Figure 3.

The kasI Mutant Shows Variegated Leaf Phenotypes at Early Developmental Stages.

Wild-type, kasI, and transgenic kasI lines with complementary expression of KASI were grown at 22°C with a 16-h-light/8-h-dark cycle.

(A) Growth of wild-type (WT), kasI, and transgenic kasI lines with complementary expression of KASI (lines 101, 104, and 110) at 23 DAG and wild-type and kasI lines at 35 DAG. Bars = 2 cm.

(B) Rosette leaves of kasI and the wild type at 23 DAG (top panel) and 35 DAG (bottom panel). The squared regions are enlarged to highlight the differences. Bars = 1 cm.

(C) Content of chlorophyll a and b (mg/g fresh weight) in rosette leaves of the wild type and kasI at 23 DAG (left panel) or 35 DAG (right panel). The samples were prepared from the 7th, 8th, and 9th rosette leaves of kasI and the wild type. The results are presented as means ± sd from three biological replicates.

(D) Reduced areas of mesophyll cells in kasI. Fifty mesophyll cells from 7th rosette leaves of kasI and the wild type at 23 DAG were measured and the data are presented as means ± sd.

(E) Enzyme activity of kasI mutant is recovered at 35 DAG. Samples were prepared from the 7th, 8th, and 9th rosette leaves of kasI and the wild type at 35 DAG, and the enzyme activity is calculated by comparison with that of the wild type at 35 DAG (set as 1.0). The KASI activity of the wild type at 23 DAG was included, showing that activity in kasI at 35 DAG almost reaches wild-type levels at 23 DAG. The data were from three biological replicates and presented as means ± sd.