水稻胚乳发育遗传调控的研究进展

Towards Understanding the Genetic Regulations of Endosperm Development in Rice

胚乳是被子植物双受精产物之一,为种子发育提供营养;同时,水稻胚乳也是人类口粮的重要来源。胚乳组织约占水稻种子干质量的70%以上,其发育直接影响稻米产量和品质。目前我们对水稻胚乳发育调控的分子机制有了较为深入的认识,克隆了一些重要基因,同时发现表观遗传调控在胚乳发育中也发挥重要作用。本文主要以水稻为例,同时穿插拟南芥和玉米等植物的相关研究进展,系统总结了胚乳细胞化、糊粉层细胞分化、储藏物质积累等胚乳发育重要生物学事件的遗传调控机制。最后我们也指出了关于胚乳发育过程中有待进一步深入研究的科学问题,以期能为今后相关研究提供一些思路。

Endosperm,a product of double fertilization,is a tissue nourishingthe developing embryo.In addition,cereal endosperm is the primary source of caloriesof humans.Rice endosperm consists more than seventypercentof the seed dry mass,whose development directly determines the yield and quality of rice grains.To date,we have had a profound understanding of the genetic and epigenetic regulations for rice endosperm development.Many of the important genes required forrice endosperm development have been identified.In this review,we summarize the molecular controls of the key events/processes of endosperm development,including the syncytium-cellualrization transition,endosperm cell differentiation and storage compounds accumulation.We mainly focus on the new findings in rice;however,some important findings in Arabidopsis and other cereal crops are also introduced.We also discusssome questions that needto be elucidatedin the future for rice endosperm development.