Figure 1.

Knockdown of Os DCL4 Causes Abnormal Morphology in Rice.

(A) An inflorescence of wild-type Nipponbare rice.

(B) An inflorescence of DCL4IR transgenic rice.

(C) A spikelet of wild-type rice. The palea (p), lemma (l), a pair of empty glumes (eg), and a pair of rudimentary glumes (rg) are indicated.

(D) to (F) The spikelets of DCL4IR transformants showing weak (D), intermediate (E), and strong (F) phenotypes. Asterisks represent the space between the empty glume and the rudimentary glume; carets indicate the impaired lemma.

(G) Small RNA gel blot analysis of DCL4IR siRNA levels (indicated at right) in wild-type and DCL4IR transgenic progeny (WTF and AF, respectively). Line 1 and line 2 are two independent T1 generation lines of DCL4IR transformants. AF, transgenic plants displaying abnormal flowering; WTF, wild-type phenotypic progeny. 5S/tRNA stained with ethidium bromide was used as a control.