title: An evolutionarily conserved gene, FUWA, plays a role in determining panicle architecture, grain shape and grain weight in rice.
abstract: Plant breeding relies on creation of novel allelic combinations for desired traits. Identification and utilization of beneficial alleles, rare alleles and evolutionarily conserved genes in the germplasm (referred to as 'hidden' genes) provide an effective approach to achieve this goal. Here we show that a chemically induced null mutation in an evolutionarily conserved gene, FUWA, alters multiple important agronomic traits in rice, including panicle architecture, grain shape and grain weight. FUWA encodes an NHL domain-containing protein, with preferential expression in the root meristem, shoot apical meristem and inflorescences, where it restricts excessive cell division. Sequence analysis revealed that FUWA has undergone a bottleneck effect, and become fixed in landraces and modern cultivars during domestication and breeding. We further confirm a highly conserved role of FUWA homologs in determining panicle architecture and grain development in rice, maize and sorghum through genetic transformation. Strikingly, knockdown of the FUWA transcription level by RNA interference results in an erect panicle and increased grain size in both indica and japonica genetic backgrounds. This study illustrates an approach to create new germplasm with improved agronomic traits for crop breeding by tapping into evolutionary conserved genes.
authors.affiliation: National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory for Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, Jiangsu Plant Gene Engineering Research Center, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China.
authors.forename: He
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Ming
authors.initials: XM
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China.
authors.forename: Mingna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China.
authors.forename: Jian-Feng
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Weng
authors.affiliation: National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China.
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China.
authors.forename: Yulong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory for Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, Jiangsu Plant Gene Engineering Research Center, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China.
authors.forename: Kunneng
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory for Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, Jiangsu Plant Gene Engineering Research Center, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China.
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China.
authors.forename: Jiu-Lin
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China.
authors.forename: Zhijun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China.
authors.forename: Chuanyin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China.
authors.forename: Haiyang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China.|National Key Laboratory for Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, Jiangsu Plant Gene Engineering Research Center, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China.
authors.forename: Jian-Min
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Wan
mesh_terms: D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D017343:Genes, Plant; D018095:Germ-Line Mutation; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012275:Oryza / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development*; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D045868:Sorghum / Q000254:growth & development; D003313:Zea mays / Q000254:growth & development
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins
keywords: FUWA; cell division; domestication; grain size; panicle architecture; rice