Natural variation indetermines fatty acid components and seed longevity in rice

Source: PubMed Central Open Access, NCBI / U.S. National Library of Medicine

Seed longevity (SL) is vital for ensuring food security worldwide. However, the genetic basis of SL has been scarcely documented. Here, we report the cloning of a major SL locus,, encoding a fatty acyl-ACP thioesterase type B. SL6 is functionally conserved in regulating palmitic acid synthesis in seeds, conferring higher oxidation durability and SL in various species. Through the VP1-module, a seed desiccation–derived ABA signal is transmitted via VP1, which directly activatestranscription to alter the fatty acid composition and elevate SL in seeds. The ancestral elite alleleharbors a virus-derived CT-rich motif-element in the 5′UTR, which serves as a universal, bidirectional mRNA stabilizer, contributing to the divergence betweenandin terms of SL. Moreover, manipulatingexpression via marker-assisted selection or transgenic approaches notably improved SL in rice cultivars and Fhybrids without affecting major agronomic traits. Our findings provided a promising genetic locus for improving SL in rice.