OsPPG encodes a pseudouridine-5'-phosphate glycosidase and regulates rice spikelet development

Florets are the basic structural units of spikelets,and their morphogenesis determines the yield and quality of rice grains.However,whether and how pseudouridine-5’-phosphate glycosidase participates in rice spikelet development remains an open question.In this study,we identified a novel gene,OsPPG,which encodes a peroxisome-localized pseudouridine-5’-phosphate glycosidase and regulates the development of rice spikelets.osppg mutants exhibited abnormal sterile lemma,lemma,palea,lodicule,stamens,and pistils;male sterility;shorter panicles;and reduced plant height.OsPPG was found to regulate several OsMADS genes,thereby affecting the morphogenesis of rice spikelets.Furthermore,metabolomics revealed that the OsPPG gene was involved in the decomposition of pseudouridine via the pyrimidine metabolism pathway and may affect the jasmonic acid signaling pathway.These results suggest that OsPPG is a key regulator of rice spikelet development.

OsPRMT6a-mediated arginine methylation of OsJAZ1 regulates jasmonate signaling and spikelet development in rice

Although both protein arginine methylation(PRMT)and jasmonate(JA)signaling are crucial for regulating plant development,the relationship between these processes in the control of spikelet development remains unclear.In this study,we used the CRISPR/Cas9 technology to generate two OsPRMT6a loss-of-function mutants that exhibit various abnormal spikelet structures.Interestingly,we found that OsPRMT6a can methylate arginine residues in JA signal repressors OsJAZ1 and OsJAZ7.We showed that arginine methylation of OsJAZ1 enhances the binding affinity of OsJAZ1 with the JA receptors OsCOI1a and OsCOI1b in the presence of JAs,thereby promoting the ubiquitination of OsJAZ1 by the SCF^(OsCOI1a/OsCOI1b) complex and degradation via the 26S proteasome.This process ultimately releases OsMYC2,a core transcriptional regulator in the JA signaling pathway,to activate or repress JA-responsive genes,thereby maintaining normal plant(spikelet)development.However,in the osprmt6a-1 mutant,reduced arginine methylation of OsJAZ1 impaires the interaction between OsJAZ1 and OsCOI1a/OsCOI1b in the presence of JAs.As a result,OsJAZ1 proteins become more stable,repressing JA responses,thus causing the formation of abnormal spikelet structures.Moreover,we discovered that JA signaling reduces the OsPRMT6a mRNA level in an OsMYC2-dependent manner,thereby establishing a negative feedback loop to balance JA signaling.We further found that OsPRMT6a-mediated arginine methylation of OsJAZ1 likely serves as a switch to tune JA signaling to maintain normal spikelet development under harsh environmental conditions such as high temperatures.Collectively,our study establishes a direct molecular link between arginine methylation and JA signaling in rice.

多小穗小麦新种质86-1幼穗发育遗传分析

对多穗小麦新种质 86 1幼穗分化及遗传特性分析表明 ,86 1与普通小穗小麦 (绵阳 11号和矮孟牛 )相比 ,具有小穗分化持续期长和小穗分化速率高这两个显著不同的特性 ,其中 ,小穗分化持续期长的特性能在与普通小穗小麦杂种F1 中很好表达 ,而小穗分化速率高的特性不能在杂种F1 中表达。 86 1小穗分化的两个优良特性能在F2代中遗传重组 ,出现早熟多小穗类型优良单株 ,分析结果为进一步研究改良 86 1,开展多小穗类型超高产育种提供了理论依据。

The genetic basis and process of inbreeding depression in an elite hybrid rice

Inbreeding depression refers to the reduced performance arising from increased homozygosity,a phenomenon that is the reverse of heterosis and exists among plants and animals.As a natural self-pollinated crop with strong heterosis,the mechanism of inbreeding depression in rice is largely unknown.To understand the genetic basis of inbreeding depression,we constructed a successive inbreeding population from the F_(2)to F_(4)generation and observed inbreeding depression of all heterotic traits in the progeny along with the decay of heterozygosity in each generation.The expected depression effect was largely explained by 13 QTLs showing dominant effects for spikelets per panicle,11 for primary branches,and 12 for secondary branches,and these loci constitute the main correlation between heterosis and inbreeding depression.However,the genetic basis of inbreeding depression is also distinct from that of heterosis,such that a biased transmission ratio of alleles for QTLs with either dominant or additive effects in four segregation distortion regions would result in minor effects in expected depression.Noticeably,two-locus interactions may change the extent and direction of the depression effects of the target loci,and overall interactions would promote inbreeding depression among generations.Using an F_(2:3)variation population,the actual performance of the loci showing expected depression was evaluated considering the heterozygosity decay in the background after inbreeding.We found inconsistent or various degrees of background depression from the F_(2)to F_(3)generation assuming different genotypes of the target locus,which may affect the actual depression effect of the locus due to epistasis.The results suggest that the genetic architecture of inbreeding depression and heterosis is closely linked but also differs in their intrinsic mechanisms,which expand our understanding of the whole-genome architecture of inbreeding depression.