Fig. 3.

Relationship of carotenoid content and DcPSY gene transcription during carrot root development. a Carotenoid contents were determined by quantitative UPLC. Total carotenoids were calculated by adding α- and β-carotene and xanthophylls. Results are the means of two extraction replicates ± SD. b A comparison of root carotenoid composition patterns among the five accessions was shown at the 5th and 11th leave stage. c DcPSY1 and DcPSY2 transcription levels were determined by real-time qPCR. The values are normalized against ubiquitin transcripts and compared against the expression levels in Ws roots at the 4th leaf stage. Values are the means of three real-time qPCR replicates ±SD