Figure 3

Carotenoids contents and expression of carotenoid biosynthesis genes in OE and WT fruits. (A) Total carotenoid content in OE and WT fruits at B20. (B) Contents of lutein, β-carotene and lycopene in OE and WT fruits at B20. (C) to (F) Expression analysis of genes related to carotenoid synthesis. The relative mRNA levels of SlPSY1 (C), SlLCYb (D), SlLCYe (E) and SlCYCB (F) at indicated developmental stages were shown. MG, mature green; Br, breaker; B3, 3 d after breaker; B7, 7 d after breaker. Data are the means ± SD of three independent experiments. The asterisks indicate statistically significant differences between OE and WT fruits (*P < 0.05, **P < 0.01).