Fig. 2

Changes in CO₂ concentrations at airspace 10 cm below the top of the canopies of RBCS-sense rice plants throughout reproductive and ripening periods in the plots applied with 15 and 0 g N m⁻² fertilizer (A). Comparisons of Rubisco (B), total N (C), and Chl (D) contents per unit land area of flag leaves between wild-type and RBCS-sense rice plants at the early, middle, and late stages of ripening period in the plots applied with 15 g N m⁻² fertilizer. The CO₂ concentrations in the canopies of the RBCS-sense rice plants were measured throughout − 26 to 35 DAH as reproductive and ripening periods (A). The flag and penultimate leaves of the wild-type and RBCS-sense rice plants for measuring Rubisco, total N and Chl contents were harvested from 4 to 8 DAH in early, from 26 to 30 DAH in the middle, and 47 DAH in the late ripening stages (B–D). The arrows represent the reproductive (panicle formation) and ripening periods. Mean values ± the standard error of 3–5 independent of the flag leaves and penultimate leaf blades of wild-type and RBCS-sense rice plants, respectively. *p < 0.05 between the wild-type and RBCS-sense rice plants using Student’s t-test. The abbreviations stand as follows: “Chl”; chlorophyll, “DAH”; days after heading, “ER”; early ripening stage, “FL”; flag leaves, “LR”; late ripening stage, “MR”; middle ripening stage, “PL”; penultimate leaf blade, “RBCS-sense”; transgenic rice plants overproducing Rubisco, “Wild”; wild-type rice plant