Fig. 3

Chl synthesis and expreesion of related gene expression in the WT and the lhd3. A Leaf color of the WT (left) and the lhd3 (right) at the tillering stage. B Chl content of the WT and the lhd3 at the tillering stage. C Chl content in the WT and the lhd3 seedlings during greening. D Comparison of greening rate in the WT and the lhd3 etiolated seedlings that were exposed to light (200 µmol m^− 2s^− 1) for 0–24 h. E–J Changes in transcript levels of LHD3 (E) and Chl synthesis-associated genes in WT and pgl seedlings during greening, including OsHEME (F), OsCHLH (G), OsPORA (H), OsPORB (I), OsCAO (J). Mean and SD values in Chl content and qPCR analysis were obtained in each experiment with three biological replicates, and tissues from more than 10 plants were used for every experiment to avoid individual difference. * and ** represented the significant difference (P < 0.05) and extremely significant difference (P < 0.01), respectively