Foreign Media: Chinese Scientists Crack the "Longevity Gene" of Wild Rice, Paving the Way for Perennial Crop Breeding.
A team from the Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, analyzed 446 wild rice germplasm resources and found that certain wild rice varieties do not die after seed maturation, but instead continuously produce new branches from the axillary buds, take root when they fall to the ground, forming new plants, exhibiting a clonal perennial growth habit.
The research team identified a key genomic region and named it EBT1, which contains two tandemly arranged microRNA genes, MIR156B and MIR156C. These two genes act as the "senescence switch" in plants, reactivating in the axillary buds after wild rice flowers, achieving vegetative reproduction and continuous growth.
This study provides important genetic resources for cultivating perennial rice that can be planted once and harvested multiple times, helping to reduce agricultural production costs and soil erosion, especially suitable for planting on sloped and hilly areas.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1860255954891786/
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