The rice HIGH-TILLERING DWARF1 encoding an ortholog of Arabidopsis MAX3 is required for negative regulation of the outgrowth of axillary buds.
Rice tillering is an important agronomic trait for grain production. The HIGH-TILLERING DWARF1 (HTD1) gene encodes an ortholog of Arabidopsis MAX3. Complementation analyses for HTD1 confirm that the defect in HTD1 is responsible for both high-tillering and dwarf phenotypes in the htd1 mutant. The rescue of the Arabidopsis max3 mutant phenotype by the introduction of Pro(35S):HTD1 indicates HTD1 is a carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase that has the same function as MAX3 in synthesis of a carotenoid-derived signal molecule. The HTD1 gene is expressed in both shoot and root tissues. By evaluating Pro(HTD1):GUS expression, we found that the HTD1 gene is mainly expressed in vascular bundle tissues throughout the plant. Auxin induction of HTD1 expression suggests that auxin may regulate rice tillering partly through upregulation of HTD1 gene transcription. Restoration of dwarf phenotype after the removal of axillary buds indicates that the dwarfism of the htd1 mutant may be a consequence of excessive tiller production. In addition, the expression of HTD1, D3 and OsCCD8a in the htd1 and d3 mutants suggests a feedback mechanism may exist for the synthesis and perception of the carotenoid-derived signal in rice. Characterization of MAX genes in Arabidopsis, and identification of their orthologs in pea, petunia and rice indicates the existence of a conserved mechanism for shoot-branching regulation in both monocots and dicots.
Zou
Junhuang
J
State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics and National Center for Plant Gene Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
Zhang
Shuying
S
Zhang
Weiping
W
Li
Gang
G
Chen
Zongxiang
Z
Zhai
Wenxue
W
Zhao
Xianfeng
X
Pan
Xuebiao
X
Xie
Qi
Q
Zhu
Lihuang
L
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D049308:Dioxygenases; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D012275:Oryza / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D010105:Oxygenases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D018547:Plant Stems / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D015854:Up-Regulation
D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D010105:Oxygenases; C494441:CCD7 protein, Arabidopsis; D049308:Dioxygenases