Fig. 2

OsbHLH079 delays leaf yellowing during dark-induced senescence. A-C Changes in leaf color (A), total chlorophyll content (B), and ion leakage rate (C) in complete darkness. Rice plants were grown under natural day-night conditions in the paddy field, and leaf discs were collected from the flag leaves of rice plants at the heading stage. The leaf discs were then incubated on a 3 mM MES buffer (pH 5.8), abaxial side up, at 30 °C in complete darkness until the indicated DDI. The data in (B, C) were obtained from four independent samples, with approximately 10 mg of leaf discs per sample in (B) and around five leaf discs per sample in (C), and are presented as mean ± SD. Statistical analysis was performed using the two-tailed Student’s t-test (*P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, and ***P < 0.001). These experiments were repeated twice with similar results. Chl, chlorophyll; DDI, day(s) of dark incubation; FW, fresh weight; NS, not significant