Scientists discover new mechanisms regulating rice grain measurement and weight

Rice is without doubt one of the most necessary staple meals on this planet, and growing rice manufacturing is essential to the fast progress of the worldwide inhabitants.

Grain measurement and weight are necessary yield and look high quality traits, so optimizing grain measurement and weight is a key technique to extend crop yield and enhance look high quality.

Recently, a joint analysis group revealed the GW2-WG1-OsbZIP47 pathway regulating rice grain measurement and weight, which gives new perception on software of accelerating crop yield and bettering grain look high quality.

This research was revealed in Molecular Plant on April 27.

Researchers led by Prof. LI Yunhai on the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Prof. WANG Dekai on the Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Profs. QIAN Qian and ZENG Dali on the China National Rice Research Institute and Prof. Dirk Inze at Ghent University are concerned within the research.

The researchers remoted WG1 gene from an unique transgenic line WG1-OE with wider and heavier grains. WG1 encodes a CC-type glutaredoxin OsGRX8, which is localized within the nucleus.

Upregulation of WG1 considerably elevated grain width and weight, whereas knockout of WG1 utilizing CRISPR/Cas9 expertise led to longer and thinner grains. Cytological evaluation confirmed that WG1 regulates grain width by selling cell proliferation.

WG1 interacts with the transcription issue OsbZIP47 and represses its transcriptional exercise by recruiting the transcriptional co-repressor ASP1, in order to control grain measurement. OsbZIP47 restricts grain width progress by lowering cell proliferation.

Further outcomes revealed {that a} recognized grain measurement regulator-E3 ubiquitin ligase GW2 ubiquitinates WG1 proteins and targets them for degradation. Genetic analyses help that GW2, WG1 and OsbZIP47 perform in a typical pathway to regulate grain progress.

These findings reveal a genetic and molecular framework for the GW2-WG1-OsbZIP47 regulatory module-mediated management of grain measurement and weight, opening new views for utilizing this regulatory pathway to enhance grain size and weight in crops.