title: A trehalose-6-phosphate phosphatase enhances anaerobic germination tolerance in rice.
abstract: Global socioeconomic developments create strong incentives for farmers to shift from transplanted to direct-seeded rice (DSR) as a means of intensification and economization(1). Rice production must increase to ensure food security(2) and the bulk of this increase will have to be achieved through intensification of cultivation, because expansion of cultivated areas is reaching sustainable limits(3). Anaerobic germination tolerance, which enables uniform germination and seedling establishment under submergence(4), is a key trait for the development of tropical DSR varieties(5,6). Here, we identify a trehalose-6-phosphate phosphatase gene, OsTPP7, as the genetic determinant in qAG-9-2, a major quantitative trait locus (QTL) for anaerobic germination tolerance(7). OsTPP7 is involved in trehalose-6-phosphate (T6P) metabolism, central to an energy sensor that determines anabolism or catabolism depending on local sucrose availability(8,9). OsTPP7 activity may increase sink strength in proliferating heterotrophic tissues by indicating low sugar availability through increased T6P turnover, thus enhancing starch mobilization to drive growth kinetics of the germinating embryo and elongating coleoptile, which consequently enhances anaerobic germination tolerance.
authors.affiliation: International Rice Research Institute, DAPO Box 7777, Metro Manila, Philippines.
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kretzschmar
authors.affiliation: International Rice Research Institute, DAPO Box 7777, Metro Manila, Philippines.
authors.forename: Margaret Anne F
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Pelayo
authors.affiliation: International Rice Research Institute, DAPO Box 7777, Metro Manila, Philippines.
authors.forename: Kurniawan R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Trijatmiko
authors.affiliation: International Rice Research Institute, DAPO Box 7777, Metro Manila, Philippines.|University of the Philippines, Los Banos, Laguna 4031, Philippines.
authors.forename: Lourd Franz M
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Gabunada
authors.affiliation: Center for Plant Cell Biology, Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, USA.
authors.forename: Rejbana
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Alam
authors.affiliation: International Rice Research Institute, DAPO Box 7777, Metro Manila, Philippines.
authors.forename: Rosario
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jimenez
authors.affiliation: University of the Philippines, Los Banos, Laguna 4031, Philippines.
authors.forename: Merlyn S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Mendioro
authors.affiliation: International Rice Research Institute, DAPO Box 7777, Metro Manila, Philippines.
authors.forename: Inez H
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Slamet-Loedin
authors.affiliation: International Rice Research Institute, DAPO Box 7777, Metro Manila, Philippines.
authors.forename: Nese
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3998-038X
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sreenivasulu
authors.affiliation: Center for Plant Cell Biology, Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, USA.
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bailey-Serres
authors.affiliation: International Rice Research Institute, DAPO Box 7777, Metro Manila, Philippines.
authors.forename: Abdelbagi M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Ismail
authors.affiliation: International Rice Research Institute, DAPO Box 7777, Metro Manila, Philippines.
authors.forename: David J
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4224-6781
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Mackill
authors.affiliation: International Rice Research Institute, DAPO Box 7777, Metro Manila, Philippines.
authors.forename: Endang M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Septiningsih