A long noncoding RNA regulates photoperiod-sensitive male sterility, an essential component of hybrid rice.
Hybrid rice has greatly contributed to the global increase of rice productivity. A major component that facilitated the development of hybrids was a mutant showing photoperiod-sensitive male sterility (PSMS) with its fertility regulated by day length. Transcriptome studies have shown that large portions of the eukaryotic genomic sequences are transcribed to long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs). However, the potential roles for only a few lncRNAs have been brought to light at present. Thus, great efforts have to be invested to understand the biological functions of lncRNAs. Here we show that a lncRNA of 1,236 bases in length, referred to as long-day-specific male-fertility-associated RNA (LDMAR), regulates PSMS in rice. We found that sufficient amount of the LDMAR transcript is required for normal pollen development of plants grown under long-day conditions. A spontaneous mutation causing a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) between the wild-type and mutant altered the secondary structure of LDMAR. This change brought about increased methylation in the putative promoter region of LDMAR, which reduced the transcription of LDMAR specifically under long-day conditions, resulting in premature programmed cell death (PCD) in developing anthers, thus causing PSMS. Thus, a lncRNA could directly exert a major effect on a trait like a structure gene, and a SNP could alter the function of a lncRNA similar to amino acid substitution in structural genes. Molecular elucidating of PSMS has important implications for understanding molecular mechanisms of photoperiod regulation of many biological processes and also for developing male sterile germplasms for hybrid crop breeding.
National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Centre of Plant Gene Research, Huazhong Agriculture University, Wuhan 430070, China.
Jihua
J
Ding
Qing
Q
Lu
Yidan
Y
Ouyang
Hailiang
H
Mao
Pingbo
P
Zhang
Jialing
J
Yao
Caiguo
C
Xu
Xianghua
X
Li
Jinghua
J
Xiao
Qifa
Q
Zhang
D019175:DNA Methylation; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012275:Oryza / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D017440:Photoperiod; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D022661:RNA, Untranslated / Q000502:physiology*
D012333:RNA, Messenger; D022661:RNA, Untranslated