OsSPL14 and OsNF-YB9/YC8-12 subunits cooperate to enhance grain appearance quality through promoting Waxy and PDIL1-1 expression in rice.

Authors

Yan Li, Xuelian Guo, Jiayi Song, Kun Xu, Tian Qin, Xianhua Zhang, Zhaojian Song, Yuchi He, Biaoming Zhang, Haitao Zhang, Haitao Li, Wenya Yuan

Published in

Plant communications. Pages 101348. May 02, 2025. Epub May 02, 2025.

Abstract

The identification of seed development-related regulators is critical for genetic improvement of yield and grain quality in cereal crops. SQUAMOSA PROMOTER BINDING PROTEIN-LIKE14 (OsSPL14) is a well-studied plant-specific transcription factor; however, its roles in controlling rice grain appearance quality and the underlying molecular mechanism are never remained. In this study, we demonstrate that OsSPL14 positively regulates the appearance quality by controlling grain chalkiness in rice. Genetic analysis revealed that knockdown or knockout of OsSPL14 resulted in a chalky grain phenotype, which could be attributed to significant defects in compound starch granules and notable changes in the content of both starch and protein in the endosperm. Transcript analysis identified a number of genes regulated by OsSPL14, including the key granule-bound starch synthase gene Waxy (Wx) and the protein disulfide isomerase-like enzyme encoding gene PDIL1-1. Both in vitro and in vivo assays demonstrated that OsSPL14 directly binds to the 'GTAC-box' motif of Wx and PDIL1-1 promoter to positively regulate their expression. Protein-protein interaction experiments further revealed that OsSPL14 interacts with the nuclear transcription factor Y (NF-Y) heterodimer OsNF-YB9/YC8-12 to promote the transcription of Wx and PDIL1-1, thereby positively influencing rice grain appearance quality. Our findings uncover a novel regulatory pathway for grain appearance quality controlled by OsSPL14, providing new insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying rice grain appearance quality, and may have great potential for rice genetic improvement.

PMID:
40319356
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 05 May 2025.

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