Scientists found a genetic dial that controls wheat shoot number and grain size
Ruan S, Ge W, Li A, Ying Y, Li T
Crispr
The bread wheat in your pantry is shaped grain-by-grain by molecular signals discovered in studies like this one, and breeders now have a named genetic lever they can pull to make plants bushier, more compact, and heavier-seeded without decades of blind selection.
Wheat plants have a built-in volume knob that decides how many shoots they grow and how big each grain gets. Scientists found that a tiny molecule called miR156h turns down a master regulator gene, which in turn controls how a plant-growth chemical moves through the plant. By turning this knob up or down using gene-editing tools, they could reliably make wheat more compact with more shoots, or taller with heavier grains.
Key Findings
Overexpressing miR156h increased tiller number and compacted plant architecture while reducing leaf, spikelet, and grain size.
CRISPR knockout of TaSPL4 increased tiller number and reduced grain width and thousand-grain weight; overexpression had the opposite effect, significantly boosting grain length, width, and thousand-grain weight.
TaSPL4 directly activates TaPIN18, a gene that mediates auxin (plant growth hormone) transport, linking the miR156h-SPL pathway to hormone distribution as the mechanism behind architecture and grain-size changes.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Researchers identified a three-part genetic switch in wheat (miR156h-TaSPL4-TaPIN18) that controls how the plant grows and how large its grains become, by regulating the movement of a plant hormone called auxin. Manipulating this switch changed tiller number, plant compactness, and grain weight, offering concrete genetic targets for breeding higher-yielding wheat.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
The miR156h-TaSPL4-TaPIN18 Module Regulates Plant Architecture and Grain Size by Modulating Auxin Transport in Wheat.
Understanding the regulatory mechanisms underlying wheat plant architecture is essential for yield improvement and molecular breeding. The miR156-SPL module plays a pivotal role in controlling plan...
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