作者
Wenkang Chen,Lu Chen,Xuan Zhang,Ning Yang,Jianghua Guo,Min Wang,Shenghui Ji,Xiangyu Zhao,Pengfei Yin,Lichun Cai,Jing Xu,Lili Zhang,Yingjia Han,Yingni Xiao,Guanlong Xu,Yuebin Wang,Shuhui Wang,Shirley Wu,Fang Yang,David Jackson,Jinkui Cheng,Saihua Chen,Chuanqing Sun,Feng Qin,Feng Tian,Alisdair R. Fernie,Jiansheng Li,Jianbing Yan,Xiaohong Yang
摘要
A better understanding of the extent of convergent selection among crops could greatly improve breeding programs. We found that the quantitative trait locus KRN2 in maize and its rice ortholog, OsKRN2, experienced convergent selection. These orthologs encode WD40 proteins and interact with a gene of unknown function, DUF1644, to negatively regulate grain number in both crops. Knockout of KRN2 in maize or OsKRN2 in rice increased grain yield by ~10% and ~8%, respectively, with no apparent trade-offs in other agronomic traits. Furthermore, genome-wide scans identified 490 pairs of orthologous genes that underwent convergent selection during maize and rice evolution, and these were enriched for two shared molecular pathways. KRN2, together with other convergently selected genes, provides an excellent target for future crop improvement.