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Down-regulation of RFL, the FLO/LFY homolog of rice, accompanied with panicle branch initiation.

ABSTRACT: FLORICAULA (FLO) of Antirrhinum and LEAFY (FLY) of Arabidopsis regulate the formation of floral meristems. To examine whether same mechanisms control floral development in distantly related species such as grasses, we isolated RFL, FLO-LFY homolog of rice, and examined its expression and function. Northern analysis showed that RFL is expressed predominantly in very young panicle but not in mature florets, mature leaves, or roots. In situ hybridization revealed that RFL RNA was expressed in epidermal cells in young leaves at vegetative growth stage. After the transition to reproductive stage, RFL RNA was detected in all layers of very young panicle including the apical meristem, but absent in the incipient primary branches. As development of branches proceeds, RFL RNA accumulation localized in the developing branches except for the apical meristems of the branches and secondary branch primordia. Expression pattern of RFL raised a possibility that, unlike FLO and LFY, RFL might be involved in panicle branching. Transgenic Arabidopsis plants constitutively expressing RFL from the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter were produced to test whether 35S-RFL would cause similar phenotype as observed in 35S-LFY plants. In 35S-RFL plants, transformation of inflorescence meristem to floral meristem was rarely observed. Instead, development of cotyledons, rosette leaves, petals, and stamens was severely affected, demonstrating that RFL function is distinct from that of LFY. Our results suggest that mechanisms controlling floral development in rice might be diverged from that of Arabidopsis and Antirrhinum.

SUBMITTER: Kyozuka J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC33826 | biostudies-literature | 1998 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Down-regulation of RFL, the FLO/LFY homolog of rice, accompanied with panicle branch initiation.

Kyozuka J J Konishi S S Nemoto K K Izawa T T Shimamoto K K

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 19980301 5

FLORICAULA (FLO) of Antirrhinum and LEAFY (FLY) of Arabidopsis regulate the formation of floral meristems. To examine whether same mechanisms control floral development in distantly related species such as grasses, we isolated RFL, FLO-LFY homolog of rice, and examined its expression and function. Northern analysis showed that RFL is expressed predominantly in very young panicle but not in mature florets, mature leaves, or roots. In situ hybridization revealed that RFL RNA was expressed in epide ...[more]

PMID: 9482818

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Project description:The qTSN4 was identified as rice QTL (Quantitative Traits Locus) increasing total spikelet number per panicle and flag leaf area but potentially reducing panicle number depending on the environment. So far, this trade-off was mainly observed at grain maturity and not specifically studied in details, limiting the apprehension of the agronomic interest of qTSN4. This study aimed to understand the effect of qTSN4 and of the environment on panicle sizing, its trade-off with panicle number, and finally plant grain production. It compared two high yielding genotypes to their Near Isogenic Lines (NIL) carrying either QTL qTSN4 or qTSN12, two distinct QTLs contributing to the enlarged panicle size, thereafter designated as qTSN. Traits describing C sink (organ appearance rate, size, biomass) and source (leaf area, photosynthesis, sugar availability) were dynamically characterized along plant and/or panicle development within two trials (greenhouse, field), each comparing two treatments contrasting for plant access to light (with or without shading, high or low planting densities). The positive effect of qTSN on panicle size and flag leaf area of the main tiller was confirmed. More precisely, it could be shown that qTSN increased leaf area and internode cross-section, and in some cases of the photosynthetic rate and starch reserves, of the top 3-4 phytomers of the main tiller. This was accompanied by an earlier tillering cessation, that coincided with the initiation of these phytomers, and an enhanced panicle size on the main tiller. Plant leaf area at flowering was not affected by qTSN but fertile tiller number was reduced to an extent that depended on the environment. Accordingly, plant grain production was enhanced by qTSN only under shading in the greenhouse experiment, where panicle number was not affected and photosynthesis and starch storage in internodes was enhanced. The effect of qTSN on rice phenotype was thus expressed before panicle initiation (PI). Whether early tillering reduction or organ oversizing at meristem level is affected first cannot be entirely unraveled. Further studies are needed to better understand any signal involved in this early regulation and the qTSN × Environment interactions underlying its agronomic interest.

Dataset Information

Down-regulation of RFL, the FLO/LFY homolog of rice, accompanied with panicle branch initiation.

Publications

Down-regulation of RFL, the FLO/LFY homolog of rice, accompanied with panicle branch initiation.

Similar Datasets

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