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Gene SGL, encoding a kinesin-like protein with transactivation activity, is involved in grain length and plant height in rice

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Abstract

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A kinesin-like protein regulates grain length and plant height by affecting expression levels of genes involved in GA synthesis and response in rice

Abstract

Grain shape, a complex agronomic trait, plays an important role in determining yield and quality in rice. In the present study, a mutant named short grain length (sgl) was identified among explants of tissue cultured japonica variety Kita-ake. It exhibited reduced plant height (about 72 % of WT) and short grain length (about 80 % of WT). The reduced length was due to decreased cell elongation. The Short Grain Length (SGL) gene was isolated via map-based cloning and identified to encode a kinesin-like protein. SGL was expressed in the whole plant, especially in the stem and panicles. SGL was shown to have transcriptional activity. In onion epidermal cells, SGL protein was found mainly in the nucleus. Real-time PCR analyses showed that expression levels of genes involved in gibberellin metabolic pathways were affected in the sgl mutant. These data suggested that SGL protein may be involved in regulating GA synthesis and response genes, that in turn, regulates grain length and plant height.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by grants from the 863 Program (2011AA10A101), National Science and Technology Support Program (2011BAD35B02-02, 2013BAD01B02-16), Jiangsu Science and Technology Development Program (BE2012303), Jiangsu Province Self- innovation Program (CX(12)1003) and Qing Lan Project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory for Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, Jiangsu Plant Gene Engineering Research Center, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China

    Tao Wu, Yingyue Shen, Ming Zheng, Chunyan Yang, Yilin Chen, Zhiming Feng, Xi Liu, Shijia Liu, Ling Jiang & Jianmin Wan

  2. National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China

    Zhijun Chen, Cailin Lei, Jiulin Wang & Jianmin Wan

Authors
  1. Tao Wu
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  2. Yingyue Shen
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  3. Ming Zheng
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  4. Chunyan Yang
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  5. Yilin Chen
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  6. Zhiming Feng
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  7. Xi Liu
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  8. Shijia Liu
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  9. Zhijun Chen
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  10. Cailin Lei
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  11. Jiulin Wang
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  12. Ling Jiang
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  13. Jianmin Wan
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Ling Jiang or Jianmin Wan.

Additional information

Communicated by K. Chong.

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Wu, T., Shen, Y., Zheng, M. et al. Gene SGL, encoding a kinesin-like protein with transactivation activity, is involved in grain length and plant height in rice. Plant Cell Rep 33, 235–244 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-013-1524-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-013-1524-0

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