Independent control of organ number and distribution pattern in rice panicle

Eiji Yamamoto; Shiori Yabe; Mayuko Inari-Ikeda; Hideki Yoshida; Yoichi Morinaka; Makoto Matsuoka; Hidemi Kitano

doi:10.3389/fpls.2023.1119770

Independent control of organ number and distribution pattern in rice panicle

Front Plant Sci. 2023 Feb 7:14:1119770. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1119770. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Eiji Yamamoto¹, Shiori Yabe², Mayuko Inari-Ikeda³, Hideki Yoshida⁴, Yoichi Morinaka⁵, Makoto Matsuoka⁴, Hidemi Kitano³

Affiliations

¹ Graduate School of Agriculture, Meiji University, Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan.
² Institute of Crop Science, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
³ Bioscience and Biotechnology Center, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan.
⁴ Institute of Fermentation Sciences, Fukushima University, Fukushima, Fukushima, Japan.
⁵ Department of Sustainable Agri-Culture, Fukui Prefectural University, Awara, Fukui, Japan.

Abstract

As the determinants of yield products, rice panicle traits are important targets for breeding. Despite their importance in grain filling and subsequent yield productivity, knowledge on the organ distribution pattern in rice panicles is limited owing to the lack of objective evaluation methods. In this study, we developed a method for quantifying rice panicle organ distribution patterns. To validate our method for practical application in biology, we integrated this method into a quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis and identified QTLs for panicle organ distribution patterns in rice. Interestingly, Grain number 1 (Gn1), a major QTL of organ number, was not identified as a QTL for distribution pattern, indicating that the number and distribution of panicle organs are independently controlled. This study provides insight into rice panicle organ distribution patterns that will help improve breeding targeting rice panicle architecture.

Keywords: QTL; morphometrics; organ distribution pattern; panicle; rice.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by grants from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries of Japan (Genomics-based Technology for Agricultural Improvement RBS2002) to HK and PRESTO, Japan Science and Technology Agency (Grant number JPMJPR16Q9 and JPMJPR15O6) to EY and SY.