A scientific team led by professor Qian Qian of China National Rice Research Institute, CAAS has succeeded in their research on the molecular characterization of DEP1, a major rice grain yield quantitative trait loci (QTL) that acts through the determination of panicle architecture.

Grain yield is controlled by quantitative trait loci (QTLs) derived from natural variations in many crop plants. The effect of this allele is to enhance meristematic activity, resulting in a reduced length of the inflorescence internode, an increased number of grains per panicle and a consequent increase in grain yield. Dr. Qian’s team separated DEP1 from the “Shennong No 265” rice variety grown in northeast China after 5-year uphill research. This allele is common to many Chinese high-yielding rice varieties. The research team tested over 200 rice varieties and identified DEP1 natural variation in high yield rice with erect and semi-erect panicle types grown in northeast China and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River basin. This indicates the importance of DEP1 in the high yield of rice and it is likely that this allel can be introduced into the gene pool for rice breeding, which means the yield increase can be realized through transgenic improvement and molecular marker-assisted breeding. 

The team also finds that a functionally equivalent allele is present in the temperate cereals and seems to have arisen before the divergence of the wheat and barley lineages.

The research is jointly carried out by the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and College of Life Sciences, Shandong University. The research paper is published by Nature Genetics on-line version, March 22, 2009.