Fig. 2

ThST5 significantly enhanced salt tolerance in transgenic cotton at seedling stage. A, B Growth phenotype of CK and ST5-OE under saline hydroponic conditions. Four days old seedlings were shifted to hydroponic culture for 7 days and treated with 140 mmol·L⁻¹ NaCl for 3 days before photographs were captured. Bar = 4 cm. C Survival rate of transgenic plants under saline hydroponic culture. Values are mean ± SD of three biological replicates (16 seedlings of each genotype per replicate). Different letters represent significant difference (P < 0.05) as calculated by Duncan’s multiple range tests. D, E Growth phenotype of CK and ST5-OE in soil. Twenty days-old seedlings were irrigated with either water or 300 mmol·L⁻¹ NaCl for 10 days. Photographs were captured at the 10th day after the treatment. Bar = 4 cm. F Survival rate of transgenic seedlings in saline soil. Values are mean ± SD of three biological replicates (16 seedlings of each genotype per replicate). Different letters represent significant difference (P < 0.05) as calculated by Duncan’s multiple range tests