Rice OseIF6.1 encodes a eukaryotic translation initiation factor and is essential for the development of grain and anther

Hongming Guo; Jianqun Lv; Xiangwen Su; Liang Chen; Juansheng Ren; Liping Liu; Mingxin Ren; Song Liu; Mingli Dai; Guangjun Ren; Fangyuan Gao

doi:10.3389/fpls.2024.1366986

Rice OseIF6.1 encodes a eukaryotic translation initiation factor and is essential for the development of grain and anther

Front Plant Sci. 2024 Mar 21:15:1366986. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1366986. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Hongming Guo^{1

2}, Jianqun Lv^{1

2}, Xiangwen Su^{1

2}, Liang Chen³, Juansheng Ren^{1

2}, Liping Liu¹, Mingxin Ren¹, Song Liu^{1

2}, Mingli Dai¹, Guangjun Ren^{1

2}, Fangyuan Gao^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Environment-Friendly Crop Germplasm Innovation and Genetic Improvement Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Crop Research Institute, Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Chengdu, China.
² Key Laboratory of Tianfu Seed Industry Innovation (Co-construction by Ministry and Province), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Chengdu, China.
³ Xiamen Key Laboratory for Plant Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.

Abstract

The eIF6 proteins are distributed extensively in eukaryotes and play diverse and essential roles. The bona fide eIF6 protein in Arabidopsis, At-eIF6;1, is essential for embryogenesis. However, the role of eIF6 proteins in rice growth and development remains elusive and requires further investigation. Here, we characterized the functions of OseIF6.1, which is homologous to At-eIF6;1. OseIF6.1 encodes an eukaryotic translation initiation factor with a conserved eIF6 domain. The knockdown of OseIF6.1 resulted in a decrease in grain length and pollen sterility, whereas the overexpression of OseIF6.1 displayed opposite phenotypes. Further studies revealed that OseIF6.1 regulates grain shape by influencing cell expansion and proliferation. In addition, OseIF6.1 interacts with OsNMD3, which is a nuclear export adaptor for the 60S ribosomal subunit. The knockdown of OsNMD3 in plants exhibited reduced fertility and seed setting. Therefore, our findings have significantly enriched the current understanding of the role of OseIF6.1 in rice growth and development.

Keywords: OseIF6.1; eukaryotic translation initiation factor; grain shape; pollen sterility; seed setting.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This study was supported by grants from the Natural Science Foundation of Sichuan Province (2023NSFSC1277), the earmarked fund for China Agriculture Research System (CARS-01), Independent Innovation Transformation Project of Crop Research Institute of Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences (QNCX2301), the Independent Innovation Project of Sichuan Finance (2022ZZCX001), and the Original Innovation Program of Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences (YSCX2035-010).