Fig. 1

Spotted leaf phenotype of spl40. a Lesions appear at 4-leaf stage (shown detached 3rd leaf with lesions) (bar = 5 cm). b WT and spl40 at maturity stage (Scale bar = 10 cm). c Effect of light on lesion formation under the natural condition (1–2) Zhongjian100 and spl40 before shading. (2–3) Zhongjian100 and spl40 shaded for 7 days. (5) spl40 re-instated for 5 d. (6) spl40 re-instated for 15 d. Shaded areas are boxed. d Lesion phenotype on matured seeds (bar = 2 cm). e Photosynthetic pigment contents at tillering stage. f Soluble protein content at seedling and tillering stage. Values are means ± SD (n = 3); ** indicates significance at P ≤ 0.01 and * indicates significance at P ≤ 0.05 by Student’s t test