Double‐Stranded RNA‐Mediated Downregulation ofpdhkGene Expression to Shorten Maturation Time of a Late Maturing NativeindicaRice Cultivar, Badshahbhog

Abstract

In eukaryotic organisms, pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase (PDHK) plays a significant role in the Krebs cycle, cellular respiration, and energy production by regulating the mitochondrial pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (mtPDC) via reversible phosphorylation. The present study reports pdhk gene downregulation effects on maturation time of a late maturing, aromatic, native indica rice {Oryza sativa L.) cultivar, Badshahbhog. A double-stranded ribonucleic acid (dsRNA)-mediated gene silencing strategy was used to downregulate rice mitochondrial pdhk gene expression. The transgenic plant lines displayed altered growth patterns-early flower initiation, increased grain formation per panicle, and -10 d earlier maturation-compared to a nontransformed cultivar. Northern blot, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analyses provided evidence for endogenous pdhk gene downregulation in T^, T^, and Tj generations of transgenic rice lines. These results provided evidence for stable pdhk gene downregulation throughout filial generations. It was further observed that transgenic lines with two insertion events of transferred dsRNA effected more downregulation of pdhk gene expression relative to rice lines carrying a single dsRNA insertion.

Transcriptome analysis of the impact of exogenous methyl jasmonate on the opening of sorghum florets

“…This further allowed lodicule cells to absorb water and swell, resulting in floret open. Previous research reported that the altered expression patterns of genes involved in glycolysis/gluconeogenesis pathway could cause early flowering in rice [ 40 , 41 ]. In addition, two important genes named LOC-1 and LOC-2 were cloned and transformed into Arabidopsis thaliana , overexpression of these two genes resulted the earlier flowering in transgenic Arabidopsis plants.…”