Comprehensive epigenome and transcriptome analysis of carbon reserve remobilization in indica and japonica rice stems under moderate soil drying

Guanqun Wang, Xiaozheng Li, Yongqiang Li, Nenghui Ye, Haoxuan Li*, Jianhua Zhang*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Moderate soil drying (MD) imposed at the post-anthesis stage significantly improves carbon reserve remobilization in rice stems, increasing grain yield. However, the methylome and transcriptome profiles of carbon reserve remobilization under MD are obscure in indica and japonica rice stems. Here, we generated whole-genome single-base resolution maps of the DNA methylome in indica and japonica rice stems. DNA methylation levels were higher in indica than in japonica and positively correlated with genome size. MD treatment had a weak impact on the changes in methylation levels in indica. Moreover, the number of differentially methylated regions was much lower in indica, indicating the existence of cultivar-specific methylation patterns in response to MD during grain filling. The gene encoding β-glucosidase 1, involved in the starch degradation process, was hypomethylated and up-regulated in indica, resulting in improved starch to sucrose conversion under MD treatment. Additionally, increased expression of MYBS1 transactivated the expression of AMYC2/OsAMY2A in both indica and japonica, leading to enhanced starch degradation under MD. In contrast, down-regulated expression of MYB30 resulted in increased expression of BMY5 in both cultivars. Our findings decode the dynamics of DNA methylation in indica and japonica rice stems and propose candidate genes for improving carbon reserve remobilization.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1384-1398
Number of pages15
JournalJournal of Experimental Botany
Volume72
Issue number4
Early online date1 Nov 2020
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 24 Feb 2021

Scopus Subject Areas

  • Physiology
  • Plant Science

User-Defined Keywords

  • Carbon reserve
  • DNA methylation
  • grain filling
  • Indica
  • japonica
  • soil drying
  • transcriptome

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