Fig. 6.

PFeIF4AIII-VIGS analysis in P. floridana. a, b Growth of NC and PFeIF4AIII-VIGS plants at the fruiting stage. c, d PFeIF4AIII-VIGS plants displayed wilting and died after flowering compared to NC plants. e, f Root growth of NC and PFeIF4AIII-VIGS plant. g The PFeIF4AIII expression in root collar area of plants as indicated. WT, wild type; NC, negative control; VIGS-I, PFeIF4AIII-VIGS plants showing root collar decay; VIGS-II, PFeIF4AIII-VIGS plants having WT-like root collar. The investigated sample number (n) in each case was indicated. h, i Flower morphology in NC and PFeIF4AIII-VIGS plants. j, k Pollen viability in NC and PFeIF4AIII-VIGS flowers, which was evaluated by I₂–KI staining. l, m ICS morphology in NC and PFeIF4AIII-VIGS plants. n, o Fruit morphology in NC and PFeIF4AIII-VIGS plants. Bars, 10 cm in a-d, 2 cm in e, f, 1 cm in h, i and l–o, and 100 µm in j, k. Significance relative to NC was evaluated by a two-tailed student’s t test, and double asterisks indicates significance at P < 0.01