Scientists discover key genes that synergistically improve rice yield and quality

Scientists discover key genes that synergistically improve rice yield and quality

Scientists discover key genes that synergistically improve rice yield and quality Scientists discover key genes that synergistically improve rice yield and quality

Team members carry out experiments in rice fields
.

Photo courtesy of the College of Agriculture, Yangzhou University

 Team members carry out experiments in rice fields

On August 20, the "Journal of Plant Biotechnology" published the latest research results of Liu Qiaoquan's group in the "Journal of Plant Biotechnology" of the College of Agriculture of Yangzhou University .
The team identified the function of the rice glucan water dikinase 1 ( GWD1 ) gene by editing the promoter and leaf-specific overexpression , and found that this gene is a key gene to improve rice agronomic traits and increase rice yield and quality .
Dextran Water Dikinase 1 ( )

According to Li Qianfeng, the corresponding author of the paper and a professor at Yangzhou University, the source-sink relationship is the core that determines the overall agronomic traits of crops
.

Cloning and identifying the key genes involved in the dynamic regulation of source and reservoir is the key to improving crop yield

Glucan water dikinase 1 plays a key role in the first step of the transient starch degradation pathway of the source tissue, and can catalyze the reaction of α-glucan, ATP and water to produce α-glucan phosphate monoester, AMP and orthophosphate
.

Glucan water dikinase 1 is widespread in plants, but most of its evolutionary pathways and enzyme functions are still unknown

Dextran water dikinase 1

Li Qianfeng said that the research team used the CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing system to modify the promoter region of the rice glucan water dikinase 1 gene
.

The analysis of the obtained glucan water dikinase 1 mutant plants found that after the promoter was edited, the glucan water dikinase 1 gene expression was down-regulated, which had no significant effect on the growth and development of rice, but its grain transparency and transparency.
Seed germination has a certain effect

Li Qian Feng said glucan water dikinase 1 -glucan water dikinase 1 , glucan water dikinase 1 -glucan water dikinase 1

It is worth noting that after using the Osl2 promoter to specifically overexpress the glucan water dikinase 1 gene in the leaves , the yield, grain shape, quality, seed germination and stress resistance of rice and many other key traits have been significantly improved
.

Dextran water dikinase 1

Li Qianfeng said that the results of the study show that dextran water dikinase 1 not only participates in the instantaneous starch degradation process in the source tissue (such as leaves), but also plays an important role in the seed reservoir tissue
.

This makes dextran water dikinase 1 an ideal target gene for synergistically improving rice yield and quality using biotechnology

Li Qianfeng said, dextran water dikinase 1 dextran water dikinase 1

Related paper information: https://doi.

org/10.

https://doi.
org/10.
1111/pbi.
13686