Fig. 2

Characterization of photosynthetic pigments and proteins in the leaves of the z3 mutant. a–b Chlorophyll concentrations (a) and carotenoids concentrations (b) in the leaves of the WT and the z3 mutant. Chlorophyll and carotenoids were extracted from the second leaves of plants at 110 DAS grown under natural long day conditions. Means and SD were obtained from five biological replicates. The letters a and b on the bars denote that they are significantly different at the 1% level according to the Duncan’s multiple range test. c Immunoblot analysis of chloroplast proteins. Total protein was extracted from the second leaves of 110-day-old plants, and extracts were subjected to SDS-PAGE. Antibodies against Lhca2, Lhcb2, Lhcb4, and D1 were used for detection, and the Rubisco large subunit (RbcL) was detected by Coomassie brilliant blue staining. FW, fresh weight; WT, wild type; z3 (dg), dark-green sectors of the z3 mutant leaves; z3 (g), green sectors of the z3 mutant leaves