The GSK3/SHAGGY-like OsGSK3 phosphorylates and inhibits phase separation of OsFCA at Ser-43 and Ser-45 to regulate brassinosteroid signaling and rice architecture.
Zhang J, Wang F, Zhang S, Yu Q, Dong Q
Plant Signaling
Rice breeders now have a new molecular dial — the OsFCA protein — that simultaneously controls grain size and flowering time, which could lead to higher-yielding varieties that ripen at better times for farmers in challenging climates.
Inside rice plants, a protein called OsFCA acts like a helper that tells the plant to make longer grains and flower at the right time. Another protein acts as a brake, grabbing OsFCA and dragging it out of the cell's control center so it can't do its job. Understanding this tug-of-war gives scientists a new target for breeding rice that produces more food.
Key Findings
OsFCA is phosphorylated at two specific sites (Ser-43 and Ser-45) by the kinase OsGSK3, which relocates the OsFCA complex from the nucleus to the cytoplasm and suppresses its activity
Rice plants with non-functional OsFCA (Osfca mutants) showed significantly lower sensitivity to brassinolide hormone treatment and produced shorter grains
OsFCA promotes flowering under long-day conditions by suppressing the Ghd7 gene while activating Ehd1, Hd3a, and RFT1 flowering genes, linking grain development and flowering time regulation to the same protein
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists discovered that a protein called OsFCA helps control how long rice grains grow and when the plant flowers, with its activity precisely tuned by a molecular switch that moves it between the cell nucleus and cytoplasm.
Abstract Preview
Brassinosteroid (BR) signaling plays a critical role in rice (Oryza sativa L.) grain development. GLYCOGEN SYNTHASE KINASE 3 (OsGSK3), a negative regulator of BR signaling, suppresses the transcrip...
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