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Journal of Integrative Agriculture
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CRISPR/Cas9-mediated SiYABBY1 mutagenesis enhances cleistogamy and seed number and size in foxtail millet (Setaria italica)

Lingqian Zhang1, 2*, Xuan Zhou1, 2*, Jiaxuan Hu1, 2, Hejing Wu1, 2, Xiangyang Yuan2, Xiaoqian Chu1, 2#, Jia-Gang Wang1, 2#

1 Shanxi HouJi Laboratory, College of Agriculture, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu 030801, China

2 Special Orphan Crops Research Center of the Loess Plateau, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs/College of Agriculture, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu 030801, China

 Highlights 

l CRISPR/Cas9-mediated SiYABBY1 (Seita.2G037900) mutagenesis enhances cleistogamy and increases seed number and size in foxtail millet.

l Overexpression of SiYABBY1 (Seita.2G037900) can significantly inhibit the normal growth and development of foxtail millet.

l Studying the molecular mechanism of SiYABBY1 will contribute to achieving the breeding goal of high yield. 

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摘要  

由于全球人口的持续增长、气候变化的加剧和农业用地面积的持续减少,提高作物产量已成为一项紧迫任务。谷子作为一种起源于中国的古老作物,与主要粮食作物相比,其产量仍有较大的提升空间。但目前关于调控谷子花序发育相关基因的研究仍较为有限。本研究结果表明,过表达SiYABBY1显著抑制了谷子的发育;而敲除该基因则可影响浆片大小,使72.8%的小穗表现为闭花授粉,同时引起穗部形态变化,最终使粒长增加11.27%–14.02%,小穗粒数增加31.16%–33.67%。本研究不仅为SiYABBY1在谷子花序发育中的作用提供了新的见解,也为优化谷子产量性状的遗传改良策略提供了重要的理论依据。



Online: 06 March 2026  
Fund: 

This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2023YFD1202702-6) and the "Youth Science and Technology Leadership Talent Training Program" of Shanxi Agricultural University, China (2025QNLJ203).

About author:  #Correspondence Jia-Gang Wang, E-mail: wjg@sxau.edu.cn; Xiaoqian Chu, E-mail: chuxiaoqian@sxau.edu.cn *Contributed equally to this work.

Cite this article: 

Lingqian Zhang, Xuan Zhou, Jiaxuan Hu, Hejing Wu, Xiangyang Yuan, Xiaoqian Chu, Jia-Gang Wang. 2026. CRISPR/Cas9-mediated SiYABBY1 mutagenesis enhances cleistogamy and seed number and size in foxtail millet (Setaria italica). Journal of Integrative Agriculture, Doi:10.1016/j.jia.2026.03.007

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