A novel superior factor widely controlling the rice grain quality

Abstract

AbstractSynthesis of storage starch and protein accumulation is the main action of endosperm organogenesis in term of the economic importance of rice. This event is strongly disturbed by abiotic stresses such as high temperature; thus, the upcoming global warming will cause a crisis with a great impact on food production^1,2^. The enzymes for the protein storage and starch synthesis pathway should work in concert to carry out the organogenesis of rice endosperm^3-5^, but the regulatory mechanism is largely unknown. Here we show that a novel regulatory factor, named OsCEO1, acts as the conductor of endosperm organogenesis during the rice grain filling stage. The physiological properties of floury-endosperm-2 (flo2) mutants showed many similarities to symptoms of grains developed under high-temperature conditions, suggesting important roles of the responsible gene in sensitivity to high-temperature stress. Our map-based cloning identified the responsible gene for the flo2 mutant, OsCEO1, which has no homology to any genes of known function. The OsCEO1 belongs to a novel conserved gene family and encodes a protein composed of 1,720 amino acid residues containing a TPR (tetratricopeptide repeat) motif, which is considered to mediate a protein-protein interaction. The yeast two-hybrid analysis raised an unknown protein showing homology to a late embryogenesis abundant protein and a putative basic helix-loop-helix protein as candidates for the direct interactor for OsCEO1, whereas no enzyme genes for the synthesis of storage substances were detected. The flo2 mutant exhibited reduced expression of several genes for putative regulatory proteins as well as many enzymes involved in storage starch and proteins. These results suggest that OsCEO1 is a superior conductor of the novel regulatory cascade of endosperm organogenesis and may have important roles in the response to high-temperature stress.