Genetic analysis of MdMIEL1 and MdBBX7. A, Morphological characteristics of the WT, MdMIEL1 RNAi, MdBBX7 RNAi, and MdMIEL1 RNAi/MdBBX7 RNAi transgenic apple calli after PEG treatment. B, The relative growth rate of apple calli under PEG treatment. C, Relative expression level of MdERF1 in the WT and transgenic apple calli under control and PEG conditions. MdMIEL1 RNAi/MdBBX7 RNAi, knocking down MdMIEL1 in the background of MdBBX7 RNAi calli. Equal weight of WT and transgenic calli were grown on MS or MS supplemented with PEG (−0.7 MPa) for 2 weeks. Data are means ± sd (n = 5 in (B), 3 in (C)). Asterisks indicated values significantly different between the transgenic lines and the WT in each group (Control and PEG). One-way ANOVA (Tukey’s test) was performed, and statistically significant differences are indicated by *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, or ***P < 0.001.