Abstract
Key message
OsVIN2, a vacuolar invertase, affects grain size and yield by altering sugar composition, transport, and starch accumulation in rice.
Abstract
Grain size, a major determinant of rice yield, is influenced by many developmental and environmental factors. Sugar metabolism plays vital roles in plant development. However, the way in which sugar metabolism affects rice grain size remains largely elusive. In this study, we characterized the small grain-size rice mutant sgs1. Histological analyses showed that reduced spikelet hull and endosperm size results from decreased cell size rather than cell number. Map-based cloning and complementation tests revealed that a DaiZ7 transposon insertion in a vacuolar invertase gene OsVIN2 is responsible for the mutant phenotype. Subcellular distribution and biochemical analysis indicated that OsVIN2 is located in the vacuolar lumen, and that its sucrose hydrolysis activity is maintained under acidic conditions. Furthermore, an altered sugar content with increased sucrose and decreased hexose levels, as well as changes in invertase and sucrose synthase activities, sugar transport gene expression, and starch constitution in sgs1 implies that OsVIN2 affects sucrose metabolism, including sugar composition, transport, and conversion from the source to the sink organs. Collectively, OsVIN2 is involved in sugar metabolism, and thus regulates grain size; our findings provide insights into grain development and also suggest a potential strategy to improve grain quality and yield in rice.
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Abbreviations
- WT:
-
Wild type
- CWINs:
-
Cell wall invertases
- VINs:
-
Vacuolar invertases
- CINs:
-
Cytosolic invertases
- SSR:
-
Simple sequence repeats
- SNP:
-
Single-nucleotide polymorphism
- GFP:
-
Green fluorescent protein
- RT-PCR:
-
Real-time reverse transcription PCR
- DAF:
-
Days after fertilization
- DBA:
-
Days before anthesis
- DAA:
-
Days after anthesis
- HPF/FS:
-
High-pressure frozen/freeze-substituted
- PVCs:
-
Prevacuolar compartments
- SUT:
-
Sucrose transporter
- MST:
-
Monosaccharide transporter
- TMTs:
-
Tonoplast monosaccharide transporters
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Acknowledgements
We thank Dr. Cunxu Wei for the semi-thin sections of endosperm cells. We thank Dr. Liwen Jiang for providing the GFP antibody for the immunogold labeling analysis. We also thank the Key Laboratory of Biology, Genetics and Breeding of Japonica Rice in Mid-lower Yangtze River, Ministry of Agriculture, P.R. China, and Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Modern Crop Production for their support. This research was supported by the National Transformation Science and Technology Program (2016ZX08009003-003; 2016ZX08001006), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2016YFD0101801), Jiangsu Science and Technology Development Program (BE2017368), Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Fund project of Jiangsu Province (CX(16)1029), A Project Funded by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD).
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Xu, X., Ren, Y., Wang, C. et al. OsVIN2 encodes a vacuolar acid invertase that affects grain size by altering sugar metabolism in rice. Plant Cell Rep 38, 1273–1290 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-019-02443-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-019-02443-9