xopF produced intense blight lesions upon inoculation using leaf clipping method. Further, Xoo 鈭?em class="EmphasisTypeItalic ">xopF showed significant reduction in planta colonization relative to the wild strain. The relative expression analysis of PTI marker genes, PR10, OsWRKY13, OsRLCK16, and OsFLS2 indicated that these genes were up-regulated 1.5 to 5 fold upon challenge-inoculation with Xoo 鈭唜opF indicating the role of XopF in suppressing PTI in rice. Xoo 鈭唜opF mutant induced more callose deposition in infected rice leaves. XopF::EYFP fusion gene product was localized to the plasma membrane when transiently expressed in Nicotiana benthamiana as well as in living onion epidermal cells. Collectively, the present study shows that XopF repress basal PTI response in plants, and thus favours Xoo growth and pathogenicity in rice. Keywords Rice Xanthomonas Bacterial blight T3SS XopF" />