Coordinated regulation of vegetative and reproductive branching in rice

Significance The patterns of lateral branching, including tillers and inflorescence branches, determine grain yields of many cereals. In this study, we characterized a regulatory network composed of microRNAs and transcription factor that coordinately regulate vegetative (tiller) and reproductive (panicle) branching in rice. The findings hold tremendous promise for application in rice genetic improvement and may also have general implications for understanding branching regulation of grasses.