Rice leaf hydrophobicity and gas films are conferred by a wax synthesis gene (LGF1) and contribute to flood tolerance

TY - JOUR

T1 - Rice leaf hydrophobicity and gas films are conferred by a wax synthesis gene (LGF1) and contribute to flood tolerance

AU - Kurokawa, Yusuke

AU - Nagai, Keisuke

AU - Hung, Phung Danh

AU - Shimazaki, Kousuke

AU - Qu, Huangqi

AU - Mori, Yoshinao

AU - Toda, Yusuke

AU - Kuroha, Takeshi

AU - Hayashi, Nagao

AU - Aiga, Saori

AU - Itoh, Jun-ichi

AU - Yoshimura, Atsushi

AU - Sasaki-Sekimoto, Yuko

AU - Ohta, Hiroyuki

AU - Shimojima, Mie

AU - Malik, Al Imran

AU - Pedersen, Ole

AU - Colmer, Timothy David

AU - Ashikari, Motoyuki

N1 - © 2018 The Authors New Phytologist © 2018 New Phytologist Trust.

PY - 2018/6

Y1 - 2018/6

N2 - Floods impede gas (O2and CO2) exchange between plants and the environment. A mechanism to enhance plant gas exchange under water comprises gas films on hydrophobic leaves, but the genetic regulation of this mechanism is unknown. We used a rice mutant (dripping wet leaf 7, drp7) which does not retain gas films on leaves, and its wild-type (Kinmaze), in gene discovery for this trait. Gene complementation was tested in transgenic lines. Functional properties of leaves as related to gas film retention and underwater photosynthesis were evaluated. Leaf Gas Film 1 (LGF1) was identified as the gene determining leaf gas films. LGF1 regulates C30 primary alcohol synthesis, which is necessary for abundant epicuticular wax platelets, leaf hydrophobicity and gas films on submerged leaves. This trait enhanced underwater photosynthesis 8.2-fold and contributes to submergence tolerance. Gene function was verified by a complementation test of LGF1 expressed in the drp7 mutant background, which restored C30 primary alcohol synthesis, wax platelet abundance, leaf hydrophobicity, gas film retention, and underwater photosynthesis. The discovery of LGF1 provides an opportunity to better understand variation amongst rice genotypes for gas film retention ability and to target various alleles in breeding for improved submergence tolerance for yield stability in flood-prone areas.

AB - Floods impede gas (O2and CO2) exchange between plants and the environment. A mechanism to enhance plant gas exchange under water comprises gas films on hydrophobic leaves, but the genetic regulation of this mechanism is unknown. We used a rice mutant (dripping wet leaf 7, drp7) which does not retain gas films on leaves, and its wild-type (Kinmaze), in gene discovery for this trait. Gene complementation was tested in transgenic lines. Functional properties of leaves as related to gas film retention and underwater photosynthesis were evaluated. Leaf Gas Film 1 (LGF1) was identified as the gene determining leaf gas films. LGF1 regulates C30 primary alcohol synthesis, which is necessary for abundant epicuticular wax platelets, leaf hydrophobicity and gas films on submerged leaves. This trait enhanced underwater photosynthesis 8.2-fold and contributes to submergence tolerance. Gene function was verified by a complementation test of LGF1 expressed in the drp7 mutant background, which restored C30 primary alcohol synthesis, wax platelet abundance, leaf hydrophobicity, gas film retention, and underwater photosynthesis. The discovery of LGF1 provides an opportunity to better understand variation amongst rice genotypes for gas film retention ability and to target various alleles in breeding for improved submergence tolerance for yield stability in flood-prone areas.

U2 - 10.1111/nph.15070

DO - 10.1111/nph.15070

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 29498045

SN - 0028-646X

VL - 218

SP - 1558

EP - 1569

JO - New Phytologist

JF - New Phytologist

IS - 4

ER -