NRL3 Interacts with OsK4 to Regulate Heading Date in Rice
Chen Wei,
Cai Yicong,
Shakeel Ahmad,
Wang Yakun,
An Ruihu,
Tang Shengjia,
Guo Naihui,
Wei Xiangjin,
Tang Shaoqing,
Shao Gaoneng,
Jiao Guiai,
Xie Lihong,
Hu Shikai,
Sheng Zhonghua,
Hu Peisong
Affiliations
Chen Wei
Key Laboratory of Crop Physiology, Ecology and Genetic Breeding, Ministry of Education / Collaboration Center for Double- Season Rice Modernization Production, Jiangxi Agricultural University / Research Center of Super Rice Engineering and Technology, Jiangxi Province, Nanchang 330045, China; State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology / Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs / China National Rice Improvement Center / China National Rice Research Institute, Hangzhou 310006, China
Cai Yicong
Key Laboratory of Crop Physiology, Ecology and Genetic Breeding, Ministry of Education / Collaboration Center for Double- Season Rice Modernization Production, Jiangxi Agricultural University / Research Center of Super Rice Engineering and Technology, Jiangxi Province, Nanchang 330045, China
Shakeel Ahmad
State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology / Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs / China National Rice Improvement Center / China National Rice Research Institute, Hangzhou 310006, China
Wang Yakun
State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology / Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs / China National Rice Improvement Center / China National Rice Research Institute, Hangzhou 310006, China
An Ruihu
State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology / Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs / China National Rice Improvement Center / China National Rice Research Institute, Hangzhou 310006, China
Tang Shengjia
State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology / Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs / China National Rice Improvement Center / China National Rice Research Institute, Hangzhou 310006, China
Guo Naihui
State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology / Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs / China National Rice Improvement Center / China National Rice Research Institute, Hangzhou 310006, China
Wei Xiangjin
State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology / Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs / China National Rice Improvement Center / China National Rice Research Institute, Hangzhou 310006, China
Tang Shaoqing
State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology / Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs / China National Rice Improvement Center / China National Rice Research Institute, Hangzhou 310006, China
Shao Gaoneng
State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology / Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs / China National Rice Improvement Center / China National Rice Research Institute, Hangzhou 310006, China
Jiao Guiai
State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology / Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs / China National Rice Improvement Center / China National Rice Research Institute, Hangzhou 310006, China
Xie Lihong
State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology / Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs / China National Rice Improvement Center / China National Rice Research Institute, Hangzhou 310006, China
Hu Shikai
State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology / Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs / China National Rice Improvement Center / China National Rice Research Institute, Hangzhou 310006, China
Sheng Zhonghua
State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology / Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs / China National Rice Improvement Center / China National Rice Research Institute, Hangzhou 310006, China
Hu Peisong
State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology / Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs / China National Rice Improvement Center / China National Rice Research Institute, Hangzhou 310006, China; Corresponding author.
NRL3 is essential for the growth and development of rice leaves. In this study, we found that the loss function of NRL3 also delayed heading date under natural long daylight and short daylight conditions. The yeast two-hybrid and the bimolecular fluorescence complementation proved that NRL3 interacts with OsK4, a Snf1-related kinase. OsK4 localized to the nucleus and expressed in various rice tissues. The rhythmic expression pattern of OsK4 was similar to NRL3 under long daylight and short daylight conditions. Knock-out mutants of OsK4 exhibited early heading under long daylight conditions, indicating that it acts as a negative regulator of heading date in rice. Interestingly, the OsK4 mutant under the nrl3 mutant background rescued the late heading phenotype of nrl3 under long daylight conditions, suggesting that OsK4 functions downstream of NRL3. Moreover, both NRL3 and OsK4 controlled heading date through regulating the expression of Hd3a and RFT1 genes. These findings shed light on the heading date regulation in rice and provide a sound theoretical base to improve regional adaptability of rice.
