The grain yield regulator NOG1 plays a dual role in latitudinal adaptation and cold tolerance during rice domestication
Xing Huo, Junyi Xiao, Xin
Peng, Yanhui Lin, Dilin Liu, Wuge Liu, Yilong Liao, Jinhua Li, Manshan Zhu, Chongyun
Fu, Xueqin Zeng, Xiaozhi Ma, Le Kong, and Feng Wang*
Frontiers in Genetics
Abstract
Rice originated in tropical and subtropical regions and is
distributed worldwide. Low temperature is one of the most critical abiotic
stresses affecting grain yield and geographical distribution of rice. It is
vital to elucidate the molecular mechanism of chilling tolerance in rice for
ensuring cereals production. Previously we isolated the domestication-related
gene NOG1 which affects rice grain number and yield. In this
study, we specified that rice varieties harboring high-yielding NOG1 allele are more distributed in low-latitude regions.
Additionally, we observed NOG1 influences the chilling tolerance of rice.
Through genome-wide transcriptional analysis after cold treatment at 10°C,
there were 717 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in nog1 near-isogenic lines compared with the control Guichao
2, including 432 up-regulated DEGs and 284 down-regulated DEGs. Gene ontology
annotations and KEGG enrichment analysis of DEGs showed that various biological
processes and signaling pathways were related to cold stress, such as lipid
metabolism and genetic information processing. These results provide new
insights into the mechanism of chilling tolerance in rice and the molecular
basis of environmental adaptation during rice domestication.
Keywords: NOG1, cold
stress, domestication, differentially expressed genes, RNA-seq
