Phytochrome B mediates dim-light-reduced insect resistance by promoting the ethylene pathway in rice.

Increasing planting density is one of the most effective ways to improve crop yield. However, one major factor that limits crop planting density is the weakened immunity of plants to pathogens and insects caused by dim light (DL) under shade conditions. The molecular mechanism underlying how DL compromises plant immunity remains unclear.

Functional characterization of rice CW-domain containing zinc finger proteins involved in histone recognition.

Histone recognition is important for understanding the mechanisms of histone modification, which play a pivotal role in transcriptional regulation during plant development. Here, we identified three cysteine-tryptophan (CW)-domain containing zinc finger (ZF) proteins involved in histone recognition, namely OsCW-ZF3, OsCW-ZF5 and OsCW-ZF7. Protein sequence analysis showed that they have two unknown motifs in addition to the CW domain.

Lethal albinic seedling, encoding a threonyl-tRNA synthetase, is involved in development of plastid protein synthesis system in rice.

An albinic rice is caused by mutation of threonyl-tRNA synthetase, which is essential for plant development by stabilizing of NEP and PEP gene expressions and chloroplast protein synthesis. Chloroplast biogenesis and development depend on complex genetic mechanisms. Apart from their function in translation, aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRSs) play additional role in gene expression regulation, RNA splicing, and cytokine activity.

ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase large subunit 2 is essential for storage substance accumulation and subunit interactions in rice endosperm.

ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (AGPase) controls a rate-limiting step in the starch biosynthetic pathway in higher plants. Here we isolated a shrunken rice mutant w24. Map-based cloning identified OsAGPL2, a large subunit of the cytosolic AGPase in rice endosperm, as the gene responsible for the w24 mutation.

OsHSD1, a hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, is involved in cuticle formation and lipid homeostasis in rice.

Cuticular wax, a hydrophobic layer on the surface of all aerial plant organs, has essential roles in plant growth and survival under various environments. Here we report a wax-deficient rice mutant oshsd1 with reduced epicuticular wax crystals and thicker cuticle membrane. Quantification of the wax components and fatty acids showed elevated levels of very-long-chain fatty acids (VLCFAs) and accumulation of soluble fatty acids in the leaves of the oshsd1 mutant.

Phosphatidylserine Synthase Controls Cell Elongation Especially in the Uppermost Internode in Rice by Regulation of Exocytosis.

The uppermost internode is one of the fastest elongating organs in rice, and is expected to require an adequate supply of cell-wall materials and enzymes to the cell surface to enhance mechanical strength. Although it has been reported that the phenotype of shortened uppermost internode 1 (sui1) is caused by mutations in PHOSPHATIDYLSERINE SYNTHASE (OsPSS), the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Here we show that the OsPSS-1, as a gene expressed predominantly in elongating cells, regulates post-Golgi vesicle secretion to intercellular spaces.

An evolutionarily conserved gene, FUWA, plays a role in determining panicle architecture, grain shape and grain weight in rice.

Plant breeding relies on creation of novel allelic combinations for desired traits. Identification and utilization of beneficial alleles, rare alleles and evolutionarily conserved genes in the germplasm (referred to as 'hidden' genes) provide an effective approach to achieve this goal. Here we show that a chemically induced null mutation in an evolutionarily conserved gene, FUWA, alters multiple important agronomic traits in rice, including panicle architecture, grain shape and grain weight.

Dwarf and tiller-enhancing 1 regulates growth and development by influencing boron uptake in boron limited conditions in rice.

Boron (B) is essential for plant growth, and B deficiency causes severe losses in crop yield. Here we isolated and characterized a rice (Oryza sativa L.) mutant named dwarf and tiller-enhancing 1 (dte1), which exhibits defects under low-B conditions, including retarded growth, increased number of tillers and impaired pollen fertility.

Overexpression of folate biosynthesis genes in rice (Oryza sativa L.) and evaluation of their impact on seed folate content.

Folate (vitamin B9) deficiency is a global health problem especially in developing countries where the major staple foods such as rice contain extremely low folates. Biofortification of rice could be an alternative complement way to fight folate deficiency. In this study, we evaluated the availability of the genes in each step of folate biosynthesis pathway for rice folate enhancement in the japonica variety kitaake genetic background.

Ehd4 encodes a novel and Oryza-genus-specific regulator of photoperiodic flowering in rice.

Land plants have evolved increasingly complex regulatory modes of their flowering time (or heading date in crops). Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a short-day plant that flowers more rapidly in short-day but delays under long-day conditions.

Disruption of a rice pentatricopeptide repeat protein causes a seedling-specific albino phenotype and its utilization to enhance seed purity in hybrid rice production.

The pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) gene family represents one of the largest gene families in higher plants. Accumulating data suggest that PPR proteins play a central and broad role in modulating the expression of organellar genes in plants. Here we report a rice (Oryza sativa) mutant named young seedling albino (ysa) derived from the rice thermo/photoperiod-sensitive genic male-sterile line Pei'ai64S, which is a leading male-sterile line for commercial two-line hybrid rice production.

Fine mapping of qSTV11(KAS), a major QTL for rice stripe disease resistance.

Rice stripe disease, caused by rice stripe virus (RSV), is one of the most serious diseases in temperate rice-growing areas. In the present study, we performed quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis for RSV resistance using 98 backcross inbred lines derived from the cross between the highly resistant variety, Kasalath, and the highly susceptible variety, Nipponbare. Under artificial inoculation in the greenhouse, two QTLs for RSV resistance, designated qSTV7 and qSTV11(KAS), were detected on chromosomes 7 and 11 respectively, whereas only one QTL was detected in the same location of chromosome 11 under natural inoculation in the field.

[Analysis of the molecular motif for inducing response to jasmonic acid and ethylene in Pib promoter via rice transformation].

The expression of Pib gene in rice was induced by hormone, such as jasmonic acid and ethylene. In order to determine the necessary regions of sequence or motifs for response to jasmonic acid and ethylene in Pib promoter, the full length promoter of Pib (-3,572 approximately 2 bp) and three different 5' deletion fragments of Pib promoter (-2,692 approximately 2 bp, -1,335 approximately 2 bp, -761 approximately 2 bp) were synthesized by PCR and then were substituted for 35S upstream gus in a binary plasmid to construct re-combined plasmids of Pib promoter-gus fusions. Transgenic rice plants of the four recombined plasmids were produced by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation.

Fine mapping of a gene causing hybrid pollen sterility between Yunnan weedy rice and cultivated rice (Oryza sativa L.) and phylogenetic analysis of Yunnan weedy rice.

Weedy rice represents an important resource for rice improvement. The F(1) hybrid between the japonica wide compatibility rice cultivar 02428 and a weedy rice accession from Yunnan province (SW China) suffered from pollen sterility. Pollen abortion in the hybrid occurred at the early bicellular pollen stage, as a result of mitotic failure in the microspore, although the tapetum developed normally.

The distribution of japonica rice cultivars in the lower region of the Yangtze River valley is determined by its photoperiod-sensitivity and heading date genotypes.

There are generally four recognized classes of japonica rice cultivars grown in the lower region of the Yangtze River valley. The geographical distribution of the four classes is latitude-dependent. Variation for heading date (HD) among 29 japonica rice cultivars grown in the lower region of the Yangtze River valley and belonging to the four classes was characterized, and their sensitivity to variations in photoperiod and temperature was analyzed.

[Current status and strategies for improvement of rice grain chalkiness].

This paper reviews the current status of correlation between rice chalkiness and other rice quality characters, formative mechanism, and classical and molecular genetics for rice chalkiness. The formation of rice chalkiness proves to be a complicated physiological process and tightly relate to "source-sink" of rice, dynamics of grain filing, biosynthesis and accumulation of starch in endosperm. Rice chalkiness is a complicated quantitative trait, which is controlled by maternal effects, endosperm effects, and cytoplasmic effects.

Effects on genome constitution and novel cell wall formation caused by the addition of 5RS rye chromosome to common wheat.

The cytological instability of common wheat-rye addition lines was investigated in the present study. The chromosome numbers of almost all addition lines were considerably stable, but those of CS + 5R were very variable. The rye chromosome added in this line was found to be much shorter than expected.

[Initial functional analysis of the promoter region and coding region of Pib gene in transgenic rice].

The promoter region and intact coding region of Pib gene (9.9 kb) was inserted into the downstream of CaMV 35S promoter in a binary vector pPZP2Ha3(+), resulting a plasmid pNAR701. And a fragment of Pib gene from 6 986 to 9 392 bp was placed into pPZP2Ha3(-) under the control of CaMV 35S promoter, producing an antisense expression vector pNAR703.

Quantitative trait loci mapping of resistance to Laodelphax striatellus (Homoptera: Delphacidae) in rice using recombinant inbred lines.

Laodelphax striatellus Fallén (Homoptera: Delphacidae), is a serious pest in rice, Oryza sativa L., production. A mapping population consisting of 81 recombinant inbred lines (RILs), derived from a cross between japonica' Kinmaze' and indica' DV85' rice, was used to detect quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for the resistance to L.

[Physiological function of the qPGWC-9 related to high percentage of rice grains with Chalkiness].

Percentage of grains with chalkiness (PGWC), one of the important traits assessing rice grain appearance quality, belonged to qualitative trait controlled by many genes. Our previous study identified a novel quantitative trait locus (QTL), namely qPGWC-9, related to high PGWC using chromosomal segment substitution line (CSSL) population. qPGWC-9 was shown to be expressed stably in eight environments.

Mapping and marker-assisted selection of a brown planthopper resistance gene bph2 in rice (Oryza sativa L.).

Nilaparvata lugens Stål (brown planthopper, BPH), is one of the major insect pests of rice (Oryza sativa L.) in the temperate rice-growing region. In this study, ASD7 harboring a BPH resistance gene bph2 was crossed to a susceptible cultivar C418, a japonica restorer line.

[The inductive activation of the promoter of pib gene].

A 5.7 kb putative promoter region of pib gene was isolated from the pib genomic clone and substituted for the 35S promoter upstream of gus gene in plasmid pCAMBIA1301 to construct a new plant expression vector pNAR604 (putative pib promoter-GUS + 35S-hpt). From Agrobacterium-mediated transformation and hygromycin selective culture in vitro, hygromycin resistant calli and 36 transgenic rice (Oryza sativa L.

SSR mapping of brown planthopper resistance gene Bph9 in Kaharamana, an Indica rice (Oryza sativa L.).

The brown planthopper (BPH) is one of the most serious insects pests of rice, and the host resistance has been recognized as one of the most economic and effective measures for BPH management. In this study, we conducted a molecular-based genetic analysis of Bph9 in Kaharamana, a Sri Lanka rice variety resistant to BPH insects of East and Southeast Asia. An F2 segregating population composed of 180 plants was constructed from the cross between Kaharamana and 02428, and each F2 plant was self-crossed to obtain F2:3 family.

[Inheritance, expression and armyworm resistance of protease inhibitor II gene (Pin II) driven by different promoters in transgenic rice].

The inheritance of rice lines transformed by protease inhibitor II gene under control of different promoters was investigated by analysis of hygromycin resistance, PCR and Southern blot. For segregation patterns of foreign gene, 68.4% of the transgenic rice plants were conformed to a Mendelian ratio and in which the rate of transgenic plants with single copy was 63.