A rice gene region lets roots branch more to find phosphorus
Dinh LT, Pandey BK, Ueda Y, Leftley N, Atkinson BS
Crop Improvement
Rice feeds half the world, and this root-branching trick could help farmers grow it on the phosphorus-poor soils common across Africa and Asia without dumping on more fertilizer.
Some rice plants are better than others at growing extra side roots, which helps them scavenge phosphorus, a nutrient that's often scarce in soil. Researchers traced this ability to a specific stretch of DNA that ramps up auxin, a plant growth hormone, causing more root branches to form and actually grow out. They also found the same DNA region tweaks gibberellin, another growth hormone, showing that the plant coordinates multiple hormone signals to decide how bushy its root system gets.
Key Findings
The qLDC5 locus increases L-type lateral root density on both crown roots and primary roots, confirmed via X-ray micro-CT imaging and field trials comparing donor line DJ123 to variety NERICA4.
DJ123 and derivative line NDJ188 initiate more lateral root primordia and convert a higher proportion into elongated roots than NERICA4, but applying external auxin reverses this advantage.
Within the qLDC5 region, auxin genes OsYUCCA2 and OsARF15 are up-regulated in DJ123, alongside strong induction of gibberellin gene OsGA2ox5, pointing to a hormone network linking auxin, gibberellin, and terpene pathways.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists identified a rice gene region that controls how many side roots a plant grows by fine-tuning its response to the hormone auxin, a discovery that could help breed rice varieties better at foraging for scarce soil phosphorus.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Quantitative trait locus qLDC5 regulates primary root branching in an auxin-dependent manner.
L-type lateral root (LLR) density determines root system architecture, affecting nutrient acquisition in rice (Oryza sativa L.), particularly under low-phosphorus conditions. Previous studies ident...
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