Natural variation in Ghd7 is an important regulator of heading date and yield potential in rice.
Yield potential, plant height and heading date are three classes of traits that determine the productivity of many crop plants. Here we show that the quantitative trait locus (QTL) Ghd7, isolated from an elite rice hybrid and encoding a CCT domain protein, has major effects on an array of traits in rice, including number of grains per panicle, plant height and heading date. Enhanced expression of Ghd7 under long-day conditions delays heading and increases plant height and panicle size. Natural mutants with reduced function enable rice to be cultivated in temperate and cooler regions. Thus, Ghd7 has played crucial roles for increasing productivity and adaptability of rice globally.
Xue
Weiya
W
National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, National Centre of Plant Gene Research (Wuhan), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
Xing
Yongzhong
Y
Weng
Xiaoyu
X
Zhao
Yu
Y
Tang
Weijiang
W
Wang
Lei
L
Zhou
Hongju
H
Yu
Sibin
S
Xu
Caiguo
C
Li
Xianghua
X
Zhang
Qifa
Q
D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D032461:Chromosomes, Plant / Q000235:genetics*; D035263:Flowering Tops; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D017343:Genes, Plant / Q000502:physiology*; D005819:Genetic Markers; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D012275:Oryza / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development*; D010641:Phenotype; D040641:Quantitative Trait Loci; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
D005819:Genetic Markers; D012333:RNA, Messenger