title: Coordinated regulation of vegetative and reproductive branching in rice.
abstract: Grasses produce tiller and panicle branching at vegetative and reproductive stages; the branching patterns largely define the diversity of grasses and constitute a major determinant for grain yield of many cereals. Here we show that a spatiotemporally coordinated gene network consisting of the MicroRNA 156 (miR156/)miR529/SQUAMOSA PROMOTER BINDING PROTEIN LIKE (SPL) and miR172/APETALA2 (AP2) pathways regulates tiller and panicle branching in rice. SPL genes negatively control tillering, but positively regulate inflorescence meristem and spikelet transition. Underproduction or overproduction of SPLs reduces panicle branching, but by distinct mechanisms: miR156 and miR529 fine-tune the SPL levels for optimal panicle size. miR172 regulates spikelet transition by targeting AP2-like genes, which does not affect tillering, and the AP2-like proteins play the roles by interacting with TOPLESS-related proteins (TPRs). SPLs modulate panicle branching by directly regulating the miR172/AP2 and PANICLE PHYTOMER2 (PAP2)/Rice TFL1/CEN homolog 1 (RCN1) pathways and also by integrating other regulators, most of which are not involved in tillering regulation. These findings may also have significant implications for understanding branching regulation of other grasses and for application in rice genetic improvement.
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
authors.forename: Shengyuan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
authors.forename: Jiye
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
authors.forename: Debao
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
authors.forename: Xuefei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoyu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Weng
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
authors.forename: Caiguo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
authors.forename: Xianghua
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
authors.forename: Jinghua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China qifazh@mail.hzau.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Qifa
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D004843:Epistasis, Genetic; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D017343:Genes, Plant; D018519:Meristem / Q000235:genetics; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012275:Oryza / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D018547:Plant Stems / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D011485:Protein Binding; D012098:Reproduction
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs; D010940:Plant Proteins
keywords: Oryza sativa; lateral branch; microRNA; panicle; spikelet