A homeodomain-leucine zipper I transcription factor, MeHDZ14,regulates internode elongation and leaf rolling in cassava(Manihot esculenta Crantz)

Drought stress impairs plant growth and other physiological functions. MeHDZ14, a homeodomainleucine zipper I transcription factor, is strongly induced by drought stress in various cassava cultivars.However, the role of MeHDZ14 in cassava growth regulation has remained unclear. Here we report that MeHDZ14 affected plant height, such that a dwarf phenotype and altered internode elongation were observed in transgenic cassava lines. MeHDZ14 was found to negatively regulate the biosynthesis of lignin. Its overexpression resulted in abaxially rolled leaves. The morphogenesis of leaf epidermal cells was inhibited by overexpression of MeHDZ14, with decreased auxin and gibberellin and increased cytokinin contents. MeHDZ14 was found to regulate many drought-responsive genes, including genes involved in cell wall synthesis and expansion. MeHDZ14 bound to the promoter of caffeic acid 3-Omethyltransferase 1(MeCOMT1), acting as a transcriptional repressor of genes involved in cell wall development. MeHDZ14 appears to act as a negative regulator of internode elongation and epidermal cell morphogenesis during cassava leaf development.

Simulation on Distribution of Photosynthetically Active Radiation in Canopy and Optimum Leaf Rolling Index in Rice with Rolling Leaves

By replacing leaf area index （LAI） with effective leaf area index （ELAI） through introduction of leaf rolling index （LRI）, the distributions of photosynthetically active radiation （PAR） in the canopies of three hybrid rice combinations, Liangyou E32 with high LRI, Liangyoupeijiu with moderate LRI and Shanyou 63 with non-rolling leaves （normal）, were simulated. The model based on ELAI could predict more accurately than that based on LAI. The PAR interception, conversion and utilization efficiency in the three combinations were studied to evaluate their optimal LRI and LAI. The PAR utilization efficiency of Liangyou E32 was lower due to excessive rolling leaves and less ELAI, and that of Shanyou 63 was also lower because of the faulty PAR interception and lower photosynthetic rate and saturation point at lower layer in canopy. Compared with the above two combinations, Liangyoupeijiu showed more appropriate distribution of PAR interception and conversion efficiency in canopy, and higher PAR utilization efficiency. The optimal LRI and LAI for Liangyoupeijiu were 0.11 and 7.6, respectively, which were close to the observed value, 0.11 and 7.9, respectively. However, the optimum LAI was 9.8 for Liangyou E32 and 6.2 for Shanyou 63, larger or smaller than those under the current plant density, which led to lower efficiency of PAR utilization. Besides, the optimum LRI for Liangyou E32 and Shanyou 63 were 0.12 and 0.08, respectively, which were close to the actual LRI for Liangyoupeijiu （0.11）.

ESCRT-Ⅲ component OsSNF7.2 modulates leaf rolling by trafficking and endosomal degradation of auxin biosynthetic enzyme OsYUC8 in rice

The endosomal sorting complex required for transport(ESCRT)is highly conserved in eukaryotic cells and plays an essential role in the biogenesis of multivesicular bodies and cargo degradation to the plant vacuole or lysosomes.Although ESCRT components affect a variety of plant growth and development processes,their impact on leaf development is rarely reported.Here,we found that OsSNF7.2,an ESCRT-Ⅲ component,controls leaf rolling in rice(Oryza sativa).The Ossnf7.2 mutant rolled leaf 17(rl17)has adaxially rolled leaves due to the decreased number and size of the bulliform cells.OsSNF7.2is expressed ubiquitously in all tissues,and its protein is localized in the endosomal compartments.OsSNF7.2 homologs,including OsSNF7,OsSNF7.3,and OsSNF7.4,can physically interact with OsSNF7.2,but their single mutation did not result in leaf rolling.Other ESCRT complex subunits,namely OsVPS20,OsVPS24,and OsBRO1,also interact with OsSNF7.2.Further assays revealed that OsSNF7.2 interacts with OsYUC8 and aids its vacuolar degradation.Both Osyuc8and rl17 Osyuc8 showed rolled leaves,indicating that OsYUC8 and OsSNF7.2 function in the same pathway,conferring leaf development.This study reveals a new biological function for the ESCRT-Ⅲcomponents,and provides new insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying leaf rolling.

Anatomical and Chemical Characteristics of a Rolling Leaf Mutant of Rice and Its Ecophysiological Properties

The anatomical and chemical characteristics of a rolling leaf mutant （rlm） of rice （Oryza sativa L.） and its ecophysiological properties in photosynthesis and apoplastic transport were investigated. Compared with the wild type （WT）, the areas of whole vascular bundles and xylem as well as the ratios of xylem area/whole vascular bundles area and xylem area/phloem area were higher in rim, whereas the area and the width of foliar bulliform cell were lower. The Fourier transform infrared （FTIR） microspectroscopy spectra of foliar cell walls differed greatly between rim and WT. The rim exhibited lower protein and polysaccharide contents of foliar cell walls. An obvious reduction of pectin content was also found in rim by biochemical measurements. Moreover, the rate of photosynthesis was depressed while the conductance of stoma and the intercellular CO2 concentration were enhanced in rim. The PTS fluorescence, which represents the ability of apoplastic transport, was 11% higher in rim than in WT. These results suggest that the changes in anatomical and chemical characteristics of foliar vascular bundles, such as the reduction of proteins, pectins, and other polysaccharides of foliar cell walls, participate in the leaf rolling mutation, and consequently lead to the reduced photosynthetic dynamics and apoplastic transport ability in the mutant.

A polygalacturonase gene OsPG1 modulates water homeostasis in rice

A dynamic plant architecture is the basis of plant adaptation to changing environments.Although many genes regulating leaf rolling have been identified,genes directly associated with water homeostasis are largely unknown.Here,we isolated a rice mutant,dynamic leaf rolling 1(dlr1),characterized by‘leaf unfolding in the morning-leaf rolling at noon-leaf unfolding in the evening’during a sunny day.Water content was decreased in rolled leaves and water sprayed on leaves caused reopening,indicating that in vivo water deficiency induced the leaf rolling.Map-based cloning and expression tests demonstrated that an A1400G single base mutation in Oryza sativa Polygalacturonase 1(OsPG1)/PHOTO-SENSITIVE LEAF ROLLING 1(PSL1)was responsible for the dynamic leaf rolling phenotype in the dlr1 mutant.OsPG1 encodes a polygalacturonase,one of the main enzymes that degrade demethylesterified homogalacturonans in plant cell walls.OsPG1 was constitutively expressed in various tissues and was enriched in stomata.Mutants of the OsPG1 gene exhibited defects in stomatal closure and decreased stomatal density,leading to reduced transpiration and excessive water loss under specific conditions,but had normal root development.Further analysis revealed that mutation of OsPG1 led to reduced pectinase activity in the leaves and increased demethylesterified homogalacturonans in guard cells.Our findings reveal a mechanism by which OsPG1 modulates water homeostasis to control dynamic leaf rolling,providing insights for plants to adapt to environmental variation.

Construction of SSR Linkage Map and Analysis of QTLs for Rolled Leaf in Japonica Rice

Genetic analysis of rolled leaf is important to rice ideotype breeding. To detect loci controlling rolled leaf of japonica restorer lines, SSR marker genotypes and phenotypes of flag leaf rolling index （LRI） were investigated in Xiushui 79 （P1, a japonica rice variety）, C Bao （P2, a japonica restorer line） and 254 recombinant inbred lines derived from the cross between P1 and P2 , and in two environments. A genetic map of this cross was constructed, QTLs for LRI were detected and their interactions with environments were analyzed. Among 818 pairs of SSR primers, 90 primers showed polymorphism between P1 and P2, and 12 markers showed highly significant correlation with LRI in both environments based on single marker regression analysis. The genetic map containing 74 information loci has a total distance of 744.6 cM, with an average of 10.1 cM between two adjacent loci. Three QTLs （qRL-1, qRL-7 and qRL-8-1） were detected with two softwares： WinQTLCart 2.5 and QTLNetwork2.0. qRL-8-1 was a new locus, accounting for 15.5% and 12.8% of phenotypic variations in the two environments, respectively. The phenotypic variation explained by additive effect was 6.6%. No interaction was found between qRL-8-1 genotype and environments.

Effect of Rolled Leaf Gene Rl_(t) on Grain Quality in Hybrid Rice

Effects of rolled leaf gene Rl（t） on grain quality characters of hybrid rice were analyzed by using three pairs of rolled leaf near-isogenic lines under two fertilizer treatments. Under normal fertilizer level （e.g. 450 kg urea per ha）, head rice rates and milled rice recovery of rolled leaf hybrids were significantly higher than those of corresponding non-rolled crosses, while the chalky rice rate and chalkiness were all lower. Of the RVA profiles, the peak viscosity, the hot paste viscosity and the breakdown viscosity of the rolled were all higher than those of the corresponding non-rolled ones to various degrees. Increasing fertilizer application for promoting panicle development increased the brown, milled and head rice rates except for Shanyou 63, furthermore, significant difference of head rice rates existed between the rolled leaf Shanyou 559 and Shanyou 559; while the peak viscosity, the hot paste viscosity and the breakdown viscosity all decreased to different levels; changes of values of other characters had no apparent regularity. It suggested that Rl（t） could improve rice quality under certain conditions.

RL3(t),Responsible for Leaf Shape Formation,Delimited to a 46-kb DNA Fragment in Rice

Two mutants with rolled leaves, temporally designated as rl3（t）-I and rl3（t）-2, were served for exploring the mechanism underlying the rolled leaf characteristic. Except for having typical rolled leaves, the plant heights and panicle lengths of rl3（t）-1 and rl3（t）-2 significantly decreased, and the seed-setting rate also decreased when compared with wild type 93-11. Cytological analysis suggested that the rolled leaf phenotype might be caused by the changes of number and size of bulliform cells. Genetic analysis indicated rl3（t）-1 is allelic to rl3（t）-2, and controlled by a recessive gene. Gene mapping result indicated that RL3（t） gene resided in a 46-kb long region governed by the sequence tag site markers S3-39 and S3-36 on rice chromosome 3. The result provides an important clue for further cloning the RL3（t） and understanding the mechanism of rice leaf development.

Rice Curled Its Leaves Either Adaxially or Abaxially to Combat Drought Stress

Leaf rolling(LR)is one of the defensive mechanisms that plants have developed against adverse environmental conditions.LR is a typical drought response,promoting drought resistance in various gramineae species,including wheat,maize,and rice.Rice cultivation faces the formidable challenge of water deprivation because of its high water requirements,which leads to drought-related symptoms in rice.LR is an important morphological characteristic that plays a key role in controlling water loss during water insufficiency,thereby regulating leaf area and stature,which are crucial agronomic traits determining yield criteria.Bulliform,sclerenchyma,mesophyll,and vascular bundles are the cells that engage in LR and commonly exhibit adaxial or abaxial types of rolling in rice.The specific genes linked to rolling,either adaxially or abaxially,are discussed here.In addition to the factors influencing LR,here is a short review of the morphological,physiological and molecular responses of this adaptation under drought stress.Moreover,this review highlights how LR combats the consequences of drought stress.The eco-physiological and molecular mechanisms underlying this morphological adaptation in rice should be further explored,as they might be useful in dealing with various degrees of drought tolerance.

Genetic expression and effects of the rolled leaf gene Rl(t) in hybrid rice (Oryza sativa L.)

We constructed a nearisogenic line of rolled leaf gene Rl(t), which ex-pressed incompletely dondnance for the character of rolled leaf(RL), with ge-netic background of Zhenshan 97B. Using RL Zhenshan 97B and the originalZhenshan 97B as the female parents, and Minghui 63 and Yanhui 559 as themale parents, crosses of RL Shanyu 63 (RS63) and Shanyu 63(S63), RLShanyou 559 (RS559) and Shanyou 559 (S559) were made. Inheritance andeffects of Rl(t) in hybrid rice were studied at the flowering and at the 20 d afterflowering, respectively. Results were as follow:

Morpho-Physiological Response of Oryza glaberrima to Gradual Soil Drying

Soil drought occurrence during dry season has been the main constraint, besides prolonged flooding during rainy season, in increasing cropping intensity and rice productivity in tropical riparian wetland. Use of drought tolerant rice genotype might be a suitable option for overcoming such problem. This study focused on the effects of gradual soil drying during early vegetative growth stage on morphological and physiological traits of five Oryza glaberrima genotypes, namely RAM12, RAM14, RAM59, RAM97 and RAM101, and two Oryza sativa subsp japonica genotypes, i.e. Koshihikari and Minamihatamochi. The plants were subjected to 6 d of gradual soil drying condition from 15 days after transplanting(DAT) to 20 DAT, and were allowed to recover until 22 DAT. Gradual soil drying reduced plant growth as indicated by dry mass accumulation. Drought reduced stomatal conductance and increased leaf rolling score of all the genotypes. All the genotypes showed comparable response on stomatal conductance, but O. glaberrima genotypes performed higher in leaf rolling recovery. Meanwhile, O. sativa genotypes decreased total leaf area and specific leaf area, but increased specific leaf weight in order to avoid further damages due to drought stress. Drought tolerance mechanisms in RAM101, RAM12, RAM59 and RAM14 were associated with leaf morpho-physiological responses, root traits and dry biomass accumulation.

Genetic Analysis and Molecular Mapping of a Rolling Leaf Mutation Gene in Rice

A rice mutant with rolling leaf, namely γ-rl, was obtained from M2 progenies of a native indica rice stable strain Qinghuazhan （QHZ） from mutagenesis of dry seeds by γ-rays. Genetic analysis using the F2 population from a cross between this mutant and QHZ indicated the mutation was controlled by a single recessive gene. In order to map the locus for this mutation, another F2 population with 601 rolling leaf plants was constructed from a cross between y-rl and a japonica cultivar 02428. After primary mapping with SSR （simple sequence repeats） markers, the mutated locus was located at the short arm of chromosome 3, flanked by RM6829 and RM3126. A number of SSR, InDel （insertion/deletion） and SNP （single nucleotide polymorphism） markers within this region were further developed for fine mapping. Finally, two markers, SNP121679 and InDe1422395, were identified to be flanked to this locus with genetic distances of 0.08 cM and 0.17 cM respectively, and two SNP markers, SNP75346 and SNPl10263, were found to be co-segregated with this locus. These results suggested that this locus was distinguished from all loci for the rolling leaf mutation in rice reported so far, and thus renamed rl10（t）. By searching the rice genome database with closely linked markers using BLAST programs, an e-physical map covering rl10（t） locus spanning about a 50 kb region was constructed. Expression analysis of the genes predicted in this region showed that a gene encoding putative flavin-containing monooxygenase （FMO） was silenced in γ-rl, thus this is the most likely candidate responsible for the rolling leaf mutation.

六(4)代稻纵卷叶螟对水稻产量的影响及其防治指标研究(英文)

[Objective] The study aimed to find out effects of six-fourth generation Cnaphalocrocis medinalis （Guenée） on rice production in Yangzhou district and its control index. [Method] Through artificial control of insects in field, four different insect volume gradients were set, the effects of different C. medinalis amounts on leaf roll rate and yield loss of Wuyunjing No.23 were determined. [Result] The results showed that within the range of 0-20 head/hill, as the amounts of insect increased, rice yield decreased, leaf roll rate and rice yield loss rate increased. According to 3% economic permit loss rate, the control index of C. medinalis on Wuyunjing No.23 was 173 head/hill. [Conclusion] The study would provide theoretical basis for effective controlling of six-fourth generation C. medinalis in Yangzhou district.

NARROW AND ROLLED LEAF 2 regulates leaf shape,male fertility, and seed size in rice

Grain yield in rice （Oryza sativa L.） is closely related to leaf and flower development. Coordinative regulation of leaf, pollen, and seed development in rice as a critical biological and agricultural question should be addressed. Here we identified two allelic rice mutants with narrow and semi- rolled leaves, named narrow and rolled leaf2-1 （nrl2-1） and nr12- 2. Map-based molecular cloning revealed that NRL2 encodes a novel protein with unknown biochemical function. The mutation of NRL2 caused pleiotropic effects, including a reduction in the number of longitudinal veins, defective abaxial sclerenchymatous cell differentiation, abnormal tape- tum degeneration and microspore development, and the formation of more slender seeds compared with the wild type （WT）. The NRL2 protein interacted with Rolling-leaf （RL14）, causing the leaves of the nrl2 mutants to have a higher cellulose content and lower Iignin content than the WT, which may have been related to sclerenchymatous cell differentia- tion and tapetum degeneration. Thus, this gene is an essential developmental regulator controlling fundamental cellular and developmental processes, serving as a potential breeding target for high-yielding rice cultivars.