Effects of Phosphate Starvation Responses Gene OsSQD2.1 on Growth in Rice

【Objective】This work aims at confirming the effects of gene OsSQD2.1, involved in phosphate starvation responses on rice growth so as to reveal its function. 【Method】The bioinformatics method was used to determine the OsSQD2.1 gene and its protein structure and the cis-acting elements on the OsSQD2.1 promoter. The expression of OsSQD2.1 under different deficiency conditions was measured by real-time PCR. For an insight into the effects of OsSQD2.1 on the growth and photosynthesis of transgenic plants, we determined the phenotype, phosphorus content and net photosynthetic rate of DNA insertion mutants and silencing interfering materials at different growth stages. 【Result】The coding region of the OsSQD2.1 gene is 3548 bp in length and it is located on chromosome 1, with 11 exons and 10 introns. OsSQD2.1 belongs to the glycosyltransferase family; OsSQD2.1 promoter contains multiple reported cis-acting elements responsive to phosphorus deficiency; OsSQD2.1 was induced by phosphorus deficiency and inhibited by sulfur deficiency. Compared with the wild type, the shoot length and primary root length during the vegetative growth period in the mutant or silencing materials were significantly lower than the wild type. During the reproductive growth, the plant height as well as 1000-grain weight of the mutant or silencing material was significantly lower than that of wild type, and there was no significant difference in seed setting rate; The total phosphorus contents in the leaves were not significantly different in the wild type under the phosphorus deficiency condition. In addition, the net photosynthetic rate of the seedling and mature mutants was significantly lower than that of the wild type, and it was presumed that OsSQD2.1 affected the net photosynthetic rate of rice. 【Conclusion】The results confirm that OsSQD2.1 is phosphorus deficiency-responsive and affects rice growth.