Dynamics of extrachromosomal circular DNA in rice.

The genome's dynamic nature, exemplified by elements like extrachromosomal circular DNA (eccDNA), is crucial for biodiversity and adaptation. Yet, the role of eccDNA in plants, particularly rice, remains underexplored. Here, we identify 25,598 eccDNAs, unveiling the widespread presence of eccDNA across six rice tissues and revealing its formation as a universal and random process.

Technical strategy for monozygotic twin discrimination by single-nucleotide variants.

Monozygotic (MZ) twins are theoretically genetically identical. Although they are revealed to accumulate mutations after the zygote splits, discriminating between twin genomes remains a formidable challenge in the field of forensic genetics. Single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) are responsible for a substantial portion of genetic variation, thus potentially serving as promising biomarkers for the identification of MZ twins.

Structure and function of rice hybrid genomes reveal genetic basis and optimal performance of heterosis.

Exploitation of crop heterosis is crucial for increasing global agriculture production. However, the quantitative genomic analysis of heterosis was lacking, and there is currently no effective prediction tool to optimize cross-combinations. Here 2,839 rice hybrid cultivars and 9,839 segregation individuals were resequenced and phenotyped.

The WD40 domain-containing protein Ehd5 positively regulates flowering in rice (Oryza sativa).

Heading date (flowering time), which greatly influences regional and seasonal adaptability in rice (Oryza sativa), is regulated by many genes in different photoperiod pathways. Here, we characterized a heading date gene, Early heading date 5 (Ehd5), using a modified bulked segregant analysis method. The ehd5 mutant showed late flowering under both short-day and long-day conditions, as well as reduced yield, compared to the wild type.

Armadillo repeat only protein GS10 negatively regulates brassinosteroid signaling to control rice grain size.

Grain yield and grain quality are major determinants in modern breeding controlled by many quantitative traits loci (QTLs) in rice (Oryza sativa). However, the mechanisms underlying grain shape and quality are poorly understood. Here, we characterize a QTL for grain size and grain quality via map-based cloning from wild rice (W1943), GS10 (Grain Size on Chromosome 10), which encodes a protein with 6 tandem armadillo repeats.

Chromosome-scale assembly and analysis of biomass crop Miscanthus lutarioriparius genome.

Miscanthus, a rhizomatous perennial plant, has great potential for bioenergy production for its high biomass and stress tolerance. We report a chromosome-scale assembly of Miscanthus lutarioriparius genome by combining Oxford Nanopore sequencing and Hi-C technologies. The 2.

A noncanonical vacuolar sugar transferase required for biosynthesis of antimicrobial defense compounds in oat.

Plants produce an array of natural products with important ecological functions. These compounds are often decorated with oligosaccharide groups that influence bioactivity, but the biosynthesis of such sugar chains is not well understood. Triterpene glycosides (saponins) are a large family of plant natural products that determine important agronomic traits, as exemplified by avenacins, antimicrobial defense compounds produced by oats.

Genome-wide identification and analysis of heterotic loci in three maize hybrids.

Heterosis, or hybrid vigour, is a predominant phenomenon in plant genetics, serving as the basis of crop hybrid breeding, but the causative loci and genes underlying heterosis remain unclear in many crops. Here, we present a large-scale genetic analysis using 5360 offsprings from three elite maize hybrids, which identifies 628 loci underlying 19 yield-related traits with relatively high mapping resolutions. Heterotic pattern investigations of the 628 loci show that numerous loci, mostly with complete-incomplete dominance (the major one) or overdominance effects (the secondary one) for heterozygous genotypes and nearly equal proportion of advantageous alleles from both parental lines, are the major causes of strong heterosis in these hybrids.

The PLATZ Transcription Factor GL6 Affects Grain Length and Number in Rice.

Grain size is one of the key determinants of grain yield. Although a number of genes that control grain size in rice () have been identified, the overall regulatory networks behind this process remain poorly understood. Here, we report the map-based cloning and functional characterization of the quantitative trait locus , which encodes a plant-specific plant AT-rich sequence- and zinc-binding transcription factor that regulates rice grain length and spikelet number.

Publisher Correction: Pan-genome analysis highlights the extent of genomic variation in cultivated and wild rice.

When published, this article did not initially appear open access. This error has been corrected, and the open access status of the paper is noted in all versions of the paper.

Pan-genome analysis highlights the extent of genomic variation in cultivated and wild rice.

The rich genetic diversity in Oryza sativa and Oryza rufipogon serves as the main sources in rice breeding. Large-scale resequencing has been undertaken to discover allelic variants in rice, but much of the information for genetic variation is often lost by direct mapping of short sequence reads onto the O. sativa japonica Nipponbare reference genome.

Genomic architecture of heterosis for yield traits in rice.

Increasing grain yield is a long-term goal in crop breeding to meet the demand for global food security. Heterosis, when a hybrid shows higher performance for a trait than both parents, offers an important strategy for crop breeding. To examine the genetic basis of heterosis for yield in rice, here we generate, sequence and record the phenotypes of 10,074 F lines from 17 representative hybrid rice crosses.

OsSPL13 controls grain size in cultivated rice.

Although genetic diversity has a cardinal role in domestication, abundant natural allelic variations across the rice genome that cause agronomically important differences between diverse varieties have not been fully explored. Here we implement an approach integrating genome-wide association testing with functional analysis on grain size in a diverse rice population. We report that a major quantitative trait locus, GLW7, encoding the plant-specific transcription factor OsSPL13, positively regulates cell size in the grain hull, resulting in enhanced rice grain length and yield.

Genetic discovery for oil production and quality in sesame.

Oilseed crops are used to produce vegetable oil. Sesame (Sesamum indicum), an oilseed crop grown worldwide, has high oil content and a small diploid genome, but the genetic basis of oil production and quality is unclear. Here we sequence 705 diverse sesame varieties to construct a haplotype map of the sesame genome and de novo assemble two representative varieties to identify sequence variations.

Transcriptome-wide investigation of circular RNAs in rice.

Various stable circular RNAs (circRNAs) are newly identified to be the abundance of noncoding RNAs in Archaea, Caenorhabditis elegans, mice, and humans through high-throughput deep sequencing coupled with analysis of massive transcriptional data. CircRNAs play important roles in miRNA function and transcriptional controlling by acting as competing endogenous RNAs or positive regulators on their parent coding genes. However, little is known regarding circRNAs in plants.

The draft genome of the grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus) provides insights into its evolution and vegetarian adaptation.

The grass carp is an important farmed fish, accounting for ∼16% of global freshwater aquaculture, and has a vegetarian diet. Here we report a 0.9-Gb draft genome of a gynogenetic female adult and a 1.

Genomic analysis of hybrid rice varieties reveals numerous superior alleles that contribute to heterosis.

Exploitation of heterosis is one of the most important applications of genetics in agriculture. However, the genetic mechanisms of heterosis are only partly understood, and a global view of heterosis from a representative number of hybrid combinations is lacking. Here we develop an integrated genomic approach to construct a genome map for 1,495 elite hybrid rice varieties and their inbred parental lines.

A haplotype map of genomic variations and genome-wide association studies of agronomic traits in foxtail millet (Setaria italica).

Foxtail millet (Setaria italica) is an important grain crop that is grown in arid regions. Here we sequenced 916 diverse foxtail millet varieties, identified 2.58 million SNPs and used 0.

The draft genome of the fast-growing non-timber forest species moso bamboo (Phyllostachys heterocycla).

Bamboo represents the only major lineage of grasses that is native to forests and is one of the most important non-timber forest products in the world. However, no species in the Bambusoideae subfamily has been sequenced. Here, we report a high-quality draft genome sequence of moso bamboo (P.

A map of rice genome variation reveals the origin of cultivated rice.

Crop domestications are long-term selection experiments that have greatly advanced human civilization. The domestication of cultivated rice (Oryza sativa L.) ranks as one of the most important developments in history.

Genome-wide association study of flowering time and grain yield traits in a worldwide collection of rice germplasm.

A high-density haplotype map recently enabled a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in a population of indica subspecies of Chinese rice landraces. Here we extend this methodology to a larger and more diverse sample of 950 worldwide rice varieties, including the Oryza sativa indica and Oryza sativa japonica subspecies, to perform an additional GWAS. We identified a total of 32 new loci associated with flowering time and with ten grain-related traits, indicating that the larger sample increased the power to detect trait-associated variants using GWAS.

Genetic control of a transition from black to straw-white seed hull in rice domestication.

The genetic mechanism involved in a transition from the black-colored seed hull of the ancestral wild rice (Oryza rufipogon and Oryza nivara) to the straw-white seed hull of cultivated rice (Oryza sativa) during grain ripening remains unknown. We report that the black hull of O. rufipogon was controlled by the Black hull4 (Bh4) gene, which was fine-mapped to an 8.

Genome-wide association studies of 14 agronomic traits in rice landraces.

Uncovering the genetic basis of agronomic traits in crop landraces that have adapted to various agro-climatic conditions is important to world food security. Here we have identified ∼ 3.6 million SNPs by sequencing 517 rice landraces and constructed a high-density haplotype map of the rice genome using a novel data-imputation method.