Fig. 5

Overexpression of the McWRKY57-like gene improved drought tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis plants. A Level of McWRKY57-like transcript in 7-day-old seedlings of WT, and McWRKY57-like overexpression (OE) lines (OE-8 and OE-10). B and C Phenotypes of 11-day-old seedlings of WT and transgenic lines OE-8 and OE-10 under control conditions and treatment with 300 mM mannitol, respectively. D Comparison of primary root elongation between seedlings of WT and transgenic lines OE-8 and OE-10 under control conditions and treatment with 300 mM mannitol. Data are means of the 20 replicates with SE. Student’s t tests were performed to show significant differences in primary root elongation between OE and WT lines. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01. E The growth status of transgenic and WT plants under control and drought conditions. F Measurement of chlorophyll content of leaves from transgenic and WT plants under control and natural drought conditions. Data represented means ± SE of three replicates. Different letters indicate significant differences at P < 0.05, as determined by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Tukey’s post-test. G Water loss rate of detached leaves from transgenic and WT plants under given conditions. Data are means of the 3 replicates with SE. Student’s t tests were performed to show significant differences in water loss rate between OE and WT lines. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001