Phenotypic analyses of rice lse2 and lse3 mutants that exhibit hyperaccumulation of starch in the leaf blades.

Background: To identify genes that potentially regulate the accumulation, mobilization, and transport of photoassimilates in rice (Oryza sativa L.) leaves, we recently screened a mutant collection of rice by iodine staining to visualize leaf starch contents. From this screening, we isolated a rice mutant that exhibits hyperaccumulation of starch in leaves and designated it as the Leaf Starch Excess 1 (LSE1) mutant.

Ozone-Induced Rice Grain Yield Loss Is Triggered via a Change in Panicle Morphology That Is Controlled by ABERRANT PANICLE ORGANIZATION 1 Gene.

Rice grain yield is predicted to decrease in the future because of an increase in tropospheric ozone concentration. However, the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Here, we investigated the responses to ozone of two rice (Oryza Sativa L.

Control of grain protein contents through SEMIDWARF1 mutant alleles: sd1 increases the grain protein content in Dee-geo-woo-gen but not in Reimei.

A new possibility for genetic control of the protein content of rice grains was suggested by the allele differences of the SEMIDWARF1 (SD1) mutation. Two quantitative trait loci-qPROT1 and qPROT12-were found on chromosomes 1 and 12, respectively, using backcrossed inbred lines of Sasanishiki/Habataki//Sasanishiki///Sasanishiki. One of them, qPROT1, increased almost all grain proteins instead of only certain proteins in the recessive Habataki allele.

Analysis of gene-disruption mutants of a sucrose phosphate synthase gene in rice, OsSPS1, shows the importance of sucrose synthesis in pollen germination.

The molecular function of an isoform of sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS) in rice, OsSPS1, was investigated using gene-disruption mutant lines generated by retrotransposon insertion. The progeny of the heterozygote of disrupted OsSPS1 (SPS1(+/-)) segregated into SPS1(+/+), SPS1(+/-), and SPS1(-/-) at a ratio of 1:1:0. This distorted segregation ratio, together with the expression of OsSPS1 in the developing pollen revealed by quantitative RT-PCR analysis and promoter-beta-glucuronidase (GUS) fusion assay, suggested that the disruption of OsSPS1 results in sterile pollen.

Disruption of a rice gene for α-glucan water dikinase, OsGWD1, leads to hyperaccumulation of starch in leaves but exhibits limited effects on growth.

To identify potential regulators of photoassimilate partitioning, we screened for rice mutant plants that accumulate high levels of starch in the leaf blades, and a mutant line leaf starch excess 1 (LSE1) was obtained and characterized. The starch content in the leaf blades of LSE1 was more than 10-fold higher than that in wild-type plants throughout the day, while the sucrose content was unaffected. The gene responsible for the LSE1 phenotype was identified by gene mapping to be a gene encoding α-glucan water dikinase, OsGWD1 (Os06g0498400), and a 3.

Disruption of a gene for rice sucrose transporter, OsSUT1, impairs pollen function but pollen maturation is unaffected.

Sucrose transporters (SUTs) are known to play critical roles in the uptake of sucrose from the apoplast in various steps of sugar translocation. Because developing pollen is symplastically isolated from anther tissues, it is hypothesized that SUTs are active in the uptake of apoplastic sucrose into pollen. To investigate this possibility, a comprehensive expression analysis was performed for members of the SUT gene family in the developing pollen of rice (Oryza sativa L.

A gene controlling the number of primary rachis branches also controls the vascular bundle formation and hence is responsible to increase the harvest index and grain yield in rice.

The quantitative trait locus controlling the number of primary rachis branches (PRBs) in rice was identified using backcrossed inbred lines of Sasanishiki/Habataki//Sasanishiki///Sasanishiki. The resultant gene was ABERRANT PANICLE ORGANIZATION 1 (APO1). Habataki-genotype segregated reciprocal recombinant lines for the APO1 locus increased both the number of PRB (12-13%) and the number of grains per panicle (9-12%), which increased the grain yield per plant (5-7%).

Expression profiling of genes involved in starch synthesis in sink and source organs of rice.

A comprehensive analysis of the transcript levels of genes which encode starch-synthesis enzymes is fundamental for the assessment of the function of each enzyme and the regulatory mechanism for starch biosynthesis in source and sink organs. Using quantitative real-time RT-PCR, an examination was made of the expression profiles of 27 rice genes encoding six classes of enzymes, i.e.

Expression patterns of genes encoding carbohydrate-metabolizing enzymes and their relationship to grain filling in rice (Oryza sativa L.): comparison of caryopses located at different positions in a panicle.

In rice, caryopses located at the base of the panicle have a lower growth rate than those at the tip of the panicle. The former and latter types of caryopses are called inferior and superior caryopses, respectively. Taking the different growth rate into consideration, sugar status and the expression of genes encoding carbohydrate-metabolizing enzymes in inferior caryopses were compared with those in superior caryopses.

A comprehensive expression analysis of the starch synthase gene family in rice (Oryza sativa L.).

To elucidate the roles of the isogenes encoding starch synthase (EC 2.4.1.

Cell wall invertase in developing rice caryopsis: molecular cloning of OsCIN1 and analysis of its expression in relation to its role in grain filling.

To establish the significance of cell wall invertase in grain filling of rice (Oryza sativa L.), we cloned a cDNA for a cell wall invertase from developing grains of rice. The cDNA, designated OsCIN1, contains an open reading frame of 1731 bp encoding a polypeptide of 577 amino acid residues.