title: Regulation of OsmiR156h through Alternative Polyadenylation Improves Grain Yield in Rice.
abstract: Substantial increases in grain yield of cereal crops are required to feed a growing human population. Here we show that a natural variant of SEMIDWARF AND HIGH-TILLERING (SDT) increases harvest index and grain productivity in rice. Gain-of-function sdt mutation has a shortened polyadenylation tail on the OsmiR156h microRNA precursor, which cause the up-regulation of OsmiR156h. The plants carrying the semidominant sdt allele exhibit reduced plant height, enhanced lodging resistance, increased tiller numbers per plant, and resulting in an increased grain yield. We also show that combining the sdt allele with the OsSPL14WFP allele can be effective in simultaneously improving tillering capacity and panicle branching, thereby leading to higher harvest index and grain yield. Most importantly, pyramiding of the sdt allele and the green revolution gene sd1 enhances grain yield by about 20% in hybrid rice breeding. Our results suggest that the manipulation of the polyadenylation status of OsmiR156 represents a novel strategy for improving the yield potential of rice over what is currently achievable.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Technical Biology and Agriculture Engineering, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, China; The State Key Laboratory of Plant Cell and Chromosome Engineering, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Meng
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Institute of Technical Biology and Agriculture Engineering, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, China.
authors.forename: Binmei
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Technical Biology and Agriculture Engineering, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, China; The State Key Laboratory of Plant Cell and Chromosome Engineering, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Kun
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Technical Biology and Agriculture Engineering, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, China.
authors.forename: Yafeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.affiliation: Institute of Technical Biology and Agriculture Engineering, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, China.
authors.forename: Shixia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: The State Key Laboratory of Plant Cell and Chromosome Engineering, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Shuansuo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: The State Key Laboratory of Plant Cell and Chromosome Engineering, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: The State Key Laboratory of Plant Cell and Chromosome Engineering, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Ruixi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: The State Key Laboratory of Plant Cell and Chromosome Engineering, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: The State Key Laboratory of Plant Cell and Chromosome Engineering, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Xiangdong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Technical Biology and Agriculture Engineering, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, China.
authors.forename: Yuejin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D002523:Edible Grain / Q000254:growth & development; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D012275:Oryza / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D010641:Phenotype; D000069600:Plant Breeding; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D026723:Polyadenylation; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D015854:Up-Regulation
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs; D010940:Plant Proteins