Days to heading 7, a major quantitative locus determining photoperiod sensitivity and regional adaptation in rice.
Success of modern agriculture relies heavily on breeding of crops with maximal regional adaptability and yield potentials. A major limiting factor for crop cultivation is their flowering time, which is strongly regulated by day length (photoperiod) and temperature. Here we report identification and characterization of Days to heading 7 (DTH7), a major genetic locus underlying photoperiod sensitivity and grain yield in rice. Map-based cloning reveals that DTH7 encodes a pseudo-response regulator protein and its expression is regulated by photoperiod. We show that in long days DTH7 acts downstream of the photoreceptor phytochrome B to repress the expression of Ehd1, an up-regulator of the "florigen" genes (Hd3a and RFT1), leading to delayed flowering. Further, we find that haplotype combinations of DTH7 with Grain number, plant height, and heading date 7 (Ghd7) and DTH8 correlate well with the heading date and grain yield of rice under different photoperiod conditions. Our data provide not only a macroscopic view of the genetic control of photoperiod sensitivity in rice but also a foundation for breeding of rice cultivars better adapted to the target environments using rational design.
National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 100081 Beijing, China; National Key Laboratory for Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, Jiangsu Plant Gene Engineering Research Center, Nanjing Agricultural University, 210095 Nanjing, China;
He
H
Gao
National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 100081 Beijing, China;
Mingna
M
Jin
National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 100081 Beijing, China;
Xiao-Ming
XM
Zheng
National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 100081 Beijing, China;
Jun
J
Chen
State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice, China National Hybrid Rice Research and Development Center, 410125 Changsha, China;
Dingyang
D
Yuan
State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice, China National Hybrid Rice Research and Development Center, 410125 Changsha, China;
Yeyun
Y
Xin
Crop Research and Breeding Center of Land-Reclamanation of Heilongjiang Province, 150090 Harbin, China; and.
Maoqing
M
Wang
College of Agriculture, Hainan University, 570028 Haikou, China.
Dongyi
D
Huang
National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 100081 Beijing, China;
Zhe
Z
Zhang
National Key Laboratory for Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, Jiangsu Plant Gene Engineering Research Center, Nanjing Agricultural University, 210095 Nanjing, China;
Kunneng
K
Zhou
National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 100081 Beijing, China;
Peike
P
Sheng
National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 100081 Beijing, China;
Jin
J
Ma
National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 100081 Beijing, China;
Weiwei
W
Ma
State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice, China National Hybrid Rice Research and Development Center, 410125 Changsha, China;
Huafeng
H
Deng
National Key Laboratory for Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, Jiangsu Plant Gene Engineering Research Center, Nanjing Agricultural University, 210095 Nanjing, China;
Ling
L
Jiang
National Key Laboratory for Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, Jiangsu Plant Gene Engineering Research Center, Nanjing Agricultural University, 210095 Nanjing, China;
Shijia
S
Liu
National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 100081 Beijing, China;
Haiyang
H
Wang
National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 100081 Beijing, China;
Chuanyin
C
Wu
State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice, China National Hybrid Rice Research and Development Center, 410125 Changsha, China; lpyuan@hhrrc.ac.cn wanjianmin@caas.cn.
Longping
L
Yuan
National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 100081 Beijing, China; National Key Laboratory for Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, Jiangsu Plant Gene Engineering Research Center, Nanjing Agricultural University, 210095 Nanjing, China; lpyuan@hhrrc.ac.cn wanjianmin@caas.cn.
Jianmin
J
Wan
D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D016960:Agrobacterium tumefaciens / Q000235:genetics; D018533:Biomass; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D003433:Crosses, Genetic; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D017343:Genes, Plant; D005822:Genetic Vectors / Q000235:genetics; D006239:Haplotypes / Q000235:genetics; D012275:Oryza / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000528:radiation effects; D017440:Photoperiod; D010937:Plant Growth Regulators / Q000235:genetics; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D040641:Quantitative Trait Loci; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D013997:Time Factors
D010937:Plant Growth Regulators; D010940:Plant Proteins; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins
DTH7; flowering time; grain yield; photoperiod sensitivity; rice