Natural variation in Glume Coverage 1 causes naked grains in sorghum.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 35217660.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-022-28680-3 and PMC identifier 8881591.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
One of the most critical steps in cereal threshing is the ease with which seeds are detached from sticky glumes. Naked grains with low glume coverage have dramatically increased threshing efficiency and seed quality. Here, we demonstrate that GC1 (Glume Coverage 1), encoding an atypical G protein γ subunit, negatively regulates sorghum glume coverage. Naturally truncated variations of GC1 C-terminus accumulate at higher protein levels and affect the stability of a patatin-related phospholipase SbpPLAII-1. A strong positive selection signature around the GC1 genic region is found in the naked sorghum cultivars. Our findings reveal a crucial event during sorghum domestication through a subtle regulation of glume development by GC1 C-terminus variation, and establish a strategy for future breeding of naked grains.
Medical subject headings
- Sorghum