The Theobroma cacao industry experiences heavy yield losses due to the pathogen Phytophthora, an oomycete that causes black pod rot. Using transcriptomics, TcBBE8 and TcFMO1 were identified as candidate resistance genes against Phytophthora. We have developed Arabidopsis mutants expressing TcBBE8 and TcFMO1 and plan to test their response to the biotrophic pathogen Pseudomonas syringae to determine if these genes participate in biotrophic defense responses. Pathogen success will be determined by visual wounding analysis and determining CFU of Pseudomonas-infected leaf samples.