Scientia Agricultura Sinica ›› 2026, Vol. 59 ›› Issue (16): 3509-3518.doi: 10.3864/j.issn.0578-1752.2026.16.004

• TILLAGE & CULTIVATION·PHYSIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY·AGRICULTURE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Ethylene and Gibberellin Synergistically Regulate Coleoptile Elongation in Rice

WU Bin1(), GE BingKun2, QIN TianYu2, XIAO GuiQing1(), QIN Hua2()   

  1. 1 College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128
    2 Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081
  • Received:2026-05-06 Accepted:2026-06-30 Online:2026-08-16 Published:2026-08-17
  • Contact: XIAO GuiQing, QIN Hua

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Abstract:

【Objective】 Ethylene and gibberellin are key phytohormones regulating rice coleoptile elongation, however, the interaction of ethylene and gibberellin in coleoptile elongation remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the molecular mechanism of ethylene and gibberellin in regulating coleoptile elongation.【Method】 This study utilized transgenic rice lines of the core components of ethylene and gibberellin signaling pathways as experimental materials. The coleoptile lengths were examined with or without different phytohormone treatments. The expression levels of downstream genes of OsEIN2/OsEIL2 were detected by RT-qPCR. Yeast two-hybrid and pull-down assays were further employed to verify the interaction between OsSLR1 and OsEIL2. 【Result】 Exogenous phytohormones treatment revealed that both ethylene and gibberellin promoted coleoptile elongation, and they exhibited a synergistic effect. Paclobutrazol (PAC, a GA biosynthesis inhibitor) treatment or overexpression of the gibberellin inactivation gene OsGA2ox3 weakened the promoting effect of ethylene on coleoptile elongation, whereas exogenous application of gibberellin partially relieved the 1-MCP (1-Methylcyclopropene) inhibited coleoptile elongation, indicating that ethylene and gibberellin shared a common regulatory pathway in controlling coleoptile elongation. Further studies revealed that OsSLR1, a negative regulator of gibberellin signaling, interacted with OsEIL2. Moreover, OsEIN2/OsEIL2-regulated genes, such as OsERF63, OsERF73, OsHKT2; 1 and OsGY1 were also regulated by OsSLR1. The OsSLR1 loss-of-function mutant slr1 exhibited a long coleoptile phenotype, and the promoting effect of ethylene on coleoptile elongation was further enhanced in slr1, suggesting that OsSLR1 was involved in ethylene-mediated coleoptile elongation and signal transduction. 【Conclusion】 In summary, this study revealed that OsSLR1 served as a crosstalk node for the synergistic regulation of coleoptile elongation by ethylene and gibberellin, and it interacted with OsEIL2 to co-regulate downstream signaling pathways and coleoptile elongation. This study not only enriched the understanding of the phytohormone interaction network in coleoptile growth, but also provided a theoretical basis and useful genes for the breeding of rice varieties suitable for direct seeding cultivation.

Key words: rice, coleoptile, ethylene, gibberellin, OsEIL2, OsSLR1

Fig. 1

Coleoptile length of NIP treated with different hormone treatments A: Coleoptile phenotypes of NIP treated with different hormones; B: Statistical analysis of coleoptile length. All significance symbols in the figure represent comparisons between each treatment group and the Mock group. *, ** and **** indicate significant differences at P<0.05, P<0.005 and P<0.001, respectively. The same as below"

Fig. 2

Ethylene promotes coleoptile elongation depending on ethylene signaling pathway A, B: Coleoptile phenotypes of EIN2 and EIL2 overexpression lines and mutants with or without ethylene treatment"

Fig. 3

Coleoptile length of EIN2 and EIL2 overexpression lines and mutants under GA3 or PAC treatment"

Fig. 4

Coleoptile length under ethylene and 1-MCP treatment A: Coleoptile phenotypes of ZH11 and OsGA2ox3 overexpression plants treated with ethylene; B: Statistical analysis of coleoptile length in ZH11 and OsGA2ox3 overexpression plants; C: Coleoptile phenotypes of WT and slr1 mutants treated with ethylene and 1-MCP; D: Statistical analysis of coleoptile length in WT and slr1 mutants"

Fig. 5

The interaction of EIL2 with SLR1 and the expression profiles of ethylene-responsive genes in different lines of EIN2, EIL2, and SLR1 A: Yeast two-hybrid assay confirms EIL2-SLR1 interaction; B: GST pull-down assay verifies their direct binding in vitro"

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