Fig. 4: Phenotypic observation and flowering time analysis of transgenic strawberry plants.

a Structural diagram of the vector used to overexpress FaARF4 driven by the CaMV 35S promoter. FaARF4-overexpressing plants showed early flowering (b), and the number of days until flowering was less than that for the control plants (c). Vertical bars represent the SDs of approximately 10 plants (**p < 0.01). d Structural diagram of the FveARF4 RNAi vector driven by the CaMV 35S promoter. By observing FveARF4 RNAi plants (e), we found that the number of days until flowering was greater than that of the control plants (f). Vertical bars represent the SDs of approximately 10 plants (**p < 0.01). The expression of FveAP1 and FveFUL, which are tissue-specific genes expressed in the flower meristem, increased in FaARF4-overexpressing plants (g) and was reduced in FveARF4 RNAi plants (h). Vertical bars represent the SDs (n = 3). **p < 0.01