A natural tandem array alleviates epigenetic repression of IPA1 and leads to superior yielding rice
Super hybrid rice varieties with ideal plant architecture (IPA) have been critical in enhancing food security worldwide. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying their improved yield remain unclear. Here, we report the identification of a QTL, qWS8/ipa1 - 2D , in the super rice Yongyou12 (YY12)...
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Published in | Nature communications Vol. 8; no. 1; p. 14789 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
London
Nature Publishing Group UK
20.03.2017
Nature Publishing Group Nature Portfolio |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Super hybrid rice varieties with ideal plant architecture (IPA) have been critical in enhancing food security worldwide. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying their improved yield remain unclear. Here, we report the identification of a QTL,
qWS8/ipa1
-
2D
, in the super rice Yongyou12 (YY12) and related varieties. In-depth genetic molecular characterization of
qWS8
/
ipa1-2D
reveals that this newly identified QTL results from three distal naturally occurring tandem repeats upstream of
IPA1
, a key gene/locus previously shown to shape rice ideal plant architecture and greatly enhance grain yield. The
qWS8/ipa1-2D
locus is associated with reduced DNA methylation and a more open chromatin state at the
IPA1
promoter, thus alleviating the epigenetic repression of
IPA1
mediated by nearby heterochromatin. Our findings reveal that IPA traits can be fine-tuned by manipulating
IPA1
expression and that an optimal
IPA1
expression/dose may lead to an ideal yield, demonstrating a practical approach to efficiently design elite super rice varieties.
Breeding of rice with ideal plant architecture has increased rice yield worldwide. Here Zhang
et al
. show that, in the super rice variety YY12, this ideal plant architecture trait arose from three distal tandem repeats that are associated with an open chromatin state and increased expression of the
IPA1
gene. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 These authors contributed equally to this work. |
ISSN: | 2041-1723 2041-1723 |
DOI: | 10.1038/ncomms14789 |