Identification and characterization of OsEBS, a gene involved in enhanced plant biomass and spikelet number in rice.
Common wild rice (Oryza rufipogon Griff.) is an important genetic reservoir for rice improvement. We investigated a quantitative trait locus (QTL), qGP5-1, which is related to plant height, leaf size and panicle architecture, using a set of introgression lines of O. rufipogon in the background of the Indica cultivar Guichao2 (Oryza sativa L.). We cloned and characterized qGP5-1 and confirmed that the newly identified gene OsEBS (enhancing biomass and spikelet number) increased plant height, leaf size and spikelet number per panicle, leading to an increase in total grain yield per plant. Our results showed that the increased size of vegetative organs in OsEBS-expressed plants was enormously caused by increasing cell number. Sequence alignment showed that OsEBS protein contains a region with high similarity to the N-terminal conserved ATPase domain of Hsp70, but it lacks the C-terminal regions of the peptide-binding domain and the C-terminal lid. More results indicated that OsEBS gene did not have typical characteristics of Hsp70 in this study. Furthermore, Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) transformed with OsEBS showed a similar phenotype to OsEBS-transgenic rice, indicating a conserved function of OsEBS among plant species. Together, we report the cloning and characterization of OsEBS, a new QTL that controls rice biomass and spikelet number, through map-based cloning, and it may have utility in improving grain yield in rice.
State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Institute of Genetics, Institute of Plant Biology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Xianxin
X
Dong
Xiaoyan
X
Wang
Liangsheng
L
Zhang
Zhengting
Z
Yang
Xiaoyun
X
Xin
Shuang
S
Wu
Chuanqing
C
Sun
Jianxiang
J
Liu
Jinshui
J
Yang
Xiaojin
X
Luo
D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D018533:Biomass; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D032461:Chromosomes, Plant / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012275:Oryza / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D010641:Phenotype; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D018547:Plant Stems / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D021381:Protein Transport; D040641:Quantitative Trait Loci / Q000235:genetics*; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D036226:Seedlings / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
D010940:Plant Proteins; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins
OsEBS; biomass; cell number; common wild rice (Oryza rufipogon Griff.); map-based cloning; spikelet number