Gibberellic Acid: A Key Phytohormone for Spikelet Fertility in Rice Grain Production

  • Int J Mol Sci. 2016 May 23;17(5):794. doi: 10.3390/ijms17050794.
Choon-Tak Kwon  1 ,  Nam-Chon Paek  2  3
Affiliations
  • 1. Department of Plant Science, Plant Genomics and Breeding Institute, and Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-921, Korea. [email protected].
  • 2. Department of Plant Science, Plant Genomics and Breeding Institute, and Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-921, Korea. [email protected].
  • 3. Crop Biotechnology Institute, GreenBio Science and Technology, Seoul National University, Pyeongchang 232-916, Korea. [email protected].
PMID: 27223278 DOI: 10.3390/ijms17050794
Abstract

The Phytohormone gibberellic acid (GA) has essential signaling functions in multiple processes during plant development. In the "Green Revolution", breeders developed high-yield rice cultivars that exhibited both semi-dwarfism and altered GA responses, thus improving grain production. Most studies of GA have concentrated on germination and cell elongation, but GA also has a pivotal role in floral organ development, particularly in stamen/anther formation. In rice, GA signaling plays an important role in spikelet fertility; however, the molecular genetic and biochemical mechanisms of GA in male fertility remain largely unknown. Here, we review recent progress in understanding the network of GA signaling and its connection with spikelet fertility, which is tightly associated with grain productivity in cereal crops.

Keywords
gibberellin signaling; grain productivity; rice; spikelet fertility; stamen/anther development.
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