-type cultivar Mosatarom (susceptible) were used in greenhouse tests. Expression patterns of PR1a and PR10a genes were analyzed at 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 days after inoculation with M. oryzae and the seedlings treated with sterile water was used as control. The PR1a and PR10a genes responded to M. oryzae differently expression levels in Pooya compared with the Mosatarom. The induced expression levels of PR1a and PR10a were higher in the Pooya than in the Mosatarom, and the difference was greater for PR1a. According to our results, rapid induction and high level expression of PR1a and PR10a genes might be involved in resistance of mutant variety Pooya to blast.
