and Are Essential Regulators of Early Seed Development in Rice.

MADS box transcription factors (TFs) are subdivided into type I and II based on phylogenetic analysis. The type II TFs regulate floral organ identity and flowering time, but type I TFs are relatively less characterized. Here, we report the functional characterization of two type I MADS box TFs in rice (), and Transcript abundance of both these genes in developing seed peaked at 48 h after fertilization and was suppressed by 96 h after fertilization, corresponding to syncytial and cellularized stages of endosperm development, respectively.

Heat stress yields a unique MADS box transcription factor in determining seed size and thermal sensitivity.

Early seed development events are highly sensitive to increased temperature. This high sensitivity to a short-duration temperature spike reduces seed viability and seed size at maturity. The molecular basis of heat stress sensitivity during early seed development is not known.

Rice fertilization-Independent Endosperm1 regulates seed size under heat stress by controlling early endosperm development.

Although heat stress reduces seed size in rice (Oryza sativa), little is known about the molecular mechanisms underlying the observed reduction in seed size and yield. To elucidate the mechanistic basis of heat sensitivity and reduced seed size, we imposed a moderate (34°C) and a high (42°C) heat stress treatment on developing rice seeds during the postfertilization stage. Both stress treatments reduced the final seed size.

SUB1A-mediated submergence tolerance response in rice involves differential regulation of the brassinosteroid pathway.

· Submergence 1A (SUB1A), is an ethylene response factor (ERF) that confers submergence tolerance in rice (Oryza sativa) via limiting shoot elongation during the inundation period. SUB1A has been proposed to restrict shoot growth by modulating gibberellic acid (GA) signaling. · Our transcriptome analysis indicated that SUB1A differentially regulates genes associated with brassinosteroid (BR) synthesis during submergence.

Introgression of novel traits from a wild wheat relative improves drought adaptation in wheat.

Root architecture traits are an important component for improving water stress adaptation. However, selection for aboveground traits under favorable environments in modern cultivars may have led to an inadvertent loss of genes and novel alleles beneficial for adapting to environments with limited water. In this study, we elucidate the physiological and molecular consequences of introgressing an alien chromosome segment (7DL) from a wild wheat relative species (Agropyron elongatum) into cultivated wheat (Triticum aestivum).