Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

One gene's shattering effects

Nature Genetics volume 44, pages 616–617 (2012)Cite this article

Subjects

A new study shows that three independent mutations in the Sh1 gene, which encodes a YABBY transcription factor, gave rise to the non-shattering seed phenotype in domesticated sorghum. This same gene may have also had a role in the domestication of other cereals, including maize and rice.

Only recently, however, have enough species and traits been examined that we can begin to ask whether the same genes underlie the same traits in different crop species. In this issue, Jianming Yu and colleagues4 make an important advance in addressing this question. Working in Sorghum, with comparative analyses in rice and maize, the authors identify the key gene responsible for non-shattering grains in domesticated sorghum, and they report evidence that orthologs of this gene may have contributed to the non-shattering phenotype in rice and maize as well.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Get just this article for as long as you need it

$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Multiple origins of non-shattering sorghum in Africa.

References

  1. Doebley, J., Stec, A. & Hubard, L. Nature 386, 485–488 (1997).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Wang, R.L., Stec, A., Hey, J., Lukens, L. & Doebley, J. Nature 398, 236–239 (1999).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Doebley, J.F., Gaut, B.S. & Smith, B.D. Cell 127, 1309–1321 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Lin, Z. et al. Nat. Genet. 44, 720–724 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Harlan, J. & de Wet, J. Crop Sci. 12, 172–176 (1972).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Brown, P., Myles, S. & Kresovich, S. Crop Sci. 51, 224–230 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Paterson, A.H. et al. Science 269, 1714–1718 (1995).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Paterson, A.H. et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 92, 6127–6131 (1995).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Li, C., Zhou, A. & Sang, T. Science 311, 1936–1939 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Konishi, S. et al. Science 312, 1392–1396 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Gu, X.Y. et al. Theor. Appl. Genet. 110, 1108–1118 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. He, Z. et al. PLoS Genet. 7, e1002100 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Xu, X. et al. Nat. Biotechnol. 30, 105–111 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Devos, K.M. & Gale, M.D. Plant Cell 12, 637–646 (2000).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The author thanks X. Li and J. Yu for assistance with the geographical distribution of Sorghum races shown in Figure 1b.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Kenneth M. Olsen is at the Department of Biology at Washington University, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA.,

    Kenneth M Olsen

Authors
  1. Kenneth M Olsen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kenneth M Olsen.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The author declares no competing financial interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Olsen, K. One gene's shattering effects. Nat Genet 44, 616–617 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/ng.2289

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ng.2289

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing