Fig 2.

Increased expression of the 5-enolpyruvoylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (epsps) gene and EPSPS protein content in transgenic F₂ crop–weed (Oryza sativa f. spontanea and O. sativa) hybrids. The four crop–weed hybrid lineages are designated WH1, WH2, WH3, and WH4. Means are shown with 1 ± SE. *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01; ***, P < 0.001 (t-tests with Bonferroni corrections). (a) Gene expression from epsps (arrowhead, left side) and actin control (full arrow, right side) in genetically engineered (GE) (WH1+) and non-GE (WH1−) plants; M indicates the DL2000 DNA marker; n = 3. (b) epsps gene expression in GE (upper lines) and non-GE (lower lines) WH1 plants detected by real-time PCR. Rn represents the amount of PCR produced by the epsps transgene against that by a reference gene (action) as measured based on fluorescence intensity, shown with the number of PCR cycles. The inserted bar chart represents the relative levels of gene expression when WH1− was set as 1. The y-axis shows the logarithm-transformed (log₁₀) gene expression level; n = 3. (c) Mean percentage of relative EPSPS protein content of GE (green symbols) and non-GE plants (red symbols), determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA); n = 9.