Study of internode elongation in deepwater

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project Area: Integrated analysis of strategies for plant survival and growth in response to global environmental changes
• Project/Area Number: 22119007
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas (Research in a proposed research area)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Review Section: Biological Sciences
• Research Institution: Nagoya University
• Principal Investigator: ASHIKARI Motoyuki 名古屋大学, 生物機能開発利用研究センター, 教授 (80324383)
• Project Period (FY): 2010-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 浮きイネ / 環境適応

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Deepwater rice elongates its internodes in response to increasing water level to keep its leaves above the water surface and avoid anoxia. We investigated the molecular mechanism of internode elongation in deepwater rice. By genetic and physiological studies, we identified two genes (SK3 and SK4) which regulate internode elongation in deepwater rice. SK3 encodes unknown protein and it is highly expressed in the internode. SK4 encodes a gibberellic acid (GA) biosynthetic enzyme and it is also expressed in the internode. The GA biosynthetic activity of SK4 protein in deepwater rice was significantly higher than that of non-deepwater rice. The SK4 expression in the internode drives GA accumulation. We hypothesize that SK3 in the internode enhances cell division and SK4 driven GA accusation, induces cell elongation. The respective function of SK3 and SK4 in the cell division and cell elongation may explain internode elongation in deepwater rice.

Free Research Field

植物育種