OsWRKY78 regulates panicle exsertion via gibberellin signaling pathway in rice

Panicle exsertion is one of the crucial agronomic traits in rice(Oryza sativa).Shortening of panicle exsertion often leads to panicle enclosure and severely reduces seed production.Gibberellin(GA)plays important roles in regulating panicle exsertion.However,the underlying mechanism and the relative regulatory network remain elusive.Here,we characterized the oswrky78 mutant showing severe panicle enclosure,and found that the defect of oswrky78 is caused by decreased bioactive GA contents.Biochemical analysis demonstrates that OsWRKY78 can directly activate GA biosynthesis and indirectly suppress GA metabolism.Moreover,we found OsWRKY78 can interact with and be phosphorylated by mitogen-activated protein kinase(MAPK)kinase OsMAPK6,and this phosphorylation can enhance OsWRKY78 stability and is necessary for its biological function.Taken together,these results not only reveal the critical function of OsWRKY78,but also reveal its mechanism via mediating crosstalk between MAPK and the GA signaling pathway in regulating panicle exsertion.

Elongation of the Uppermost Internode for Changxuan 3S,a Thermo-Sensitive Genic Male Sterile Rice Line

Changxuan 3S, a thermo-sensitive genic male sterile （TGMS） rice line with eui gene, is derived from the TGMS rice line Pei＇ai 64S by irradiation with 350 Gy of ^60Co γ-ray. To elucidate the uppermost internode elongation of the TGMS line with eui gene, Changxuan 3S and its parent Pei＇ai 64S were used to study the effects of temperature on panicle exsertion. At 24℃, the uppermost internode of Changxuan 3S elongated the fastest from the 4^th day before flowering to 0 day （flowering）, being 2.1-fold as that of Pei＇ai 64S, whereas it elongated slowly during the 12^th day to the 4^th day before flowering and the 1^st to the 3^rd day after flowering. The uppermost internode of Changxuan 3S exserted from the flag leaf sheath at 22℃, 24℃ and 26℃, and the length of elongated uppermost internode increased with the decreasing temperatures. At 28℃, though the panicles of Changxuan 3S were still enclosed in the leaf sheath, the degree of panicle enclosure was significantly lower compared with Pei＇ai 64S. Cytological studies on Changxuan 3S showed that the uppermost internode elongation was attributed to the increase of cell number and cell elongation, and the latter was more significant. Moreover, the numbers of outermost and innermost parenchyma cells and the cell length of the uppermost internode reduced with the increasing temperatures.