*2.6. Statistical Analysis*

For each assay, the means of four to five replicates were calculated; error bars represent the standard error of the mean. A one-way analysis of variance (one-way ANOVA) followed by Duncan's multiple comparison test was used to determine statistical significance at *p* < 0.05 across all treatments. For gene expression, a Student's *t*-test was used to determine statistical difference (*p* < 0.05 or *p* < 0.01) between the control and each treatment.
