Fine Mapping and Cloning of the Novel Gene Qph-IAA30, which Simultaneously Affects the Plant Height, Panicle Length, Spikelet Number and Yield in Rice (Oryza Sativa L.)
Abstract Background: The plant height is one of the most important agronomic traits in rice (Oryza sativa L.), and the introduction of semidwarf rice led to record yield increases throughout Asia in the 1960s. Near-isogenic lines (NILs) are the most powerful tools for the detection and precise mapping of quantitative trait loci (QTLs).Results: In this study, 176 NILs were produced from the crossing and back-crossing of two rice cultivars. Specifically, Jiafuzhan, an indica rice cultivar, served as the recipient, and Hui1586, a restorer japonica cultivar, served as the donor. Using the 176 NILs, we identified a novel QTL for plant height in NIL36. First, we mapped the QTL to a 31-kb region between the markers Indel12-29 and Indel12-31. The rice genome annotation indicated the presence of three candidate genes in this region. Through gene prediction and cDNA sequencing, we confirmed that the target gene in NIL36 was Osiaa30, hereafter referred to as qPH-iaa30. Further analysis showed that qPH-iaa30 was produced by a 1-bp deletion in the first exon that resulted in the premature termination of OsIAA30. Knockout experiments showed that qPH-IAA30 was responsible for the plant height phenotype. Although qPH-IAA30 from Jiafuzhan showed a higher plant height, the plant also exhibited a longer panicle length, more spikelets and a higher yield. Taken together, our results demonstrate that qPH-IAA30 has good specific application prospects in future rice breeding.Conclusions: 176 NILs are produced from two rice cultivars, using the 176 NILs, a novel qPH-iaa30 for plant height is identified, and the qPH-IAA30 gene is responsible for the plant height phenotype.