LSM2 and infection: Importantly, among the 116 splicing-related genes, 93 genes were differentially expressed at the five infection stages compared with the mycelium stage, including 31 upregulated genes and 65 downregulated genes—for example, Sscle_01g006670, which encodes an LSM2 homolog, was upregulated by 8.3 folds at 36 hpi, while the RNA helicase p68-coding gene Sscle_03g029880 displayed 53.6-fold downregulation at 6 hpi.