Figure 6.

Mutant phenotypes of Nt-Δrps18 tobacco plants. (A and B) Leaf abnormalities in greenhouse-grown plants (T₀ generation). Arrows point to misshapen leaves that lack parts of the leaf blade. The phenotype is variable and depends on the frequency of somatic segregation towards homoplasmy for the rps18 knockout. (A) Example of a plant with a relatively mild phenotype. (B) Example of a plant with a severe phenotype. (C) Spectrum of leaf phenotypes observed in Nt-Δrps18 plants. Phenotypes range from nearly normal leaves (top row left) to needle-like mutant leaves lacking the entire leaf blade (bottom row right).