Mutations in the F-box gene LARGER PANICLE improve the panicle architecture and enhance the grain yield in rice

Panicle architecture is one of the most important agronomical traits that directly contribute to grain yield in rice (Oryza sativa L.). We report herein an in-depth characterization of two allelic larger panicle (lp) mutants that show significantly increased panicle size as well as improved plant architecture. Morphological analyses reveal that panicles of two mutants produced more inflorescence branches, especially the primary branches, and contained more grains. Moreover, mutant plants also display more lodging resistance than the wild type. The grain yield per plant in mutants is also increased, suggesting that mutant plants have useful potential for high grain yield in rice breeding. Map-based cloning reveals that LARGER PANICLE (LP) encodes a Kelch repeat-containing F-box protein. RNA in situ hybridization studies display that LP expression was enriched in the branch primordial region. Subcellular localization analyses demonstrate that LP is an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) localized protein, suggesting that LP might be involved in ER-associated protein degradation (ERAD). Using yeast two-hybrid assay and bimolecular fluorescence complementation analysis, we confirm that LP is an F-box protein and could interact with rice SKP1-like protein in an F-box domain-dependent manner. Quantitative real-time PCR results show that OsCKX2, which encodes cytokinin oxidase/dehydrogenase, is down-regulated evidently in mutants, implying that LP might be involved in modulating cytokinin level in plant tissues. These results suggest that LP plays an important role in regulating plant architecture, particularly in regulating panicle architecture, thereby representing promising targets for genetic improvement of grain production plants.     

Effect of silica and magnesium on yield of upland rice in the humid tropics

Grain yield, dry-matter production, and susceptibility to grain discoloration syndrome of upland rice (Oryza sativa L.) in relation to nutrient supplies were studied in Ultisols in Nigeria's humid tropics. Nutrients identified as necessary to produce high dry matter were N, K, Mg, and Si. Among these nutrients, Mg and Si were found to be involved in the protection of rice plants against grain discoloration and their application increased the grain yield of 3 varieties by an average of 34%.     

Leaf gas exchange of upland and lowland rice cultivars

Leaf gas exchange of upland and lowland rice cultivars were measured during late vegetative and during grain filling stages in the field under upland and lowland growth conditions. The rate of photosynthesis and water use efficiency (the rate of photosynthesis/the rate of transpiration) under upland conditions decreased with ageing, but generally varied little among four cultivars. At mid-grain filling under lowland conditions, upland cultivars showed lower rates of photosynthesis and transpiration than the lowland cultivars with concomitant reduction in whole plant conductance. At this stage, water use efficiency was higher under upland conditions than under lowland conditions, particularly in the upland cultivars. Water stress reduced the rate of photosynthesis without altering water use efficiency.     

粳稻穗角与稻米品质的相关性及稻米品质遗传分析

测定了粳稻直立穗品种丙8979与弯曲穗品种C堡杂交组合的P1、P2及其重组自交系349个株系的穗角和10个稻米品质性状, 分析了穗角与稻米品质性状之间的相关性, 并运用主基因+多基因混合遗传模型, 对稻米品质10个性状进行了遗传分析。结果表明,穗角与糙米率、整精米率、垩白粒率、垩白度、糊化温度、胶稠度和直链淀粉含量均无显著相关; 与精米率呈显著正相关(r=0.124*); 与粒长和长宽比均呈极显著正相关(相关系数分别为0.470**和0.241**)。糙米率、精米率和直链淀粉含量均受2对主基因+多基因控制, 2对主基因具有累加作用和加性×加性的上位性作用; 整精米率、粒长、长宽比和胶稠度受2对加性-上位性主基因+多基因控制;垩白粒率、垩白度和糊化温度均受3对加性-上位性主基因+多基因控制。糙米率、精米率、整精米率、垩白粒率、垩白度和糊化温度6个品质性状以主基因遗传为主,粒长、长宽比、胶稠度和直链淀粉含量4个性状以多基因遗传为主。     

Limiting factors for panicle photosynthesis at the anthesis and grain filling stages in rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Panicle photosynthesis is crucial for grain yield in cereal crops; however, the limiting factors for panicle photosynthesis are poorly understood, greatly impeding improvement in this trait. In the present study, pot experiments were conducted to investigate the limiting factors for panicle photosynthesis at the anthesis stage in seven rice genotypes and to examine the temporal variations in photosynthesis during the grain filling stage in the Liangyou 287 genotype. At the anthesis stage, leaf and panicle photosynthesis was positively correlated with stomatal conductance and maximum carboxylation rate, which were in turn associated with hydraulic conductance and nitrogen content, respectively. Panicle hydraulic conductance was positively correlated with the area of bundle sheaths in the panicle neck. During grain filling, leaf and panicle photosynthesis remained constant at the early stage but dramatically decreased from 8 to 9 days after anthesis. The trends of variations in panicle photosynthesis were consistent with those in stomatal conductance but not with those in maximum carboxylation rate. At first, the maximum carboxylation rate and respiration rate in the panicle increased, through elevated panicle nitrogen content, but then drastically decreased, as a result of dehydration. The present study systematically investigated the limiting factors for panicle photosynthesis, which are vital for improving photosynthesis and crop yield.     

Genomic landscape of parallel domestication of upland rice and its implications

Parallel domestication has been widely acknowledged but itsgenetic basis remains largely unclear. As an important rice ecotype, upland rice was assumedly domesticated multiple times in two rice subspecies (Indica and Japonica) and provides a feasible system to explore the genetic basis of parallel domestication. To uncover the genome‐wide pattern of genetic differentiation between upland and lowland rice and explore the parallelism of genetic changes during upland rice domestication, we obtained whole‐genome sequences of 95 rice landraces and yielded genome‐wide expression data for five tissues of representative accessions of upland and lowland rice. Our phylogenetic analyses confirmed multiple domestications of the upland ecotype in two rice subspecies. Genomic scans based on resequencing data identified substantial differentiation between the upland and lowland ecotypes with 11.4% and 14.8% of the genome diverged between the two ecotypes in Indica and Japonica, respectively. Further genome‐wide gene expression analyses found that 30% of effectively expressed genes were significantly differentiated between two ecotypes, indicating the importance of regulation changes in the domestication of upland rice. Importantly, we found that only 1.8% of differentiated genomes and 1.6% of differentially expressed genes were shared by upland Indica and upland Japonica, suggestive of largely unparallel genetic alterations during upland rice domestication. These findings not only provide new insights into the genetic basis of parallel domestication at the genome scale but could also facilitate geneticimprovement and breeding of rice and crops in general.     

籼型常规早稻穗分化期低温对颖花形成和籽粒充实的影响

以籼型常规早稻中嘉早17为材料,于盆栽条件下采用人工气候箱控温,在水稻穗分化一次枝梗原基分化期(Ⅱ)与花粉母细胞减数分裂期(Ⅵ)进行17和20 ℃的低温胁迫处理,研究不同低温对水稻枝梗、颖花分化与退化及籽粒充实的影响.结果表明： 与对照相比,不同低温处理均显著降低每穗枝梗及颖花分化数和现存数,颖花现存数降幅为7.2%～12.4%,同时增加了枝梗和颖花的退化数,影响了花粉活性、花药开裂等花器官发育,导致籽粒充实不良,以17 ℃低温胁迫效应更明显.穗分化Ⅵ期低温处理总枝梗和颖花分化数与现存数低于穗分化Ⅱ期,但二次枝梗和颖花退化数较多,颖花退化数较穗分化Ⅱ期高11.6%;穗分化Ⅱ期低温处理穗部籽粒结实率显著低于穗分化Ⅵ期,降幅达3.7%,主要与花粉粒活性、柱头花粉散落数、花药开裂系数和籽粒充实度受低温影响较大有关.另外,穗分化Ⅱ、Ⅵ两时期受17 ℃低温胁迫效应大于20 ℃.综合穗分化两时期低温胁迫效应的差异,生产中需加强相应栽培措施的调控.     

Effect of soil mechanical impedance on root growth of two rice varieties under field drought stress

Two upland rice varieties, Azucena and Bala, were screened for root growth under droughted and irrigated treatments in two field sites at the West Africa Rice Development Association (WARDA) experimental farm, Côte d’Ivoire, during the dry season of 1999/2000. The sites were chosen to represent contrasting soil profile penetration resistance (PR) characteristics on upland sites, although both were relatively impeding. The number of nodal root axes per unit area passing through horizontal transects (root density) was counted at 35, 56, 77 and 98 days after sowing (DAS) at 10 cm depth intervals. Azucena consistently maintained a greater root density than Bala and a greater proportion of Azucena roots grew to 30 cm depth (22.7% vs. 8.4% at 77 DAS). There was little detectable effect of water regime on root distribution but evidence of lower root numbers at depths below 20 cm in the higher PR site was revealed. A site by variety by soil depth interaction suggests that Azucena roots are more strongly affected by very high PR than those of Bala. PR between 0–30 cm depth increased greatly with decreasing soil water content during the drought as the soil dried. This increase is likely to have prevented or greatly impaired further nodal root growth within this layer. At 40 cm depth, PR was high (3–4 MPa) but did not increase during the drought. At this depth root growth rate was likely to be greatly reduced despite the availability of water. These results demonstrate that varietal differences in root morphology characterised in the laboratory can be also detected in impeding field soils as differences in the density of roots at depth. Relatively poor root growth in these fields in the absence of drought was probably due to the high mechanical impedance and/or the physiological stress of the plants in the dry season. Our results indicate that high mechanical impedance was a more fundamental constraint on root growth than soil water availability during the drought. Thus, varietal differences in root penetration ability might be very important for drought avoidance in soils of this type.     

水稻幼穗形态发生与顶端分生组织的研究

应用“铸模”扫描电镜法和组织切片技术对水稻幼穗的形态发生过程和顶端分生组织（ Ａｐｉｃａｌｍ ｅｒｉｓｔｅｍ ）进行了系统而细致的研究。研究表明：从营养生长转入到生殖生长早期,水稻生长锥发生了显著的变化,根据苗端分生组织（ Ｓｈｏｏｔ ａｐｉｃａｌｍ ｅｒｉｓｔｅｍ , Ｓ Ａ Ｍ ）中原基分化的属性,将水稻幼穗早期起源和发育过程分为花序顶端分生组织期（ Ｉｎｆｌｏｒｅｓｃｅｎｃｅ ａｐｉｃａｌ ｍ ｅｒｉｓｔｅｍ ｐｈａｓｅ, Ｉ Ａ Ｍ Ｐ）、小穗顶端分生组织期（ Ｓｐｉｋｅｌｅｔ ａｐｉｃａｌ ｍ ｅｒｉｓｔｅｍ ｐｈａｓｅ, Ｓ Ｐ Ａ Ｍ Ｐ）、花顶端分生组织期（ Ｆｌｏｒａｌ ｍ ｅｒｉｓｔｅｍ ｐｈａｓｅ, Ｆ Ｍ Ｐ）。在这 ３ 个大的发育时期,又根据每一发育时期中的原基分生组织生长发育的程度及先后顺序分别又可分为：花序 ０ 期、花序Ⅰ期、花序Ⅱ期;小穗期Ⅰ期、小穗Ⅱ期、小穗Ⅲ期;内稃原基分化期、浆片原基分化期、雄蕊原基分化期、心皮原基分化期。同时,在研究过程中还发现了一些与前人所不同的形态发生特征,并初步探讨了水稻幼穗早期的起源及分化发育的机理。     

Responses of antioxidative system to chilling stress in two rice cultivars differing in sensitivity

The responses of antioxidative system of rice to chilling were investigated in a tolerant cultivar, Xiangnuo-1, and a susceptible cultivar, IR-50. The electrolyte leakage and malondialdehyde content of Xiangnuo-1 were little affected by chilling treatment but those of IR-50 increased. Activities of suoperoxide dismutase, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase and glutathione reductase, and ascorbic acid content of Xiangnuo-1 were remained high, while those of IR-50 decreased under chilling. The results indicated that higher activities of defense enzymes and higher content of antioxidant under stress were associated with tolerance to chilling.     

Comparative analysis of young panicle proteome in thermo-sensitive genic male-sterile rice Zhu-1S under sterile and fertile conditions

Proteome analysis was carried out to identify the young panicle proteins during different developmental stages under sterile and fertile conditions. Based on spot quantity and quality, 50 protein spots were analyzed by matrix associated laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) and 20 spots were identified. Most of these proteins are closely associated with energy metabolism, protein biosynthesis, cell wall formation and stress responses, which are essential cell activities to the pollen development. Gene expression analysis of three different proteins by semi-quantitative RT-PCR showed that the mRNA level was not correlated exactly with the protein level.     

直立密穗基因DEP2-1388的遗传分析及在杂交稻中的育种利用

通过EMS诱变籼型重穗恢复系蜀恢498,获得一个直立穗突变体R1338。与野生型相比,突变体表现为植株变矮、穗直立、穗长变短、一次枝梗变短、着粒密度增加、穗部抗弯曲力极显著增强、籽粒增宽增厚、粒长变短。组织细胞学分析发现,穗颈节直径、纤维素含量和木质素含量在穗部抗弯曲上发挥了重要的作用。遗传分析表明该直立穗表型受一对半显性核基因DEP2控制,通过重测序以及MutMap方法定位发现,在R1338突变体中,DEP2第7外显子有一个A到G的碱基置换,导致第928个精氨酸(AGG)被置换成甘氨酸(GGG),推测R1338直立穗性状可能由DEP2中该SNP导致。用R1338、野生型与不同穗型不育系分别配组,R1338与弯曲穗不育系所配组合穗部表现半直立,且保持较高的结实率和杂种优势,与DEP1直立穗不育系配组表现为基因累加效应的直立穗。本研究还讨论了直立穗突变体R1338在杂交水稻育种中的利用价值。     

云南两个县陆稻稻瘟病菌稻巨座壳交配型测定及致病性分析

2014年,自云南省沧源县及耿马县陆稻地方品种上分离99个稻瘟病菌稻巨座壳单孢菌株,采用4个已知交配型的标准菌株对其进行育性和交配型测定.结果 表明,两地稻巨座壳菌株具较高的育性,平均可交配率高达90.8％,且可育菌株中,MAT1-1和MAT1-2菌株分别占60.9％和39.1％;分别随机对沧源县南撒村和班考村同一田块...     

海南中南部地区旱稻(山兰稻)种质资源及保育模式

山兰稻是一类适应性很强的旱稻品种,对于开发节水性高产稻种具有重要意义。该研究调查了海南中南部地区山兰稻种质资源的组成,并选种5个山兰稻品种开展其农艺性状和生产性状的研究,以期了解山兰稻种质资源在该地区的分布及生产现状,并进一步为其保护模式提供理论基础。结果表明:调查共获得38份山兰稻种质资源,含25个品种,主要分布在保亭、琼中和五指山三个市县,在现有的品种中约有45.0%在种植利用。因此,山兰稻品种资源面临濒危,亟需保护;这25个品种可分为籼稻和粳稻2个类型,共聚成6个类群,不同区域间的种质资源具有亲缘性,其中3个独立聚集的品种有明显区域性分布的特征;5个品种容易种植,生产性状较一致,其全生育期约为138 d,与历史栽培记录时间一致,遗传特性稳定,单位产量为2.0~2.8t·hm-2,平均产量为2.4 t·hm-2。综上说明保护山兰稻品种的成本和技术难度不高,但其育种和栽培技术还需要进一步研究,种质资源的开发模式应结合生态保护、品种保育、社会需求等多角度进行综合考虑。     

Comparative analysis of anoxic coleoptile elongation in rice varieties: relationship between coleoptile length and carbohydrate levels, fermentative metabolism and anaerobic gene expression

Rice ( Oryza sativa L.) seeds can germinate under anoxia and can show coleoptile elongation. The anoxic coleoptile is usually longer than aerobic coleoptiles. Although several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the ability of rice to elongate coleoptiles under anoxia, conclusive experimental evidence explaining this physiological trait is lacking. In order to investigate whether metabolic and molecular markers correlate with anoxic coleoptile length, we screened 141 Italian and 23 Sri Lankan rice cultivars for their ability to elongate coleoptiles under anoxia. Differences in anoxic coleoptile length were used to evaluate whether a correlation exists between coleoptile length and biochemical and molecular parameters. The expression of genes coding for glycolytic and fermentative enzymes showed a very low correlation with anoxic coleoptile length. Although differences were found in carbohydrate content between the varieties tested, this parameter also does not appear to be critical in terms of coleoptile elongation. Efficient ethanol fermentation does, however, correlate well with the elongation of coleoptiles under anoxic conditions.     

不同氮水平下不同种稗草对水稻产量形成的影响

以‘南粳9108’(粳稻)为材料,自移栽至成熟期分别与无芒稗、西来稗和光头稗共培养,以无稗草共培为对照,观察不同种类共培稗草在不同施氮水平下(0、120、240、360 kg N·hm^-2)对水稻产量形成的影响.结果表明:相同氮肥水平下,不同种稗草株高表现为西来稗>无芒稗>光头稗,生育期由长到短为无芒稗>西来稗>光头稗.随着氮肥施用量的增加,不同种稗草的生物量在240 kg N·hm^-2下达到最大值,然后降低,无芒稗和西来稗的生物量均显著高于光头稗.在0 kg N·hm^-2下,不同种稗草对水稻产量无显著影响;在120 kg N·hm^-2下,无芒稗和光头稗处理水稻产量与无稗草处理差异不显著,但西来稗处理产量较无稗草处理显著降低;在240 kg N·hm^-2下,无芒稗、西来稗和光头稗处理显著减产;在360 kg N·hm^-2下,无芒稗和西来稗处理产量较无稗草处理显著降低,光头稗处理与无稗草处理差异不显著.稗草和氮肥对水稻产量形成具有明显的互作效应.120 kg N·hm^-2下,西来稗处理显著降低了水稻灌浆期剑叶硝酸还原酶活性、光合速率和根系氧化力以及成熟期氮积累量和干物质量,其他稗草处理与对照差异不显著;在240和360 kg N·hm^-2下,无芒稗和西来稗处理降低了水稻上述指标;在0 kg N·hm^-2下,各处理的上述指标差异不显著.回归分析表明,稗草表型对水稻产量的影响由大到小的顺序为生物量、株高、生育期和分蘖数,推测稗草较大的生物量造成水稻剑叶光合速率、硝酸还原酶活性、根系氧化力、氮积累量和干物质积累量降低,影响了水稻的生长发育,造成水稻减产.