Characterization of 35S-OsATG8c transgenic lines. (A) Expression level of OsATG8c in 14-day-old seedlings of SN9816 and transgenic lines (L-37, L-42 and L-142). OsActin1 was used as an internal control. Values are the means ± SD (n = 3). (B,C) Phenotypes of the whole rice plants under sufficient N (NS, 225 kg·ha−1) or low N (NL, 75 kg·ha−1) conditions at the grain filling stage. Scale bar: 10 cm. (D) The tiller number per plant, (E) chlorophyll content, and (F) protein content of SN9816 and the transgenic lines under NS (225 kg·ha−1) and NL (75 kg·ha−1) conditions. Values are the means ± SD (n = 12), * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01 (t-test).