Our group is interested in genetic and gene (or QTL) functional analysis of important agronomic traits such as yield, cooking and eating quality, and stress tolerance, by using genetic material constructed, molecular marker on high density rice genetic linkage map, and sequence data of rice genome. The main aim of our study is to understand molecular mechanisms controlling important agronomic traits in crop.

Principal Investigator: Dr. Hong-Xuan Lin, Professor, Academician. Email: hxlin@sippe.ac.cn
Staff: Dr. Ji-Ping Gao, Research Associate; Mei-Zhen Zhu, Senior Technician; Min Si, Technician
Graduate Students: Ji-Jing Luo; Wei Hao; Jian Jin; Wei Huang; Xin-Yuan Huang; Jun-Xiang Shan; Ming-Zhu Lv; Chen Chen; Peng Qi; Wei Wang; Jie-Zheng Ying; Xin-Min Li
Graduated Student: Shi-Yong Sun, 2003 (PhD); Liang-Fa Ge, 2004 (PhD)

Genetic Control of Rice Plant Architecture under Domestication
The closely related wild rice species Oryza rufipogon is considered the progenitor of cultivated rice (Oryza sativa). The transition from the characteristic plant architecture of wild rice to that of cultivated rice was one of the most important events in rice domestication; however, the molecular basis of this key domestication transition has not been elucidated. By using map-based cloning, we isolated a gene controlling plant architecture from Oryza rufipogon (obtained from Hainan province, China). We show that the PROG1 gene controls aspects of wild-rice plant architecture, including tiller angle and number of tillers. The gene encodes a newly identified zinc-finger nuclear transcription factor with transcriptional activity and is mapped on chromosome 7. PROG1 is predominantly expressed in the axillary meristems, the site of tiller bud formation. Rice transformation experiments demonstrate that artificial selection of an amino acid substitution in the PROG1 protein during domestication led to the transition from the plant architecture of wild rice to that of domesticated rice. The map-based cloning and molecular characterization of PROG1 not only shed light on plant development and evolution, but also provide an opportunity to optimize crop plant architecture by molecular design and improve grain yield in future crop breeding.

Major Publications:

1. Jin J, Huang W, Gao JP, Yang J, Shi M, Zhu MZ, Luo D, Lin HX. (2008) Genetic control of rice plant architecture under domestication. Nature Genetics 40: 1365-1369.

2. Ge LF, Chao DY, Shi M, Zhu MZ, Gao JP, Lin HX. (2008) Overexpression of the trehalose-6-phosphate phosphatase gene OsTPP1 confers stress tolerance in rice and results in the activation of stress responsive genes. Planta 228: 191-201.

3. Luo JJ, Hao W, Jin J, Gao JP, Lin HX. (2008) Fine mapping of Spr3, a locus for spreading panicle from African cultivated rice (Oryza glaberrima Steud.). Molecular Plant 1: 830-838.

4. Gao JP, Chao DY, Lin HX. (2008) Toward Understanding Molecular Mechanisms of Abiotic Stress Responses in Rice. Rice 1: 36-51.

5. Song XJ, Huang W, Shi M, Zhu MZ, Lin HX. (2007) A QTL for rice grain width and weight encodes a previously unknown RING-type E3 ubiquitin ligase. Nature Genetics 39: 623-630.

6. Gao JP, Chao DY, Lin HX. (2007) Understanding abiotic stress tolerance mechanisms: recent studies on stress response in rice. Journal of Integrative Plant Biology 49: 742-750.

7. Ren ZH, Gao JP, Li LG, Cai XL, Huang W, Chao DY, Zhu MZ, Wang ZY, Luan S, Lin HX. (2005) A rice quantitative trait locus for salt tolerance encodes a sodium transporter. Nature Genetics 37: 1141-1146.

8. Chao, Luo, Shi, Luo, Lin HX. (2005) Salt-responsive genes in rice revealed by cDNA microarray analysis. Cell Research 15: 796-810.

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