A 48-bp deletion upstream of LIGULELESS 1 alters rice panicle architecture
Linhua Wu,
Min Hu,
Shuwei Lyu,
Wenfeng Chen,
Hang Yu,
Qing Liu,
Wei He,
Chen Li,
Zuofeng Zhu
Affiliations
Linhua Wu
Rice Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, Guangdong, China; National Center for Evaluation of Agricultural Wild Plants (Rice), Department of Plant Genetics and Breeding, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Min Hu
National Center for Evaluation of Agricultural Wild Plants (Rice), Department of Plant Genetics and Breeding, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; State Key Laboratory for Rice Biology and Breeding, China National Rice Research Institute, Hangzhou 310006, Zhejiang, China
Shuwei Lyu
Rice Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, Guangdong, China
Wenfeng Chen
Rice Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, Guangdong, China
Hang Yu
Rice Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, Guangdong, China
Qing Liu
Rice Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, Guangdong, China
Wei He
National Center for Evaluation of Agricultural Wild Plants (Rice), Department of Plant Genetics and Breeding, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Chen Li
Rice Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, Guangdong, China; Key Laboratory of Genetics and Breeding of High Quality Rice in Southern China (Co-construction by Ministry and Province), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Guangzhou 510640, Guangdong, China; Guangdong Key Laboratory of New Technology in Rice Breeding, Guangzhou 510640, Guangdong, China; Guangdong Rice Engineering Laboratory, Guangzhou 510640, Guangdong, China; Corresponding authors.
Zuofeng Zhu
National Center for Evaluation of Agricultural Wild Plants (Rice), Department of Plant Genetics and Breeding, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; Corresponding authors.
Panicle architecture is an agronomic determinant of crop yield and a target for cereal crop improvement. To investigate its molecular mechanisms in rice, we performed map-based cloning and characterization of OPEN PANICLE 1 (OP1), a gain-of-function allele of LIGULELESS 1 (LG1), controlling the spread-panicle phenotype. This allele results from a 48-bp deletion in the LG1 upstream region and promotes pulvinus development at the base of the primary branch. Increased OP1 expression and altered panicle phenotype in chimeric transgenic plants and upstream-region knockout mutants indicated that the deletion regulates spread-panicle architecture in the mutant spread panicle 1 (sp1). Knocking out BRASSINOSTEROID UPREGULATED1 (BU1) gene in the background of OP1 complementary plants resulted in compact panicles, suggesting OP1 may regulate inflorescence architecture via the brassinosteroid signaling pathway. We regard that manipulating the upstream regulatory region of OP1 or genes involved in BR signal pathway could be an efficient way to improve rice inflorescence architecture.
