Convergent selection of a WD40 protein that enhances grain yield in maize and rice

Chen, Wenkang; Chen, Lu; Zhang, Xuan; Yang, Ning; Guo, Jianghua; Wang, Min; Ji, Shenghui; Zhao, Xiangyu; Yin, Pengfei; Cai, Lichun; Xu, Jing; Zhang, Lili; Han, Yingjia; Xiao, Yingni; Xu, Guanlong; Wang, Yuebin; Wang, Shuhui; Wu, Sheng Nan; Yang, Fang; Jackson, David; Cheng, Jinkui; Chen, Saihua; Sun, Chuanqing; Qin, Feng; Tian, Feng; Fernie, Alisdair R.; Li, Jiansheng; Yan, Jianbing; Yang, Xiaohong

doi:10.1126/science.abg7985

Cited by 132 publications

(92 citation statements)

References 84 publications

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“…Ear traits, kernel number per row (KNPR) and kernel row number (KRN), of maize have been concerned by researchers (Matsuoka et al, 2002 ; Chen et al, 2021 , 2022 ; Ning et al, 2021 ), however, the influence of ear architecture on drought resistance is not well understood. In this study, we obtained 27 hybrids with the stubby or slender ears and applied manual pollination, including continuous and synchronous pollination, to observe the silking dynamics and evaluate drought resistance in two ear types.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although most of the breeder is less aware of the relationships between ear architecture and drought resistance, they pay close attention looking at genes that control ear length and kernel row number, potentially valuble to improve ear architecture (Bommert et al, 2013 ; An et al, 2019 ; Du et al, 2021 ; Ning et al, 2021 ). Especially in recent years, great progress has been made in the study of controlling genes for ear traits (Du et al, 2021 ; Ning et al, 2021 ; Chen et al, 2022 ). In their studies, increases in ear length or kernel row number significantly promoted the yield per ear, but maize plants have limited photosynthetic capacity, especially under stress, which means that the kernel number cannot increase indefinitely.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Stubby or Slender? Ear Architecture Is Related to Drought Resistance in Maize

Chen

Dong

et al. 2022

Front. Plant Sci.

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Ear architecture is determined by two stable heritable traits, kernel row number (KRN) and kernel number per row (KNPR), but its relationship with drought resistance is still vague. To this end, we obtained 16 and 11 hybrids with slender (less KRN but more KNPR) and stubby (more KRN but less KNPR) ears by intentionally crossbreeding, respectively. These hybrids were exposed to a seven-day water deficit (WD) since silk emergence coupled with synchronous (SP) and continuous pollination (CP) to alter the pollination time gaps on ears. The results showed that the emerged silks in CP were 9.1 and 9.0% less than in the SP treatment in the stubby and slender ears, respectively, suggesting the suppression of asynchronous pollination on silk emergence. The stubby ears performed higher silking rate and yield compared with the slender ears with or without drought stress. To eliminate the inherent difference in sink capacities, we selected four hybrids for each ear type with similar silk and kernel numbers for further analyses. Interestingly, the stubby ears were less affected in silking rate and thus performed higher yield under drought compared with the slender ears. The finding suggests that ear architecture matters in the determination of drought resistance that deserves more attention in breeding.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stubby or Slender? Ear Architecture Is Related to Drought Resistance in Maize

Chen

Dong

et al. 2022

Front. Plant Sci.

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“…A number of genes exhibited high DNA sequence similarity with already reported genes in rice, which are involved in the regulation of both spikelet development and stem growth [ 65 , 66 , 67 ], including OsSLRL1 homolog gene TraesCS3A02G233000/TraesCS3B01G262400 and OsEATB homolog TraesCS5B02G315500/TraesCS5A02G314600 ( Figure 5 B,C). KRN2 and OsKRN2 genes in rice and maize have recently been reported to enhance the yield of both crops through editing the promoter region [ 72 ]. A ~4-kb substitution in the promoter region of core TF TomLoxC resulted in a change of the tomato flavor [ 15 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization of Expression and Epigenetic Features of Core Genes in Common Wheat

Zheng

Zhang

2022

Genes

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The availability of multiple wheat genome sequences enables us to identify core genes and characterize their genetic and epigenetic features, thereby advancing our understanding of their biological implications within individual plant species. It is, however, largely understudied in wheat. To this end, we reanalyzed genome sequences from 16 different wheat varieties and identified 62,299 core genes. We found that core and non-core genes have different roles in subgenome differentiation. Meanwhile, according to their expression profiles, these core genes can be classified into genes related to tissue development and stress responses, including 3376 genes highly expressed in both spikelets and at high temperatures. After associating with six histone marks and open chromatin, we found that these core genes can be divided into eight sub-clusters with distinct epigenomic features. Furthermore, we found that ca. 51% of the expressed transcription factors (TFs) were marked with both H3K27me3 and H3K4me3, indicative of the bivalency feature, which can be involved in tissue development through the TF-centered regulatory network. Thus, our study provides a valuable resource for the functional characterization of core genes in stress responses and tissue development in wheat.

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“…The mutants of An-1 ( Awn-1 ) and An-2 showed reduced awn length, increased GN and GW, and these genes have experienced artificial selection during rice domestication ( Luo et al, 2013 ; Gu et al, 2015 ). Furthermore, recent study revealed that OsKRN2 ( Kernel Row Number 2 ), which negatively regulates GN, has undergone convergent selection with its maize ortholog KRN2 during the domestication of rice and maize ( Chen et al, 2022 ). These findings partially revealed the genetic basis and molecular mechanisms underlying the selective forces of GN and other domestication related traits.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic and molecular factors in determining grain number per panicle of rice

Chuan

Wang

et al. 2022

Front. Plant Sci.

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It was suggested that the most effective way to improve rice grain yield is to increase the grain number per panicle (GN) through the breeding practice in recent decades. GN is a representative quantitative trait affected by multiple genetic and environmental factors. Understanding the mechanisms controlling GN has become an important research field in rice biotechnology and breeding. The regulation of rice GN is coordinately controlled by panicle architecture and branch differentiation, and many GN-associated genes showed pleiotropic effect in regulating tillering, grain size, flowering time, and other domestication-related traits. It is also revealed that GN determination is closely related to vascular development and the metabolism of some phytohormones. In this review, we summarize the recent findings in rice GN determination and discuss the genetic and molecular mechanisms of GN regulators.

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Convergent selection of a WD40 protein that enhances grain yield in maize and rice

Cited by 132 publications

References 84 publications

Stubby or Slender? Ear Architecture Is Related to Drought Resistance in Maize

Stubby or Slender? Ear Architecture Is Related to Drought Resistance in Maize

Characterization of Expression and Epigenetic Features of Core Genes in Common Wheat

Genetic and molecular factors in determining grain number per panicle of rice

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