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 shoul...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.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant nos. 91435103 and 31222040)the Chinese Universities Scientific Fund (grant no. 2016QC104)
文摘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.
