Identification of a 98-kb DNA segment containing the rice<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Eui</Emphasis> gene controlling uppermost internode elongation,and construction of a TAC transgene sublibrary

The recessive tall rice phenotype associated with the mutation eui (elongated upper-most internode) is an important agronomic trait that has been introduced into hybrid rice to eliminate panicle enclosure in all types of male-sterile lines and produce good-quality seeds in high yield and at low cost. Based on our previous Eui mapping data, we conducted fine-structure mapping and positional cloning of the gene using an F₂ population comprising more than 5000 individuals derived from a cross of the near-isogenic lines 307T ( eui/eui) with the recurrent parent Zhenshan 97 ( Eui/Eui). In total 45 CAPS (cleaved amplified polymorphic sequences) markers located within an interval of 14.5 cM were analyzed in the subpopulation of 1298 homozygous recessive plants. The resulting high-resolution map defined a 98-kb interval containing the Eui locus flanked by the markers M0387 and M01, and three markers were found to co-segregate with Eui. In order to facilitate the identification of the Eui gene, we used a transformation-competent artificial chromosome (TAC) vector to construct a set of contiguous TAC clones from the Nipponbare BACs (obtained from the Clemson University Genome Institute; CUGI) spanning this region. These clones can be used to streamline complementation testing. The markers tightly linked to the Eui locus can also be used in breeding male-sterile lines with the elongated uppermost internode.Communicated by R. HagemannThe first two authors contributed equally to this work     

EUI1, encoding a putative cytochrome P450 monooxygenase, regulates internode elongation by modulating gibberellin responses in rice

Elongation of rice internodes is one of the most important agronomic traits, which determines the plant height and underlies the grain yield. It has been shown that the elongation of internodes is under genetic control, and various factors are implicated in the process. Here, we report a detailed characterization of an elongated uppermost internode1 (eui1) mutant, which has been used in hybrid rice breeding. In the eui1-2 mutant, the cell lengths in the uppermost internodes are significantly longer than that of wild type and thus give rise to the elongated uppermost internode. It was found that the level of active gibberellin was elevated in the mutant, whereas its growth in response to gibberellin is similar to that of the wild type, suggesting that the higher level accumulation of gibberellin in the eui1 mutant causes the abnormal elongation of the uppermost internode. Consistently, the expression levels of several genes which encode gibberellin biosynthesis enzymes were altered. We cloned the EUI1 gene, which encodes a putative cytochrome P450 monooxygenase, by map-based cloning and found that EUI1 was weakly expressed in most tissues, but preferentially in young panicles. To confirm its function, transgenic experiments with different constructs of EUI1 were conducted. Overexpression of EUI1 gave rise to the gibberellin-deficient-like phenotypes, which could be partially reversed by supplementation with gibberellin. Furthermore, apart from the alteration of expression levels of the gibberellin biosynthesis genes, accumulation of SLR1 protein was found in the overexpressing transgenic plants, indicating that the expression level of EUI1 is implicated in both gibberellin-mediated SLR1 destruction and a feedback regulation in gibberellin biosynthesis. Therefore, we proposed that EUI1 plays a negative role in gibberellin-mediated regulation of cell elongation in the uppermost internode of rice.     

Fine Mapping and in silico Isolation of the EUI1 Gene Controlling Upper Internode Elongation in Rice

Upper internode elongation in rice is an important agronomic trait. Well-known mutants with an elongated uppermost internode (eui) are important germplasms for developing unsheathed-panicle male-sterile lines in hybrid rice breeding. We finely mapped the eui1 gene and identified its candidate gene using in silico analysis based on previous research work and rice genomic sequence data. The rice eui1 gene was mapped to two overlapping BAC clones, OSJNBa0095J22 and OSJNBb0099O15, between the markers AC40 and AC46, that were 0.64 cM apart and spanned approximately 152 kb. A simple sequence repeat (SSR) marker AC41 that cosegregated with eui1 was located in an intron of a putative cytochrome P450-related gene. In silico analysis suggested that this encoded the cytochrome CYP714D1. Allelic sequencing confirmed that EUI1 corresponded to this P450 gene. A gamma ray-induced eui1 mutant carried a deletion in exon II of the EUI1 gene, and resulted in a frame-shift deletion that produced a truncated polypeptide. We conclude that the EUI1 gene controlling the upper internode elongation in rice is 9804 bp long, and comprises two exons and one intron. The length of the cDNA is 1931 bp containing a 1734 bp ORF, a 110 bp 5′-UTR and a 87 bp 3′-UTR. The ORF encodes an unknown 577 amino acid functional protein, that appears to be a member of the cytochrome P450 family. Hongli Ma, Shubiao Zhang: These authors contributed equally to this work     

Downregulation of OsPK1 Contributes to Oxidative Stress and the Variations in ABA/GA Balance in Rice

Abscisic acid (ABA) is a phytohormone that aids plants in coping with stress conditions. ABA and gibberellin (GA) are hormone partners that function via a complicated and antagonistic network. In ospk1, a dwarf rice mutant, the contents of ABA in the youngest leaf sheaths of 6-week-old seedlings and the uppermost internodes of heading stage plants were both increased, and the synthesis of bioactive GAs was suppressed, which may disharmonize ABA/GA balance. In ospk1, expression of three putative enzyme genes related to stress response was upregulated. A strong browning symptom was observed in the second internode (Int2, counted from the top) and part of panicles of ospk1 at the late productive phase. Furthermore, higher levels of H₂O₂ in flag leaf and Int2 were observed in ospk1 than those in wild type. These data suggest that ospk1 may undergo certain stress, especially oxidative stress. Here, we provide evidences that the downregulation of OsPK1 (a cytosolic pyruvate kinase) in ospk1 mutant results in variations in ABA/GA balance in rice and contributes to oxidative stress, which provide a new clue for understanding the connection of pyruvate kinase, ABA/GA balance, and oxidative stress in rice.     

赤霉素调节植物对非生物逆境的耐性

赤霉素（GAs）是一类重要的植物激素,调控植物生长发育的诸多方面．最近的研究表明,GA也参与对生物与非生物胁迫的响应,然而GA参与非生物胁迫响应的遗传学证据及其机制有待于进一步研究．本实验室前期研究证明,水稻EullfELONGATEDUPPERMOSTINTERNODE）通过一个新的生化途径降解体内的活性赤霉素分子,并参与调控水稻对病原菌的基础抗病性．本研究发现,euil突变体对盐胁迫能力降低,而超表达EUll基因的水稻和拟南芥耐盐性显著提高．进一步研究发现,积累高含量赤霉素的水稻euil突变体对脱落酸（ABA）的敏感性下降,而赤霉素缺失的EUll超表达转基因水稻和拟南芥均改变了对于ABA的敏感性．EUll基因的转录受逆境诱导,其功能缺失与超表达调控了逆境标志基因的表达．综上推测,GA可能是通过影响ABA的信号途径从而改变了植物对非生物胁迫的响应．     

Characterization and fine mapping of a shortened uppermost internode mutant in rice

Internode elongation is an important agronomic trait in rice that is associated with lodging, yield, flooding adaptation, and hybrid seed production. We identified a novel rice mutant line showing a shortened uppermost internode among the rice Ac/Ds insertional mutant population and named it shortened uppermost internode 4 (sui4). Interestingly, T1 plants of this line segregated into three phenotypes: extremely shortened uppermost internode-type, normal wild-type, and intermediate-type. The phenotypes of F1 plants and F2 plants from the cross of sui4 with its original variety, Dongjin, indicated that the SUI4 gene shows incomplete dominance or semidominance. Because the Ds genotypes did not co-segregate with the sui4 phenotypes, we performed mapping of this gene with 273 F2 plants from a cross between sui4 and Milyang23. Primary mapping revealed that the SUI4 locus was located between the S07012 and S07015 markers on rice chromosome 7. Further fine mapping with 36 F3 lines derived from F2 plants that have recombination in this region narrowed down the location of SUI4 to the 1.1-Mbp interval of RM1253–S07015.     

Two Arabidopsis cytochrome P450 monooxygenases, CYP714A1 and CYP714A2, function redundantly in plant development through gibberellin deactivation

The rice gene ELONGATED UPPERMOST INTERNODE1 (EUI1) encodes a P450 monooxygenase that epoxidizes gibberellins (GAs) in a deactivation reaction. The Arabidopsis genome contains a tandemly duplicated gene pair ELA1 (CYP714A1) and ELA2 (CYP714A2) that encode EUI homologs. In this work, we dissected the functions of the two proteins. ELA1 and ELA2 exhibited overlapping yet distinct gene expression patterns. We showed that while single mutants of ELA1 or ELA2 exhibited no obvious morphological phenotype, simultaneous elimination of ELA1 and ELA2 expression in ELA1-RNAi/ela2 resulted in increased biomass and enlarged organs. By contrast, transgenic plants constitutively expressing either ELA1 or ELA2 were dwarfed, similar to those overexpressing the rice EUI gene. We also discovered that overexpression of ELA1 resulted in a severe dwarf phenotype, while overexpression of ELA2 gave rise to a breeding-favored semi-dwarf phenotype in rice. Consistent with the phenotypes, we found that the ELA1-RNAi/ela2 plants increased amounts of biologically active GAs that were decreased in the internodes of transgenic rice with ELA1 and ELA2 overexpression. In contrast, the precursor GA(12) slightly accumulated in the transgenic rice, and GA(19) highly accumulated in the ELA2 overexpression rice. Taken together, our study strongly suggests that the two Arabidopsis EUI homologs subtly regulate plant growth most likely through catalyzing deactivation of bioactive GAs similar to rice EUI. The two P450s may also function in early stages of the GA biosynthetic pathway. Our results also suggest that ELA2 could be an excellent tool for molecular breeding for high yield potential in cereal crops.     

An Efficient Rice Mutagenesis System Based on Suspension-Cultured Cells

Plant mutants are important bio-resources for crop breeding and gene functional studies. Conventional methods for generating mutant libraries by mutagenesis of seeds with physical or chemical agents are of low efficiency. Here, we developed a highly-efficient ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) mutagenesis system based on suspension-cultured cells, with rice (Oryza sativa L.) as an example. We show that treatment of suspension-cultured tiny cell clusters with 0.4% EMS for 18-22h followed by differentiation and regeneration produced as high as 29.4% independent mutant lines with visible phenotypic variations, including a number of important agronomic traits such as grain size, panicle size, grain or panicle shape, tiller number and angle, heading date, male sterility, and disease sensitivity. No mosaic mutant was observed in the mutant lines tested. In this mutant library, we obtained a mutant with an abnormally elongated uppermost internode. Sequencing and functional analysis revealed that this is a new allelic mutant of eui (elongated uppermost internode) caused by two point mutations in the first exon of the EUI gene, representing a successful example of this mutagenesis system.     

Gibberellin homeostasis and plant height control by EUI and a role for gibberellin in root gravity responses in rice

The rice Eui (ELONGATED UPPERMOST INTERNODE) gene encodes a cytochrome P450 monooxygenase that deactivates bioactive gibberellins (GAs). In this study, we investigated controlled expression of the Eui gene and its role in plant development. We found that Eui was differentially induced by exogenous GAs and that the Eui promoter had the highest activity in the vascular bundles. The eui mutant was defective in starch granule development in root caps and Eui overexpression enhanced starch granule generation and gravity responses, revealing a role for GA in root starch granule development and gravity responses. Experiments using embryoless half-seeds revealed that RAmy1A and GAmyb were highly upregulated in eui aleurone cells in the absence of exogenous GA. In addition, the GA biosynthesis genes GA3ox1 and GA20ox2 were downregulated and GA2ox1 was upregulated in eui seedlings. These results indicate that EUI is involved in GA homeostasis, not only in the internodes at the heading stage, but also in the seedling stage, roots and seeds. Disturbing GA homeostasis affected the expression of the GA signaling genes GID1 (GIBBERELLIN INSENSITIVE DWARF 1), GID2 and SLR1. Transgenic RNA interference of the Eui gene effectively increased plant height and improved heading performance. By contrast, the ectopic expression of Eui under the promoters of the rice GA biosynthesis genes GA3ox2 and GA20ox2 significantly reduced plant height. These results demonstrate that a slight increase in Eui expression could dramatically change rice morphology, indicating the practical application of the Eui gene in rice molecular breeding for a high yield potential.     

Identification and characterization of SHORTENED UPPERMOST INTERNODE 1, a gene negatively regulating uppermost internode elongation in rice

In rice, the elongated internodes are derived from the vegetative shoot apical meristem (SAM), and the transition of the SAM from the vegetative to the reproductive stage induces internode elongation. In this study, we characterize two shortened uppermost internode mutants (sui1-1 and sui1-2). During the seedling and tillering stages, sui1 plants are morphologically similar to wild-type plants. However, at the heading stage, the sui1-1 mutant exhibits a shortened uppermost internode and a partly sheathed panicle, and the sui1-2 mutant shows an extremely shortened uppermost internode and a fully sheathed panicle. Gibberellin treatment results in elongation of every internode, but the shortened uppermost internode phenotype remains unaltered. Microscopic analysis indicates that cell length of sui1-1 uppermost internode exhibits decreased. Map-based cloning revealed that SUI1 is located on Chromosome 1, and encodes a putative phosphatidyl serine synthase (PSS) family protein. Searches for matches in protein databases showed that OsSUI1 contains the InterPro domain IPR004277, which is conserved in both animal and plant kingdoms. Introduction of a wild-type SUI1 gene fully rescued the mutant phenotype of sui1-1 and sui1-2, confirming the identity of the cloned gene. Consistent with these results, the SUI1-RNAi transgenic plants displayed decreased elongation of the uppermost internode. Our results suggest that SUI1 plays an important role in regulating uppermost internode length by decreasing longitudinal cell length in rice.     

Role of polyamines in gibberellin-induced internode growth in peas

To determine the requirement for polyamines in gibberellin (GA) induced internode growth polyamine content was measured in internodes of peas of various internode phenotypes (slender, tall, dwarf, nana) with and without applied gibberellin (GA₃) and polyamine synthesis inhibitors. Polyamines were assayed as dansyl derivatives which were separated by reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography and detected by fluorescence spectrophotometry. The amounts of polyamines in the different genetic lines of peas, which differed in internode lengths and extractable GA content, correlated with the extent of internode elongation. High polyamine concentrations were associated with young internodes and decreased with internode expansion. Extremely short internodes of nana plants without GA exhibited equal or higher amine concentrations relative to internodes of other lines of peas and GA-stimulated nana seedlings. The polyamine synthesis inhibitors, α-difluoromethylornithine and α-difluoromethylarginine, independently or in combination, inhibited polyamine accumulation and internode elongation of tall peas and GA-stimulated nana plants. Agmatine and putrescine restored growth and endogenous polyamine content to variable degrees. However, exogenous polyamines were not effective in promoting growth unless intracellular amines were partially depleted.

These results suggest that polyamines do not have a role in cell elongation, but may be required to support cell proliferation. Polyamines do not mediate the entire action of GA in internode growth of peas since GA induction of growth involves both cell division and cell elongation, whereas polyamines appear to affect cell division only.

     

Synthesis and structure–activity relationship of 16,17-modified gibberellin derivatives

Gibberellins (GAs) are a group of diterpenoid plant hormones that control plant growth and development at various stages. Biologically active GAs share the common structures of a 3β-hydroxy group, a carboxy group at C-6, and a γ-lactone between C-4 and C-10. Hydroxylation at C-2β is a major deactivation step in many plant species, and hydroxylation at C-13 has been shown to weaken the binding affinity of GAs to their receptor proteins. In rice, bioactive GA₄ has also been shown to be deactivated through 16α,17-epoxidation. Moreover, 16,17-dihydro-16α,17-dihydroxy GA₄ has been identified as an aglycon of its glucoside from rice. However, our knowledge on the biological activity of 16,17-epoxidized GAs is currently limited to 16,17-dihydro-16α,17-epoxy GA₄. Moreover, the bioactivity of 16,17-dihydro-16α,17-dihydroxy GA₄ remains unknown. Here, we synthesized 16,17-epoxidized or dihydroxylated GA derivatives and performed a structure–activity relationship study using rice seedlings. 16,17-Epoxidation of bioactive GA₁ and GA₄ reduced their activity to promote elongation of rice leaf sheaths. Moreover, 16,17-dihydroxylation significantly decreased the activities of 16,17-dihydro-16α,17-epoxy GAs. These results suggest that GAs are deactivated in a stepwise manner via 16,17-epoxidation and hydrolysis of these epoxy groups.     

OsGA2ox5, a Gibberellin Metabolism Enzyme,Is Involved in Plant Growth,the Root Gravity Response and Salt Stress

Gibberellin (GA) 2-oxidases play an important role in the GA catabolic pathway through 2β-hydroxylation. There are two classes of GA2oxs, i.e., a larger class of C₁₉-GA2oxs and a smaller class of C₂₀-GA2oxs. In this study, the gene encoding a GA 2-oxidase of rice, Oryza sativa GA 2-oxidase 5 (OsGA2ox5), was cloned and characterized. BLASTP analysis showed that OsGA2ox5 belongs to the C₂₀-GA2oxs subfamily, a subfamily of GA2oxs acting on C₂₀-GAs (GA₁₂, GA₅₃). Subcellular localization of OsGA2ox5-YFP in transiently transformed onion epidermal cells revealed the presence of this protein in both of the nucleus and cytoplasm. Real-time PCR analysis, along with GUS staining, revealed that OsGA2ox5 is expressed in the roots, culms, leaves, sheaths and panicles of rice. Rice plants overexpressing OsGA2ox5 exhibited dominant dwarf and GA-deficient phenotypes, with shorter stems and later development of reproductive organs than the wild type. The dwarfism phenotype was partially rescued by the application of exogenous GA₃ at a concentration of 10 µM. Ectopic expression of OsGA2ox5 cDNA in Arabidopsis resulted in a similar phenotype. Real-time PCR assays revealed that both GA synthesis-related genes and GA signaling genes were expressed at higher levels in transgenic rice plants than in wild-type rice; OsGA3ox1, which encodes a key enzyme in the last step of the bioactive GAs synthesis pathway, was highly expressed in transgenic rice. The roots of OsGA2ox5-ox plants exhibited increased starch granule accumulation and gravity responses, revealing a role for GA in root starch granule development and gravity responses. Furthermore, rice and Arabidopsis plants overexpressing OsGA2ox5 were more resistant to high-salinity stress than wild-type plants. These results suggest that OsGA2ox5 plays important roles in GAs homeostasis, development, gravity responses and stress tolerance in rice.