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OsSPL14 promotes panicle branching and higher grain productivity in rice

Nature Genetics volume 42, pages 545–549 (2010)Cite this article

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Abstract

Identification of alleles that improve crop production and lead to higher-yielding varieties are needed for food security. Here we show that the quantitative trait locus WFP (WEALTHY FARMER'S PANICLE) encodes OsSPL14 (SQUAMOSA PROMOTER BINDING PROTEIN-LIKE 14, also known as IPA1). Higher expression of OsSPL14 in the reproductive stage promotes panicle branching and higher grain yield in rice. OsSPL14 controls shoot branching in the vegetative stage and is affected by microRNA excision. We also demonstrate the feasibility of using the OsSLP14WFP allele to increase rice crop yield. Introduction of the high-yielding OsSPL14WFP allele into the standard rice variety Nipponbare resulted in increased rice production.

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Figure 1: Characterization and cloning of the WFP QTL.
Figure 2: Expression analysis and transgenic analysis of OsSPL14.
Figure 3: Effect of microRNA excision on OsSPL14 expression.
Figure 4: Effect of OsSPL14WFP on grain yield.

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Acknowledgements

We thank K. Imamura for providing the detailed protocol for in situ hybridization, S. Mizuno for maintenance of the paddy field and E. Kouketsu and K. Sakata for helping to produce transgenic plants. This work was supported by a grant from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan (Integrated Research Project for Plants, Insects and Animals using Genome Technology, QTL-1001).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bioscience and Biotechnology Center, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan

    Kotaro Miura, Mayuko Ikeda, Atsushi Matsubara, Xian-Jun Song, Midori Ito, Kenji Asano, Makoto Matsuoka, Hidemi Kitano & Motoyuki Ashikari

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  1. Kotaro Miura
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Contributions

H.K., M.M. and M.A. designed the research. K.M., M.I., A.M., X.-J.S., M.I. and K.A. conducted the research. K.M., X.-J.S., H.K. and M.A. wrote the paper.

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Correspondence to Motoyuki Ashikari.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Supplementary Note, Supplementary Figures 1–11 and Supplementary Tables 1 and 2. (PDF 1117 kb)

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Miura, K., Ikeda, M., Matsubara, A. et al. OsSPL14 promotes panicle branching and higher grain productivity in rice. Nat Genet 42, 545–549 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/ng.592

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