Open AccessSeparable regulation of POW1 in grain size and leaf angle development in rice
Author(s) -
Zhang Li,
Wang Ruci,
Xing Yide,
Xu Yufang,
Xiong Dunping,
Wang Yueming,
Yao Shanguo
Publication year - 2021
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.13677
Subject(s) - biology , mutant , brassinosteroid , leaf size , phenotype , transactivation , gene , transcription factor , grain yield , grain size , agronomy , botany , genetics , arabidopsis , materials science , metallurgy
Summary Leaf angle is one of the key factors that determines rice plant architecture. However, the improvement of leaf angle erectness is often accompanied by unfavourable changes in other traits, especially grain size reduction. In this study, we identified the pow1 ( p ut o n w eight 1 ) mutant that leads to increased grain size and leaf angle, typical brassinosteroid (BR)‐related phenotypes caused by excessive cell proliferation and cell expansion. We show that modulation of the BR biosynthesis genes OsDWARF4 ( D4 ) and D11 and the BR signalling gene D61 could rescue the phenotype of leaf angle but not grain size in the pow1 mutant. We further demonstrated that POW1 functions in grain size regulation by repressing the transactivation activity of the interacting protein TAF2, a highly conserved member of the TFIID transcription initiation complex. Down‐regulation of TAF2 rescued the enlarged grain size of pow1 but had little effect on the increased leaf angle phenotype of the mutant. The separable functions of the POW1 ‐ TAF2 and POW1 ‐BR modules in grain size and leaf angle control provide a promising strategy for designing varieties with compact plant architecture and increased grain size, thus promoting high‐yield breeding in rice.