Rice Functions in Seed Dormancy under the Control of Abscisic Acid and Gibberellic Acid Signaling Pathways.

Seed dormancy is a natural phenomenon in plants. It ensures that seeds complete the grain-filling stage before germination and prevents germination in unsuitable ecological conditions. In this study, we determined the previously unknown function of the rice () gene () in seed dormancy. Using artificial microRNA and CRISPR/CAS9 approaches, suppression of expression in rice resulted in the release of dormancy in immature seeds. Conversely, overexpression of driven by the native promoter led to greater seed dormancy. Seed scutellum-specific expression of was increased by exogenous abscisic acid, but decreased with gibberellic acid treatment. We provide evidence that is antagonistically controlled at the transcriptional level by and GAMYB transcription factors. We conclude that acts as a buffer, maintaining appropriate equilibrium for the regulation of primary dormancy during seed development in rice.