Seed-Specific Overexpression of SPL12 and IPA1 Improves Seed Dormancy and Grain Size in Rice

Miaomiao Qin; Yan Zhang; Yanmei Yang; Chunbo Miao; Shenkui Liu

doi:10.3389/fpls.2020.532771

Seed-Specific Overexpression of SPL12 and IPA1 Improves Seed Dormancy and Grain Size in Rice

Front Plant Sci. 2020 Sep 3:11:532771. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2020.532771. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Miaomiao Qin¹, Yan Zhang¹, Yanmei Yang¹, Chunbo Miao¹, Shenkui Liu¹

Affiliation

¹ State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, School of Forestry and Biotechnology, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou, China.

Abstract

Pre-harvest sprouting (PHS) often results in reduced grain yield and quality and is a major problem in cereal production. Improved seed dormancy would inhibit PHS. Here we show that seed-specific overexpression of two SQUAMOSA-PROMOTER BINDING PROTEIN-LIKE (SPL) genes SPL12 and IPA1 enhances seed dormancy and inhibits PHS without noticeable effects on shoot architecture in rice. In addition, seed-specific overexpression of IPA1 also increases grain size and thus improves grain productivity. Furthermore, our results suggest that SPL12 enhances the seed dormancy through directly regulating many genes in the gibberellin (GA) pathway. This research provides an efficient method to suppress PHS and will facilitate breeding elite crop varieties.

Keywords: IPA1; SPL12; gibberellin pathway; seed dormancy; seed germination.