Fig. 9.

Examination of seed germination, endogenous ABA contents, and ABA metabolic gene expression in WT, Osbhlh035, and genetically complemented transformant rice. a-b The germination characteristics and rates of seeds from WT, Osbhlh035, and genetically complemented lines under normal and salt-treated conditions. Arabic numerals represent three independent biological replicates, which were harvested from three different rice plants per genotype. All germination rates are shown as the mean ± SD of two independent experiments; n = 50 × 3 biological replicates within each genotype and/or experimental condition. c The endogenous ABA contents of WT, Osbhlh035, and the genetically complemented transformant lines under normal and salt-treated conditions on day 4. d OsABA2, OsAAO3, and OsABA8ox1 expression in WT, Osbhlh035, and the genetically complemented transformant lines under normal and salt-treated conditions on day 4. The seeds were grown on basal medium supplemented with 0 (CK) or 250 mM NaCl. Samples for the ABA ELISA and q-PCR assays were harvested on day 4. Asterisks indicate significant differences in comparison to WT (*P < 0.05 and **P < 0.01) based on Student’s t-test