Genetic Regulation of the Amylose Synthesis of Rice

The wx locus controls amylose synthesis in the endosperm of rice . Since the amylose contents in the endosperm greatly affect the quality of rice, it is important for agricultural application to regulate the extent of amylose synthesis . In addition, the wx locus of rice is quite suitable for the molecular studies of gene regulation because the locus has some particular advantages for genetic research and it provides us various regulation mechanisms to be eluci dated at the molecular level. In this article, we review the genetic and molecular biological research, which have been carried out in our laboratory, about the regulation of gene expression at the wx locus and amylose synthesis in rice.