Rapid PCD Process Promotes Early Maturity in Weedy Rice (Oryza sativa L. f. spontanea)

Abstract

Background: Shorter grain-filling period and rapid endosperm development contributes to early maturity in weedy rice (Oryza sativa L. f. spontanea). However, the differences in programmed cell death (PCD) process and anti-oxidative enzymes system in the caryopsis between weedy and cultivated rice are largely unexplored. Main Text: we selected four biotypes of weedy rice and associated cultivated rice (ACR, Oryza sativa) from different latitudes to conduct a common garden experiment. The difference of PCD process between weedy rice and ACR was compared by chemical staining, and the cell viability and nuclear morphometry of endosperm cells were observed by optical microscopy, and anti-oxidative enzymes activity were also measured during grain filling. We found that the PCD progress in weedy rice was more rapid and earlier than that in ACR. The percentage of degraded nuclei of weedy rice were 10%-83% higher than that of ACR. Endosperm cells in weedy rice lost cell viability 2-8 days earlier than that in ACR. The anti-oxidant enzymes activity of weedy rice were lower than that of ACR during grain filling. The ability of weedy rice to scavenge reactive oxygen species is weaker than that of ACR, which may contribute to the rapid PCD process in the endosperm cells of weedy rice. Conclusion: The rapid PCD process and weaker ability to scavenge reactive oxygen species in endosperm cells lead to the shorter grain-filling period of weedy rice.