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The GZnC1 variant from common wild rice influences grain Zn content

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Abstract

Zinc (Zn) deficiency, caused by inadequate Zn intake in the human diet, has serious health implications. Rice (Oryza sativa) is the staple food in regions with a high incidence of Zn deficiency, so raising Zn levels in rice grain could help alleviate Zn deficiency. The wild relatives of cultivated rice vary widely in grain Zn content and thus are suitable resources for improving this trait. However, few loci underlying grain Zn content have been identified in wild rice relatives. Here, we identified a major quantitative trait locus for grain Zn content, Grain Zn Content 1 (qGZnC1), from Yuanjiang common wild rice (Oryza rufipogon Griff.) using map-based cloning. Down-regulating GZnC1 expression reduced the grain Zn content, whereas the presence of GZnC1 had the opposite effect, indicating that GZnC1 is involved in grain Zn content in rice. Notably, GZnC1 is identical to a previously reported gene, EMBRYO SAC ABORTION 1 (ESA1), involved in seed setting rate. The mutation in GZnC1/ESA1 at position 1819 (T1819C) causes delayed termination of protein translation. In addition, GZnC1 is specifically expressed in developing panicles. Several genes related to Zn-transporter genes were up-regulated in the presence of GZnC1. Our results suggest that GZnC1 activates Zn transporters to promote Zn distribution in panicles. Our work thus sheds light on the genetic mechanism of Zn accumulation in rice grain and provides a new genetic resource for improving Zn content in rice.

Key message

We identified an allele from the rice progenitor Oryza rufipogon, GZnC1, that influences grain zinc content. This allele is pleiotropic and is identical to EMBRYO SAC ABORTION 1, which is implicated in decreased seed setting rate.

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Data availability

The datasets generated and/or analyzed in this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

This project was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (grant no. 30771319); the Science and Technology Innovative Team in Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CXTD2021008-3, 2021011-1); and the 5511 Collaborative Innovation Project for Fujian Province (XTCXGC2021020).

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  1. Jingjing Hou, Hao Chen and Kun Zhang have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. MOE Key Laboratory of Crop Heterosis and Utilization, National Center for Evaluation of Agricultural Wild Plants (Rice), Beijing Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Department of Plant Genetics and Breeding, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China

    Jingjing Hou, Kun Zhang, Caihong Cao, Yini Ruan, Yanyan Deng, Yaxin Liu, Xuzhao Yuan, Chuanqing Sun & Yongcai Fu

  2. Institute of Crop Sciences, Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences; Fujian Engineering Research Center for Characteristic Upland Crops Breeding; Fujian Engineering Laboratory of Crop Molecular Breeding, Fuzhou, 350013, China

    Hao Chen

  3. Institute of Agricultural Quality Standards and Testing Technology Research, Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences; Fujian Key Laboratory of Agro-Products Quality and Safety, Fuzhou, 350003, China

    Wenjing Liu

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  1. Jingjing Hou
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Contributions

Y.F. managed the project, analyzed the data and revised the paper. JH performed the experiments, analyzed the data, and wrote and revised the paper. HC helped to perform the experiments, analyzed the data, and wrote and revised the paper. KZ helped to perform the experiments and revised the paper. WL, CC, YR, YD, YL and XY helped to perform the experiments. CS provided the experimental platform and the introgression lines.

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Correspondence to Yongcai Fu.

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Hou, J., Chen, H., Zhang, K. et al. The GZnC1 variant from common wild rice influences grain Zn content. Plant Mol Biol 111, 263–273 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11103-022-01325-1

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