Grain size is an important determinant of yield potential in crops. We previously demonstrated that natural mutations in the regulatory sequences of qSW5/GW5 confer grain width diversity in rice. However, the biologic...Grain size is an important determinant of yield potential in crops. We previously demonstrated that natural mutations in the regulatory sequences of qSW5/GW5 confer grain width diversity in rice. However, the biological function of a GW5 homolog, named GW5-Like(GW5 L), remains unknown. In this study, we report on GW5 L knockout mutants in Kitaake, a japonica cultivar(cv.)considered to have a weak gw5 variant allele that confers shorter and wider grains. GW5 L is evenly expressed in various tissues, and its protein product is localized to the plasma membrane. Biochemical assays verified that GW5 L functions in a similar fashion to GW5. It positively regulates brassinosteroid(BR) signaling through repression of the phosphorylation activity of GSK2. Genetic data show that GW5 L overexpression in either Kitaake or a GW5 knockout line, Kasaorf3(indica cv. Kasalath background), causes more slender, longer grains relative to the wild-type. We also show that GW5 L could confer salt stress resistance through an association with calmodulin protein OsCa M1-1. These findings identify GW5 L as a negative regulator of both grain size and salt stress tolerance, and provide a potential target for breeders to improve grain yield and salt stress resistance in rice.展开更多
Grain size is one of the most important agronomic components of grain yield. Grain length, width and thickness are controlled by multiple quantitative trait loci （QTLs）. To understand genetic basis of large grain sh...Grain size is one of the most important agronomic components of grain yield. Grain length, width and thickness are controlled by multiple quantitative trait loci （QTLs）. To understand genetic basis of large grain shape and explore the beneficial alleles for grain size improvement, we perform QTL analysis using an F2 population derived from a cross between the japonica variety Beilu 129 （BL129, wide and thick grain） and the elite indica variety Huazhan （HZ, narrow and long grain）. A total number of eight major QTLs are detected on three different chromosomes. QTLs for grain width （qGW）, grain thickness （qGT）, brown grain width （qBGW）, and brown grain thickness （qBGT） explained 77.67, 36.24, 89.63, and 39.41% of total phenotypic variation, respectively. The large grain rice variety BL129 possesses the beneficial alleles of GW2 and qSW5/ GW5, which have been known to control grain width and weight, indicating that the accumulation of the beneficial alleles causes large grain shape in BL129. Further results reveal that the rare gw2 allele from BL129 increases grain width, thickness and weight of the elite indica variety Huazhan, which is used as a parental line in hybrid rice breeding. Thus, our findings will help breeders to carry out molecular design breeding on rice grain size and shape.展开更多
基金supported by the Major Research Project of Natural Science Foundation of China (91735304)the Major Science and Technology Project to Create New Crop Cultivars using Gene Transfer Technology (2016ZX08001006)the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2016YFD0100301)
文摘Grain size is an important determinant of yield potential in crops. We previously demonstrated that natural mutations in the regulatory sequences of qSW5/GW5 confer grain width diversity in rice. However, the biological function of a GW5 homolog, named GW5-Like(GW5 L), remains unknown. In this study, we report on GW5 L knockout mutants in Kitaake, a japonica cultivar(cv.)considered to have a weak gw5 variant allele that confers shorter and wider grains. GW5 L is evenly expressed in various tissues, and its protein product is localized to the plasma membrane. Biochemical assays verified that GW5 L functions in a similar fashion to GW5. It positively regulates brassinosteroid(BR) signaling through repression of the phosphorylation activity of GSK2. Genetic data show that GW5 L overexpression in either Kitaake or a GW5 knockout line, Kasaorf3(indica cv. Kasalath background), causes more slender, longer grains relative to the wild-type. We also show that GW5 L could confer salt stress resistance through an association with calmodulin protein OsCa M1-1. These findings identify GW5 L as a negative regulator of both grain size and salt stress tolerance, and provide a potential target for breeders to improve grain yield and salt stress resistance in rice.
基金supported by grants from the National Basic Research Program of China(2013CBA01401)the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(XDA08020108)the Platform Construction Programs of Key Laboratory and Engineering Technology Research Center,Department of Science and Technology of Hainan Province,China(ZDZX2013023)
文摘Grain size is one of the most important agronomic components of grain yield. Grain length, width and thickness are controlled by multiple quantitative trait loci （QTLs）. To understand genetic basis of large grain shape and explore the beneficial alleles for grain size improvement, we perform QTL analysis using an F2 population derived from a cross between the japonica variety Beilu 129 （BL129, wide and thick grain） and the elite indica variety Huazhan （HZ, narrow and long grain）. A total number of eight major QTLs are detected on three different chromosomes. QTLs for grain width （qGW）, grain thickness （qGT）, brown grain width （qBGW）, and brown grain thickness （qBGT） explained 77.67, 36.24, 89.63, and 39.41% of total phenotypic variation, respectively. The large grain rice variety BL129 possesses the beneficial alleles of GW2 and qSW5/ GW5, which have been known to control grain width and weight, indicating that the accumulation of the beneficial alleles causes large grain shape in BL129. Further results reveal that the rare gw2 allele from BL129 increases grain width, thickness and weight of the elite indica variety Huazhan, which is used as a parental line in hybrid rice breeding. Thus, our findings will help breeders to carry out molecular design breeding on rice grain size and shape.
