Abstract
SummaryArgonaute (AGO) proteins and small RNAs (sRNAs) are core components of the RNA‐induced silencing complex (RISC). It has been reported that miRNAs regulate plant height and grain size in rice, but which AGO is involved in grain size regulation remains unclear. Here, we report that enhanced expression of OsAGO17, a putative AGO protein, could improve grain size and weight and promote stem development in rice. Cytological evidence showed that these effects are mainly caused by alteration of cell elongation. Expression analyses showed that OsAGO17 was highly expressed in young panicles and nodes, which was consistent with the expression pattern of OsmiR397b. SRNA sequencing, stem‐loop RT‐PCR and sRNA blotting showed that the expression of OsmiR397b was reduced in ago17 and enhanced in the OsAGO17 OE lines. Four OsmiR397b target laccase (LAC) genes showed complementary expression patterns with OsAGO17 and OsmiR397b. Combined with the results of immunoprecipitation (IP) analysis, we suggested that OsAGO17 formed an RISC with OsmiR397b and affected rice development by suppression of LAC expression. In conclusion, OsAGO17 might be a critical protein in the sRNA pathway and positively regulates grain size and weight in rice.
Highlights
Argonaute (AGO) proteins are widely distributed in eukaryotes and are the primary components of the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) (Hutvagner and Simard, 2008)
We investigated the expression pattern of OsAGO17 by multiple methods, and the results showed that OsAGO17 was a ubiquitously expressed gene, with the highest expression levels observed in stems, young panicles and young seeds
The results showed that OsAGO17 was highly expressed in young panicles and developing glumes (Figure 1B)
Summary
Argonaute (AGO) proteins are widely distributed in eukaryotes and are the primary components of the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) (Hutvagner and Simard, 2008). AGOs can function in both transcriptional and post-transcriptional gene silencing (Song et al, 2004) and have three main domains: PIWI, MID (middle) and PAZ. The catalytic PIWI domain has an RNase-Hlike fold, with three key metal-coordinating residues, Asp-AspGlu (DDH) (Hutvagner and Simard, 2008). AGOs cause RNA destabilization or sequestration and prevent targeted RNAs from producing proteins (Bartel, 2009). AGOs directly catalyse targeted RNA cleavage in all eukaryotes (Bartel, 2009; Song et al, 2004). In plants, AGOinduced RNA cleavage can be followed by either DNA methylation or heterochromatin restructuring (Law and Jacobsen, 2010)
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