title: Control of grain size and rice yield by GL2-mediated brassinosteroid responses.
abstract: Given the continuously growing population and decreasing arable land, food shortage is becoming one of the most serious global problems in this century(1). Grain size is one of the determining factors for grain yield and thus is a prime target for genetic breeding(2,3). Although a number of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with rice grain size have been identified in the past decade, mechanisms underlying their functions remain largely unknown(4,5). Here we show that a grain-length-associated QTL, GL2, has the potential to improve grain weight and grain yield up to 27.1% and 16.6%, respectively. We also show that GL2 is allelic to OsGRF4 and that it contains mutations in the miR396 targeting sequence. Because of the mutation, GL2 has a moderately increased expression level, which consequently activates brassinosteroid responses by upregulating a large number of brassinosteroid-induced genes to promote grain development. Furthermore, we found that GSK2, the central negative regulator of rice brassinosteroid signalling, directly interacts with OsGRF4 and inhibits its transcription activation activity to mediate the specific regulation of grain length by the hormone. Thus, this work demonstrates the feasibility of modulating specific brassinosteroid responses to improve plant productivity.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics, National Centre for Plant Gene Research (Beijing), Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Ronghui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Che
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics, National Centre for Plant Gene Research (Beijing), Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Hongning
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tong
authors.affiliation: College of Life Sciences, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou 350007, China.
authors.forename: Bihong
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Rice Research Institute, Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Fuzhou 350018, China.
authors.forename: Yuqin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Rice Research Institute, Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Fuzhou 350018, China.
authors.forename: Shanru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics, National Centre for Plant Gene Research (Beijing), Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Dapu
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics, National Centre for Plant Gene Research (Beijing), Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Yunhua
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics, National Centre for Plant Gene Research (Beijing), Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics, National Centre for Plant Gene Research (Beijing), Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Linchuan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics, National Centre for Plant Gene Research (Beijing), Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Hongru
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Rice Research Institute, Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Fuzhou 350018, China.
authors.forename: Mingfu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics, National Centre for Plant Gene Research (Beijing), Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Chengcai
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chu
mesh_terms: D060406:Brassinosteroids / Q000378:metabolism*; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics; D012275:Oryza / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development*; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D040641:Quantitative Trait Loci; D012639:Seeds / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development*
chemical_list: D060406:Brassinosteroids; D035683:MicroRNAs; D010940:Plant Proteins