National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China.
Nat Genet. 2011 Oct 23;43(12):1266-9. doi: 10.1038/ng.977.
Increasing crop yield is one of the most important goals of plant science research. Grain size is a major determinant of grain yield in cereals and is a target trait for both domestication and artificial breeding(1). We showed that the quantitative trait locus (QTL) GS5 in rice controls grain size by regulating grain width, filling and weight. GS5 encodes a putative serine carboxypeptidase and functions as a positive regulator of grain size, such that higher expression of GS5 is correlated with larger grain size. Sequencing of the promoter region in 51 rice accessions from a wide geographic range identified three haplotypes that seem to be associated with grain width. The results suggest that natural variation in GS5 contributes to grain size diversity in rice and may be useful in improving yield in rice and, potentially, other crops(2).
提高作物产量是植物科学研究的最重要目标之一。粒大小是谷物产量的主要决定因素，也是驯化和人工育种的目标性状(1)。我们表明，水稻中的数量性状位点（QTL）GS5 通过调节粒宽、充实度和重量来控制粒大小。GS5 编码一个假定的丝氨酸羧肽酶，作为粒大小的正调控因子，因此，GS5 的高表达与较大的粒大小相关。在来自广泛地理范围的 51 个水稻品种的启动子区域测序中，鉴定出三个似乎与粒宽相关的单倍型。结果表明，GS5 的自然变异导致了水稻粒大小的多样性，可能有助于提高水稻和潜在的其他作物的产量(2)。
