Effects of GhRUBL and GhBGLU24 on salt or ER stress, respectively. A) Phenotypes of VIGS plants (TRV:00, TRV:GhBGLU24, and TRV:GhRUBL) after 1 wk of treatment with 200 mM NaCl. Images were digitally extracted for comparison. Scale bar = 3 cm. B) Relative plant weight (fresh weight [FW]), relative shoot weight, relative root weight, and relative plant height of VIGS plants. Calculation of relative growth indices = growth indices under salt stress/growth indices under normal conditions. The data are presented as the mean ± SEM of 3 independent experiments (n = 15 for each). A 1-way ANOVA was conducted to determine the significance of the differences in means (*P < 0.05, **P < 0.01). C) Phenotypes of ER stress–treated GhBGLU24-A transgenic Arabidopsis. The figure depicts the impact of ER stress, induced by 1.0 and 2.5 mM DTT treatments, on the phenotypes of both OE and WT plants for a period of 3 and 2 wk, respectively. Scale bar = 2 mm. D) Statistical analysis of phenotypes. The phenotypes under 1.0 mM DTT treatment were categorized into 3 levels of severity, i.e. RN, GB, and YB, In addition, G, Y, and D indicate normal, etiolated, and dead phenotypes under 2.5 mM DTT treatment. The Se of 3 experimental replicates (n ≥ 20 for each) are indicated by error bars, and asterisks represent significant t test results between WT and OE plants (**P < 0.01). E) Phenotypic observations of WT and OE plants. The figure displays the phenotypes of 4-wk-old transgenic plants after 10 d of exposure to 5.0 mM DTT. Images were digitally extracted for comparison. Scale bar = 2 cm.