Fig. 6

Phenotypic analysis of transgenic Stevia plants. a and b Representative transgenic Stevia plants overexpressing SrDXS1 (SrDXS1-OE) (a) or SrKAH (SrKAH-OE) (b) one week after hardening in the soil. c and d Representative leaf harvested from third node position of SrDXS1-OE lines (c) or SrKAH-OE lines (d) one month after being transferred to the soil. e and f Average length of the third and fourth internodes in the SrDXS1-OE (e) or SrKAH-OE (f) lines one month after being transferred to the soil. Wild-type (WT) and vector-only line were included as a control. Scale bar = 1 cm. g-j Relative chlorophylls content and total carotenoids content in the transgenic Stevia plants overexpressing SrDXS1 (SrDXS1-OE) (g and i) or SrKAH (SrKAH-OE) compared to wild-type (WT) (h and j). All measurements are expressed as mean ± SE (n = 5) and statistical analysis was carried out using Student’s t-test relative to wild-type (WT) for SrKAH-OE lines (n = 5, *: p < 0.05)