Fig. 3

Expression patterns of IDA-like and HAE-like genes based on quantitative real-time PCR in several organs and tissues of N. benthamiana at different stages of corolla development. a Floral organs (sepals were removed), fruits and vegetative tissues utilized for gene expression analysis. The developmental stages of the corolla that were selected as a source of floral organs and fruits showed the corolla tube bulb above the calyx and the corolla limb closed (stage 1); fully elongated corolla tube and closed corolla limb and anthers (stage 2); open flower, corolla limb fully expanded and anthers dehiscent (stage 4); lobes of the corolla limb curl inwards, significant loss of turgor of the corolla tube which easily detached from the receptacle (stage 5). Dash lines mark the tissue collected from the base of the corolla. b Gene expression levels in apical buds (AB), nodes (N), internodes (In), whole corolla (Co), the ensemble formed by the style and the stigma (S + S) and roots (R) relative to the lowest expression level of each gene. c Gene expression patterns in leaves, anthers and fruits. Gene expression levels were relative to that at the earliest developmental stage in every organ (YL, young leaf; An2, anthers at stage 2; Fr2, fruit at stage 2, respectively). d Gene expression patterns in the corolla base during corolla developmental stages 1, 2, 4 and 5: Gene expression levels were relative to that at stage 1. Gene expression levels were normalized with respect to those of NbenPP2A gene, applying the 2^-ΔΔCt method. Relative gene expression levels (log2 fold change) are given next to the color scale column. Upregulation and downregulation of gene expression is shown by red and blue color, respectively. Gene expression raw and processed final data are shown in Additional File 5