{"title":"Modulation of lignin and anthocyanin homeostasis by GTP cyclohydrolase1 in maize","authors":"Mingyue Zhang, Xiaohan Li, Xiao Wang, Shuzhen Jiang, Junli Zhang, Mingfei Sun, Zixian Zhou, Jinxiao Zhang, Mengyao Li, Yanxiao Lv, Enlong Qi, Ziang Tian, Hongjie Zhu, Xuebin Zhang, Xiangyu Zhao, Changcheng Xu, Thomas Lübberstedt, Xiansheng Zhang, Xuerong Yang, Chao Zhou, Hongjun Liu","doi":"10.1111/pbi.70061","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/pbi.70061","url":null,"abstract":"Maize is a key biomass resource with wide agricultural applications. Anthocyanins, potent antioxidants, offer health benefits like reducing oxidative stress. The biosynthesis of anthocyanins competes with that of lignin for shared metabolic precursors, which can lead to trade-offs in plant growth and feed quality. Higher lignin content can decrease silage digestibility, posing challenges for livestock feed. The maize <i>brown midrib 6</i> (<i>bm6</i>) mutant, known for reduced lignin, has an unclear genetic basis. Here, we identify <i>ZmGCH1</i> as the candidate gene for <i>bm6</i> through fine mapping. Mutations in <i>ZmGCH1</i> shift precursors from lignin to anthocyanin biosynthesis. Furthermore, we show that ZmGCH1 interacts with ZmPEBP15 to modulate chalcone synthase activity, thereby stabilizing the allocation of precursors between lignin and anthocyanin pathways. To evaluate the practical implications of our findings, we introduced the <i>bm6</i> mutation into Zhengdan958 and Xianyu335. In vitro rumen digestion assays confirmed that the introduction of the <i>bm6</i> mutation significantly improved silage digestibility. This discovery not only holds great potential for enhancing silage digestibility but also provides a broader strategy for optimizing maize production to better meet the increasing demands of both the food and livestock feed.","PeriodicalId":221,"journal":{"name":"Plant Biotechnology Journal","volume":"36 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143734441","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nurmansyah, Agnelo Furtado, Pauline Okemo, Robert J. Henry
{"title":"Unique starch biosynthesis pathways in wild rice revealed by multi-omics analyses","authors":"Nurmansyah, Agnelo Furtado, Pauline Okemo, Robert J. Henry","doi":"10.1111/pbi.70021","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/pbi.70021","url":null,"abstract":"Australian wild rice species (AWS) possess unique starch properties characterized by a slow digestibility rate. However, the genomic and transcriptomic variations of starch-synthesis-related genes (SSRGs) influencing starch physiochemical properties in AWS remain unclear. Here, we report comparative analyses of 72 SSRGs in wild species, including two AWS (<i>O. meridionalis</i> and Australian populations of <i>O. rufipogon</i>) and the domesticated rice gene pool. Our findings reveal that most SSRGs are more actively expressed in the early stages of seed development. Transcriptome analysis identified differential splicing patterns, with the starch synthesis pathways in Nipponbare and <i>O. rufipogon</i> being more similar than those in <i>O. meridionalis</i>. Three essential starch genes, <i>GBSSI, SSIIa</i> and <i>BEIIb</i>, were more active and had higher expression in AWS compared to Nipponbare, explaining the higher amylose content, gelatinization temperature, soft gel consistency and high retrogradation in the wild rice. Comparative genomics indicated that Asian domesticated rice evolved from a single ancestral allele of <i>GBSSI</i> (<i>Wx</i><sup><i>lv</i></sup>) and <i>SSIIa</i> (<i>ALK</i><sup><i>c</i></sup>), but two <i>BEIIb</i> alleles originated from <i>O. rufipogon</i> and <i>O. nivara</i>, the two wild rice species that are considered progenitors of Asian domesticated rice. Additionally, higher expressions of <i>GBSSI</i>, <i>BEI</i> and <i>SSIIIa</i> in <i>O. meridionalis</i> contribute to a slower starch digestibility rate, making its haplotypes valuable for breeding to develop slowly digested starch cultivars. These findings not only provide insight into the evolution of starch gene synthesis during domestication but also pave the way for unlocking desirable gene haplotypes of wild rice to improve starch quality in cultivated rice.","PeriodicalId":221,"journal":{"name":"Plant Biotechnology Journal","volume":"87 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143723417","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Michael Panting, Inger B. Holme, Giuseppe Dionisio, Henrik Brinch-Pedersen
{"title":"Simplex and multiplex CRISPR/Cas9-mediated knockout of grain protease inhibitors in model and commercial barley improves hydrolysis of barley and soy storage proteins","authors":"Michael Panting, Inger B. Holme, Giuseppe Dionisio, Henrik Brinch-Pedersen","doi":"10.1111/pbi.70065","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/pbi.70065","url":null,"abstract":"Anti-nutritional factors in plant seeds diminish the utilization of nutrients in feed and food. Among these, protease inhibitors inhibit protein degradation by exogenous proteases during digestion. Through conventional and selection-gene-free genome editing using ovules as explants, we used simplex and multiplex CRISPR/Cas9 for studying the impact of chymotrypsin inhibitor CI-1A, CI-1B and CI-2, Bowman-Birk trypsin inhibitor, Serpin-Z4, and barley ɑ-amylase/subtilisin inhibitor on barley and soybean storage protein degradation. Mutants were generated in the commercial cultivar Stairway, having a high level of protease inhibition, and the barley model cultivar Golden Promise, having a lower inhibition level. In Golden Promise, all individual knockouts decreased the inhibition of the three proteases α-chymotrypsin, trypsin and the commercial feed protease Ronozyme ProAct significantly. The triple knockout of all chymotrypsin inhibitors further decreased the inhibition of α-chymotrypsin and Ronozyme ProAct proteases. Degradations of recombinant barley storage proteins B- and C-hordeins were significantly improved following mutagenesis. In Stairway, a single knockout of CI-1A almost compares to the effect on the proteases achieved for the triple knockout in Golden promise, uncovering CI-1A as the major protease inhibitor in that cultivar. The Stairway mutant demonstrated significantly improved degradation of recombinant barley hordeins and in the soybean storage proteins glycinin and β-conglycinin. The results of this study provide insights into cereal protease inhibitor genes and their negative effects on the degradation of barley storage protein and the most important plant protein from soybeans. The study suggests a future focus on plant protease inhibitors as a major target for improving feed and food protein digestibility.","PeriodicalId":221,"journal":{"name":"Plant Biotechnology Journal","volume":"7 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143723418","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mei Tian, Linglong Luo, Baolong Jin, Jianing Liu, Tong Chen, Jinfu Tang, Ye Shen, Haiyan Zhang, Juan Guo, Huawei Zhang, Guanghong Cui, Luqi Huang
{"title":"Highly efficient Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated gene editing system in Salvia miltiorrhiza inbred line bh2-7","authors":"Mei Tian, Linglong Luo, Baolong Jin, Jianing Liu, Tong Chen, Jinfu Tang, Ye Shen, Haiyan Zhang, Juan Guo, Huawei Zhang, Guanghong Cui, Luqi Huang","doi":"10.1111/pbi.70029","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/pbi.70029","url":null,"abstract":"The CRISPR/Cas9 system is a powerful tool for genomic editing with significant potential for gene function validation and molecular breeding in medicinal plants. <i>Salvia miltiorrhiza</i>, a model medicinal plant, was among the pioneers to utilize CRISPR/Cas9 technology, though achieving high-efficiency homozygous knockout mutants has been challenging. In this study, the analysis of variations at 241 single-guide RNA (sgRNA) across different reference genomes and experimental materials was conducted first, leading to the identification of the six-generation inbred line bh2-7 as the most suitable reference genome and experimental material for gene editing research in <i>S. miltiorrhiza</i>. Next, five <i>Agrobacterium rhizogenes</i> strains were evaluated for hairy root induction, editing efficiency, and mutation patterns, with C58C1 and K599 emerging as the most effective delivery systems. Using the CRISPR/Cas9 vector pZKD672, 53 target sites were successfully edited, with K599 achieving 71.07% editing efficiency and 36.74% homozygous or biallelic (HOM) efficiency and C58C1 showing 62.27% editing efficiency and 23.61% HOM efficiency. We thus constructed a large-scale mutant library targeting 121 genes with 170 sgRNAs, yielding 1664 homozygous or biallelic mutants. Analysis of 65 low-efficiency target sites revealed that sgRNA mismatches and secondary structures were key factors reducing HOM efficiency, offering insights for future target design. This study establishes an efficient CRISPR/Cas9 system, advancing precision breeding and metabolic engineering research in medicinal plants.","PeriodicalId":221,"journal":{"name":"Plant Biotechnology Journal","volume":"23 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143713606","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"De novo creation of narrowed plant architecture via CRISPR/Cas9-mediated mutagenesis of SiLGs in foxtail millet","authors":"Renliang Zhang, Ruifeng Guo, Hui Zhi, Sha Tang, Liwei Wang, Yuemei Ren, Guangbing Ren, Shou Zhang, Jing Feng, Xianmin Diao, Guanqing Jia","doi":"10.1111/pbi.70037","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/pbi.70037","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Foxtail millet [<i>Setaria italica</i> (L.) Beauv] is an ancient cereal crop that has been cultivated for grain food and forage consumption globally for over 11 500 years. Despite its long history, foxtail millet continues to be extensively cultivated in developing and underdeveloped countries with low productivity conditions. This is primarily due to its exceptional ability to tolerate drought and barren environments, making it well-suited for grain production in challenging grown conditions. In the last century, significant progress has been made in enhancing the plant architecture of major cereal crops, such as maize (<i>Zea mays</i>) and rice (<i>Oryza sativa</i>), resulting in substantial increases in grain yield potential (Tian <i>et al</i>., <span>2024</span>). However, there has been relatively less emphasis on optimizing the plant architecture of foxtail millet, leading to limited improvements in yield for this ancient crop species to date. While the overexpression of <i>Drooping Leaf 1</i> has been shown to promote more upright leaves in foxtail millet (Zhao <i>et al</i>., <span>2020</span>), compact architecture with reduced leaf angle remains a challenge due to the scarcity of identified germplasm suitable for this purpose.</p>\u0000<p>Leaf angle, defined as the angle between the culm and leaf midrib, is a crucial aspect of plant architecture that is controlled by a limited number of functional genes. Among these genes, <i>Liguleless1</i> (<i>LG1</i>) and <i>Liguleless2</i> (<i>LG2</i>) are key regulators that play essential roles in lamina joint formation, influencing leaf angle in maize (Walsh <i>et al</i>., <span>1998</span>). <i>LG1</i> has been identified as a transcription factor belonging to the Squamosa Promoter-Binding Proteins (SBP) family, while <i>LG2</i> has been characterized as a basic leucine zipper transcription (bZIP) factor. Genetic analysis of variations indicates that <i>LG1</i> and <i>LG2</i> have the potential to significantly enhance the field productivity of maize varieties, and it has been demonstrated that the functions of <i>LG1</i> and <i>LG2</i> are conserved across various Gramineae crops, including maize (Harper and Freeling, <span>1996</span>), rice (Wang <i>et al</i>., <span>2021</span>), wheat (Yu, <span>2019</span>), sorghum (Brant <i>et al</i>., <span>2021</span>) and sugarcane (Brant <i>et al</i>., <span>2024</span>). However, the roles of <i>LG1</i> and <i>LG2</i> in foxtail millet remain unclear, and as of now, no ligule development-defective mutants have been identified in this coarse cereal crop.</p>\u0000<p>In this study, <i>SiLG1</i> and <i>SiLG2</i> were identified in foxtail millet through phylogenetic analysis (Figure S1). Both of <i>SiLG1</i> and <i>SiLG2</i> were mainly expressed in leaves, pulvinus, nodes and seeds of foxtail millet (Figure S2). A comprehensive screening analysis was conducted on sequencing data of 1844 worldwide <i>Setaria italica</i> germplasm, which included commercial var","PeriodicalId":221,"journal":{"name":"Plant Biotechnology Journal","volume":"215 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143695574","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
William Holdsworth, Zacharie LeBlanc, Sarah Moddejongen, Kaylee Moffitt, Christina Theodoropoulos, Robert E. Speight, Peter Waterhouse, Frank Sainsbury, James B. Behrendorff
{"title":"Monitoring and orthogonal control of agrobacteria in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves","authors":"William Holdsworth, Zacharie LeBlanc, Sarah Moddejongen, Kaylee Moffitt, Christina Theodoropoulos, Robert E. Speight, Peter Waterhouse, Frank Sainsbury, James B. Behrendorff","doi":"10.1111/pbi.70056","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/pbi.70056","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Agrobacterium-mediated transient transfection of <i>Nicotiana benthamiana</i> remains the most popular method for rapid synthesis of heterologous proteins in plants; yet relatively little is known about agrobacterial population stability, physiological state or plasmid maintenance following infiltration into <i>N. benthamiana</i> leaves. Developing a better understanding of post-infiltration agrobacterium populations is important for designing new tools and strategies to exploit the agrobacterium–plant interaction using synthetic biology. In this study, we developed molecular tools and methods for monitoring and manipulating agrobacteria within leaf tissue. This capability may support the development of engineered agrobacteria for diverse applications such as reporting on plant physiology or synthesising additional metabolites while residing in the leaf, in parallel with plant metabolism.</p>\u0000<p><i>Nicotiana benthamiana</i> is a preferred host for heterologous protein expression due to innate hyper-susceptibility to transfection and tolerance to infiltration of leaf tissue with agrobacteria (Bally <i>et al</i>., <span>2015</span>), which transfer linear DNA (T-DNA) to the plant nucleus via a type IV secretion system and a set of chaperone proteins encoded by the <i>vir</i> genes. Transferred DNA is transcriptionally active and can direct high levels of heterologous protein synthesis. Transfection occurs within the first day after infiltrating leaves with a suspension of agrobacteria, and the titre of plant-synthesised heterologous protein typically peaks after 2–10 days before declining due to a combination of plant defence responses including RNA silencing and proteolysis (Grosse-Holz <i>et al</i>., <span>2018</span>). Though transfection occurs on the same day as infiltration, viable agrobacteria are still present in leaves when plants are harvested for downstream processing (Knödler <i>et al</i>., <span>2023</span>).</p>\u0000<p>To monitor agrobacteria post-infiltration, <i>Agrobacterium fabrum</i> GV3101::pMP90 (previously known as <i>A. tumefaciens</i> GV3101::pMP90 (De Saeger <i>et al</i>., <span>2021</span>)) was co-transformed with a binary vector for transfecting plant cells with a T-DNA encoding overexpression of a red fluorescent protein (pGGDNR_mCherry, where the pGGDNR vector is a modification of pCAMBIA1301) and a second plasmid encoding constitutive intracellular overexpression of a green fluorescent protein (GFP) within the agrobacterium (pSEVA431_pH-tdGFP, where agrobacterial expression of pH-tdGFP is controlled by a synthetic bacterial promoter, J23100) (Figure 1a). Predicted transcription and translation initiation rates for pH-tdGFP under the control of different promoters used in this study are included in Table S1. Intracellular expression of pH-tdGFP by <i>A. fabrum</i> was sufficient to enable visual monitoring of <i>A. fabrum</i> populations during <i>N. benthamiana</i> infiltration and transfection (Figure 1b, Figure S1). ","PeriodicalId":221,"journal":{"name":"Plant Biotechnology Journal","volume":"183 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143695619","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Phosphorylation of MdWRKY70L by MdMPK6/02G mediates reactive oxygen accumulation to regulate apple fruit senescence","authors":"Hui Wang, Yuchen Feng, Shuhui Zhang, Lulong Sun, Peng Yan, Yifeng Feng, Zhengyang Zhao","doi":"10.1111/pbi.70067","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/pbi.70067","url":null,"abstract":"Apple (<i>Malus domestica</i> Borkh.) is a globally significant crop and a vital dietary component worldwide. During ripening, apples exhibit a longitudinal gradient, ripening first at the stalk cavity and extending towards the calyx concave. When the fruit is harvested at the right time or later, the stalk cavity of many varieties often shows over-ripening, that is, premature senescence such as peel browning, which diminishes fruit quality. This study examines the natural senescence process in 6-year-old ‘Ruixue’ apples by screening transcriptome data to uncover senescence-related genes and validate their molecular functions. Our analysis of antioxidant capacity and reactive oxygen species (ROS) in different peel regions revealed that malondialdehyde (MDA), hydrogen peroxide (H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>), and superoxide anion (<span data-altimg=\"/cms/asset/b2161702-ab24-47f4-b791-288b77b5844d/pbi70067-math-0001.png\"></span><mjx-container ctxtmenu_counter=\"26\" ctxtmenu_oldtabindex=\"1\" jax=\"CHTML\" role=\"application\" sre-explorer- style=\"font-size: 103%; position: relative;\" tabindex=\"0\"><mjx-math aria-hidden=\"true\" location=\"graphic/pbi70067-math-0001.png\"><mjx-semantics><mjx-mrow><mjx-msubsup data-semantic-children=\"0,1,4\" data-semantic-collapsed=\"(6 (5 0 1) 4)\" data-semantic- data-semantic-role=\"latinletter\" data-semantic-speech=\"normal upper O 2 Superscript minus dot\" data-semantic-type=\"subsup\"><mjx-mi data-semantic-annotation=\"clearspeak:simple\" data-semantic-font=\"normal\" data-semantic- data-semantic-parent=\"6\" data-semantic-role=\"latinletter\" data-semantic-type=\"identifier\"><mjx-c></mjx-c></mjx-mi><mjx-script style=\"vertical-align: -0.297em; margin-left: 0px;\"><mjx-mrow data-semantic-children=\"3\" data-semantic-content=\"2\" data-semantic- data-semantic-parent=\"6\" data-semantic-role=\"negative\" data-semantic-type=\"prefixop\" size=\"s\"><mjx-mo data-semantic- data-semantic-operator=\"prefixop,−\" data-semantic-parent=\"4\" data-semantic-role=\"subtraction\" data-semantic-type=\"operator\" rspace=\"1\"><mjx-c></mjx-c></mjx-mo><mjx-mo data-semantic- data-semantic-parent=\"4\" data-semantic-role=\"multiplication\" data-semantic-type=\"operator\" rspace=\"1\"><mjx-c></mjx-c></mjx-mo></mjx-mrow><mjx-spacer style=\"margin-top: 0.18em;\"></mjx-spacer><mjx-mn data-semantic-annotation=\"clearspeak:simple\" data-semantic-font=\"normal\" data-semantic- data-semantic-parent=\"6\" data-semantic-role=\"integer\" data-semantic-type=\"number\" size=\"s\"><mjx-c></mjx-c></mjx-mn></mjx-script></mjx-msubsup></mjx-mrow></mjx-semantics></mjx-math><mjx-assistive-mml display=\"inline\" unselectable=\"on\"><math altimg=\"urn:x-wiley:14677644:media:pbi70067:pbi70067-math-0001\" display=\"inline\" location=\"graphic/pbi70067-math-0001.png\" overflow=\"scroll\" xmlns=\"http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML\"><semantics><mrow><msubsup data-semantic-=\"\" data-semantic-children=\"0,1,4\" data-semantic-collapsed=\"(6 (5 0 1) 4)\" data-semantic-role=\"latinletter\" data-semantic-speech=\"normal upper O 2 Superscript minus dot\" data-sema","PeriodicalId":221,"journal":{"name":"Plant Biotechnology Journal","volume":"97 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143695576","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A DOF transcription factor GLW9/OsDOF25 regulates grain shape and tiller angle in rice","authors":"Huan Shi, Pingbo Li, Peng Yun, Yun Zhu, Hao Zhou, Lu Wang, Bian Wu, Yipei Wang, Guangming Lou, Qin Huang, Guanjun Gao, Qinglu Zhang, Junxiao Chen, Jinbo Li, Jinghua Xiao, Aiqing You, Yuqing He","doi":"10.1111/pbi.70064","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/pbi.70064","url":null,"abstract":"Grain shape and tiller angle are two important agronomic traits influencing grain yield and quality in rice. Herein, we map-based cloned a grain shape gene <i>GLW9</i> (<i>Grain Length and Width on chromosome 9</i>), which encodes a DNA binding with one finger (DOF) family transcription factor OsDOF25. <i>GLW9</i> positively regulates grain length and negatively regulates grain width, consequently improving grain length-to-width ratio and appearance quality. GLW9 binds to the <i>EXPA6</i> promotor to upregulate its expression, thereby positively regulating cell expansion and grain shape. On the other hand, GLW9 directly upregulates the expression of <i>OsPIN1b</i> to reduce tiller angle. This study elucidates the mechanism by which <i>GLW9</i> coordinately regulates grain shape and tiller angle, providing theoretical reference and gene resources for the improvement of grain shape and tiller angle in rice.","PeriodicalId":221,"journal":{"name":"Plant Biotechnology Journal","volume":"183 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143675394","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}