Tohru Yamagishi

Morphological development of rice caryopses located at the different positions in a panicle from early to middle stage of grain filling

Rice caryopses show different patterns of grain filling depending on position within a panicle. Caryopses located on the upper primary rachis branches generally accumulate larger amounts of starch at maturity than caryopses located on the secondary rachis branches of the lower primary rachis. In this study, the former and latter types of caryopses were defined as superior and inferior caryopses, respectively. Superior caryopses elongated soon after flowering, whereas inferior caryopses hardly elongated and were morphologically stagnant until the first 4 d after flowering (DAF). However, once inferior caryopses began elongation, their morphological development was the same as superior caryopses until the middle stage of grain filling. Cell division of the inner integument ceased before endosperm cellularization, pericarp functioned as a transient starch storage tissue until endosperm accumulated starch, and endosperm cell number was determined concomitantly with nucellus disintegration. These results implied the coordinated development of the endosperm with maternal tissues. In addition, differences of inner-integument cell number and endosperm cell number were related to a difference of endosperm size between superior and inferior caryopses.

Grain yield and related physiological characteristics of rice plants (Oryza sativa L.) inoculated with free-living Rhizobacteria

Abstract Experiments were conducted to elucidate the effects of the inoculation of a mixture of several free-living rhizobacteria; Azotobacter, Bacillus, Enterobacter and Xanthobacter which were collected and screened for the nitrogen-fixing ability in China, on nitrogen accumulation, growth and grain yield of rice plants. The inoculation of several bacterial species significantly increased acetylene-reducing activity in the roots of rice plants. The total dry matter yield, grain yield and nitrogen accumulation were increased by the bacterial inoculation by 6 to 13%, 15 to 18%, and 10 to 24%, respectively, in the experiments of 1997 and 1998. The increase of grain yield was associated with the increase of root length and leaf area, and also with the increase of chlorophyll content and photosynthetic rate during the grain-filling period. It was hypothesized that the inoculation of free-living rhizobacteria to rice plants led to increase of nitrogen accumulation in the plants, stimulation of the leaf photosynthesis particularly in the grain-filling stage resulting in the increased dry matter and grain yield.

Starch reduction in rice stems due to a lack of OsAGPL1 or OsAPL3 decreases grain yield under low irradiance during ripening and modifies plant architecture

Starch accumulated in rice (Oryza sativa L.) stems before heading as nonstructural carbohydrates (NSCs) is reported to be important for improving and stabilising grain yield. To evaluate the importance of stem starch, we investigated a retrotransposon (Tos17) insertion rice mutant lacking a gene encoding a large subunit of ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (AGP) called OsAGPL1 or OsAPL3. The AGP activity and starch contents of the mutant were drastically reduced in the stem (i.e. leaf sheath and culm) but not in the leaf blade or endosperm. This starch reduction in the leaf sheaths of the mutant was complemented by the introduction of wild-type OsAGPL1. These results strongly suggest that OsAGPL1 plays a principal role in stem starch accumulation. Field experimentations spanning 2 years revealed that the mutant plants were shorter than the wild-type plants. Moreover, the tiller number and angle were larger in the mutant plants than the wild-type plants, but the dry weight at heading stage was not different. The grain yield was slightly lower in control plots without shading treatment. However, this difference increased substantially with shading. Therefore, stem starch is indispensable for normal ripening under low irradiance conditions and probably contributes to the maintenance of appropriate plant architecture.

Temporal and Spatial Variations of Carbohydrate Content in Rice Leaf Sheath and Their Varietal Differences

Abstract In rice plant, carbohydrates accumulated in leaf sheaths before heading are translocated to grain and affect yield formation greatly. To clarify the intrinsic mechanism of carbohydrate metabolism in the leaf sheath, we investigated the temporal and spatial variations of carbohydrate metabolism in the third leaf sheath counted from the top and their varietal differences. The results revealed that the amount of carbohydrate decreased from the base to the tip of the leaf sheath, irrespective of variety and developmental stage. However, the proportion of starch content in the basal one-fifth of the leaf sheath to that in the whole sheath varied from 35% to 60% with the variety. Comparing the activities of enzymes related to starch metabolism at the base, middle and tip of the leaf sheath in IR65598-112-2 (New plant type) with those in Nipponbare, the activities of ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase, branching enzyme and granule-bound starch synthase (GBSS) showed varietal differences. Particularly, the activity of GBSS may play an important role in the varietal difference in spatial variation of starch content in the leaf sheath. In IR65598-112-2, the sucrose content in the leaf sheath was extremely high, suggesting that sucrose may be one of the carbohydrate reserves in this line.

The QTL Analysis of RuBisCO in Flag Leaves and Non-Structural Carbohydrates in Leaf Sheaths of Rice Using Chromosome Segment Substitution Lines and Backcross Progeny F2 Populations

Abstract In rice (Oryza sativa L.), the maintenance of high photosynthetic rate of flag leaves and the carbon remobilization from leaf sheaths after heading is a critical physiological component affecting the yield. To clarify the genetic basis of RuBisCO content of the flag leaf, a major determinant of photosynthetic rate, and non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) concentration in the third leaf sheath at heading, we carried out quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis with 39 Koshihikari/Kasalath chromosome segment substitution lines (CSSLs) and backcross progeny F2 population derived from target CSSL holding the QTL/Koshihikari in the field. QTLs for RuBisCO content and NSC concentration at heading were detected between R2447-C1286 and R2447-R716 on chromosome 10, respectively, by comparing Koshihikari with four CSSLs for chromosome 10 (SL-229, -230, -231 and -232). The progeny QTL for RuBisCO content and for NSC concentration at heading qRCH-10 and qNSCLSH-10-1, respectively, were detected at similar marker intervals between RM8201 and RM5708. In addition, QTLs for RuBisCO content at 14 d after heading, qRCAH-10-1 and qRCAH-10-2, were detected in regions different from that of qRCH-10. No QTL for NSC concentration at 14 d after heading was detected between RM8201 and R716, the region analyzed in this study. The QTLs qRCH-10 and qRCAH-10-1 for RuBisCO content would have additive effects. These QTLs for RuBisCO content and NSC concentration newly found using CSSLs and their backcross progeny F2 population should be useful for better understanding the genetic basis of source and temporary-sink functions in rice and for genetic improvement of Koshihikari in terms of their functions.

Contribution of Nitrogen Absorbed during Ripening Period to Grain Filling in a High-Yielding Rice Variety, Takanari

Absract High-yielding rice varieties require a large accumulation of N in panicles. The objectives of this study were to clarify the change in N allocation during the ripening period (Exp. 1) and to quantify the contribution of N absorbed during the ripening period to panicle N at maturity (Exp. 2) in the high-yielding variety Takanari in comparison with that in Nipponbare as a control. In Exp. 1, 15N-labeled N (15N) was applied at heading to investigate the distribution of newly absorbed N as well as the allocation of plant N. In Exp. 2, split 15N application was performed during the filling period to estimate the above contribution. In Exp. 1, the allocation of plant N and absorbed 15N to the panicles was larger and that to the leaves was smaller in Takanari than in Nipponbare during the ripening period, although Takanari accumulated more N at maturity. The difference in N allocation suggested that the difference in N demand in panicles would be larger than that in N uptake. In Exp. 2, the varietal difference in the grain filling duration was observed: Nipponbare accumulated little N in the panicles after 28 d after heading (DAH), while Takanari accumulated about a quarter of its panicle N during that time. An estimate showed that in Takanari, 13.5% of the panicle N was derived from N absorbed after 28 DAH. These results suggest that the utilization of newly absorbed N until a later period after heading is important for the achievement of high yields.

Identification of QTLs for Improvement of Plant Type in Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Using Koshihikari / Kasalath Chromosome Segment Substitution Lines and Backcross Progeny F2 Population

Abstract Thirty-nine chromosome segment substitution lines (CSSLs) population derived from a Koshihikari / Kasalath cross was used for quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis of plant type in rice (Oryza sativa L.). Putative rough QTLs (26.2∼60.3cM of Kasalath chromosomal segments) for culm length, plant height, panicle number, chlorophyll content of flag leaf blade at heading and specific leaf weight, were mapped on the several chromosomal segments based on the comparison of CSSLs with Koshihikari in the field experiment for 3 years. In order to verify and narrow QTLs detected in CSSLs, we conducted QTL analyses using F2 populations derived from a cross between Koshihikari and target CSSL holding a putative rough QTL. The qPN-2, QTL for panicle number was mapped on chromosome 2. In traits of flag leaf, the qCHL-4-1 and qCHL-4-2 for chlorophyll content was mapped on chromosome 4, and the qSLW-7 for specific leaf weight on chromosome 7. All QTLs were detected in narrow marker intervals, compared with rough QTLs in CSSLs. The qPN-2, qCHL-4-1 and qCHL-4-2 had only additive effect. On the other hand, the qSLW-7 showed over-dominance. It could be emphasized that QTL analysis in the present study with the combination of CSSLs and backcross progeny F2 population can not only verify the rough QTLs detected in CSSLs but also estimate allelic effects on the QTL.

Rice Cultivar Variation in the Growth Response to Inoculation of Free-Living Rhizobacteria

Our previous studies (Alam et aI., 2001) clearly showed that the growth of rice plants was significantly improved by inoculation of mix-cultured rhizobacteria. However, several studies (Garcia and Dobereiner, 1996; Smith et aI., 1984) showed that an inappropriate combination of bacteria and crop plant often resulted in a negative effect on the nitrogen accumulation and growth of the host plant. Moreover, a number experiments showed that the extent of the positive effect of the bacteria on nitrogen accumulation and crop growth varied with the species or variety of the host plant (Bouton and Brooks, 1982; Chanway et aI., 1988). The main objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of inoculating mix cultured free living rhizobacteria onto several rice cultivars including indica and japonica types of Oryza sativa, and Oryza glaberrima, on the nitrogenase activity and growth of the plant.