OsMADS16 Genetically Interacts with OsMADS3 and OsMADS58 in Specifying Floral Patterning ~in Rice

Rice （Oryza sativa） has unique floral patterns that contribute to grain yield. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the specification of floral organ identities in rice, particularly the interaction among floral homeotic genes, remains poorly understood. Here, we show that the floral homeotic gene OsMADS16 （also called SUPERWOMAN1, SPWl, a B-class gene） acts together with the rice C-class genes OsMADS3 and OsMADS58 in specifying floral organ patterning. OsMADS16 and the two C-class genes have an overlapping expression pattern in the third whorl founder cells. Compared with the single mutants, both spwl-1 osmads3-4 and spwl-1 osmads58 double mutants exhibit additional whorls of glume-like organs within the flower, particularly an extra whorl of six glume-like structures formed at the position of the wild-type stamens. These ectopic glume-like structures were shown to have palea identity through cellular observation and in situ hybridization analysis using marker genes. Our results suggest that B- and C-class genes play a key role in suppressing indeterminate growth within the floral meristem, particularly whorl-3 primordia. We also hypothesize that, in contrast to previous assumptions, the specialized spikelet organ in rice, the palea, is the counterpart of the sepal in eudicots, and the lemma is homologous to the bract.

PGR5-PGRL1-Dependent Cyclic Electron Transport Modulates Linear Electron Transport Rate in Arabidopsis thaliana

Plants need tight regulation of photosynthetic electron transport for survival and growth under environ- mental and metabolic conditions. For this purpose, the linear electron transport （LET） pathway is supple- mented by a number of alternative electron transfer pathways and valves. In Arabidopsis, cyclic electron transport （CET） around photosystem I （PSI）, which recycles electrons from ferrodoxin to plastoquinone, is the most investigated alternative route. However, the interdependence of LET and CET and the relative importance of CET remain unclear, largely due to the difficulties in precise assessment of the contribution of CET in the presence of LET, which dominates electron flow under physiological conditions. We there- fore generated Arabidopsis mutants with a minimal water-splitting activity, and thus a low rate of LET, by combining knockout mutations in Psb01, PsbP2, PsbQ1, PsbQ2, and PsbR loci. The resulting 45 mutant is viable, although mature leaves contain only ~20% of wild-type naturally less abundant Psb02 protein. 45 plants compensate for the reduction in LET by increasing the rate of CET, and inducing a strong non-photochemical quenching （NPQ） response during dark-to-light transitions. To identify the molecular origin of such a high-capacity CET, we constructed three sextuple mutants lacking the qE component of NPQ （45 npq4-1）, NDH-mediated CET （45 crr4-3）, or PGR5-PGRLl-mediated CET （45 pgrS）. Their analysis revealed that PGR5-PGRLl-mediated CET plays a major role in ~pH formation and induction of NPQ in C3 plants. Moreover, while pgr5 dies at the seedling stage under fluctuating light conditions, 45 pgr5 plants are able to survive, which underlines the importance of PGR5 in modulating the intersystem electron transfer.