Open AccessIdentification and characterization of Os EBS , a gene involved in enhanced plant biomass and spikelet number in rice
Author(s) -
Dong Xianxin,
Wang Xiaoyan,
Zhang Liangsheng,
Yang Zhengting,
Xin Xiaoyun,
Wu Shuang,
Sun Chuanqing,
Liu Jianxiang,
Yang Jinshui,
Luo Xiaojin
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
plant biotechnology journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.525
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1467-7652
pISSN - 1467-7644
DOI - 10.1111/pbi.12097
Subject(s) - biology , oryza sativa , panicle , oryza rufipogon , quantitative trait locus , arabidopsis , introgression , oryza , gene , locus (genetics) , cultivar , botany , genetically modified rice , genetics , mutant , genetically modified crops , transgene
Summary Common wild rice ( Oryza rufipogon Griff.) is an important genetic reservoir for rice improvement. We investigated a quantitative trait locus (QTL), qGP 5‐1, which is related to plant height, leaf size and panicle architecture, using a set of introgression lines of O. rufipogon in the background of the Indica cultivar Guichao2 ( Oryza sativa L.). We cloned and characterized qGP 5‐1 and confirmed that the newly identified gene OsEBS (enhancing biomass and spikelet number) increased plant height, leaf size and spikelet number per panicle, leading to an increase in total grain yield per plant. Our results showed that the increased size of vegetative organs in OsEBS ‐expressed plants was enormously caused by increasing cell number. Sequence alignment showed that OsEBS protein contains a region with high similarity to the N‐terminal conserved ATPase domain of Hsp70, but it lacks the C‐terminal regions of the peptide‐binding domain and the C‐terminal lid. More results indicated that OsEBS gene did not have typical characteristics of Hsp70 in this study. Furthermore, Arabidopsis ( Arabidopsis thaliana ) transformed with OsEBS showed a similar phenotype to OsEBS ‐transgenic rice, indicating a conserved function of OsEBS among plant species. Together, we report the cloning and characterization of OsEBS , a new QTL that controls rice biomass and spikelet number, through map‐based cloning, and it may have utility in improving grain yield in rice.