Natural variation in GS5 plays an important role in regulating grain size and yield in rice.
Increasing crop yield is one of the most important goals of plant science research. Grain size is a major determinant of grain yield in cereals and is a target trait for both domestication and artificial breeding(1). We showed that the quantitative trait locus (QTL) GS5 in rice controls grain size by regulating grain width, filling and weight. GS5 encodes a putative serine carboxypeptidase and functions as a positive regulator of grain size, such that higher expression of GS5 is correlated with larger grain size. Sequencing of the promoter region in 51 rice accessions from a wide geographic range identified three haplotypes that seem to be associated with grain width. The results suggest that natural variation in GS5 contributes to grain size diversity in rice and may be useful in improving yield in rice and, potentially, other crops(2).
National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China.
Yibo
Y
Li
Chuchuan
C
Fan
Yongzhong
Y
Xing
Yunhe
Y
Jiang
Lijun
L
Luo
Liang
L
Sun
Di
D
Shao
Chunjue
C
Xu
Xianghua
X
Li
Jinghua
J
Xiao
Yuqing
Y
He
Qifa
Q
Zhang
D002452:Cell Count; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D017343:Genes, Plant; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006239:Haplotypes; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D012275:Oryza / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D040641:Quantitative Trait Loci; D012639:Seeds / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000254:growth & development; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins