Loss of function at RAE2, a previously unidentified EPFL, is required for awnlessness in cultivated Asian rice.

ABSTRACT: Domestication of crops based on artificial selection has contributed numerous beneficial traits for agriculture. Wild characteristics such as red pericarp and seed shattering were lost in both Asian (Oryza sativa) and African (Oryza glaberrima) cultivated rice species as a result of human selection on common genes. Awnedness, in contrast, is a trait that has been lost in both cultivated species due to selection on different sets of genes. In a previous report, we revealed that at least three loci regulate awn development in rice; however, the molecular mechanism underlying awnlessness remains unknown. Here we isolate and characterize a previously unidentified EPIDERMAL PATTERNING FACTOR-LIKE (EPFL) family member named REGULATOR OF AWN ELONGATION 2 (RAE2) and identify one of its requisite p

SUBMITTER: Bessho-Uehara K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4987784 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature