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Journal of Integrative Agriculture  2026, Vol. 25 Issue (10): 3941-3950    DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2026.06.019
Special Focus: Advancing China–Africa Agricultural Science and Technology Cooperation: Innovation and Pathways Advanced Online Publication | Current Issue | Archive | Adv Search |
The African rice gene OgGS3.2 enhances grain size in Asian rice

Wei He, Linhua Wu, Bin Gao, Wenkai Luo, Jing Ning, Leqin Chang, Min Hu, Liang Luo, Wenguang Wu#, Zuofeng Zhu#

Frontiers Science Center for Molecular Design Breeding, Ministry of Education/State Key Laboratory of Maize Bio-breeding/National Center for Evaluation of Agricultural Wild Plants (Rice)/Department of Plant Genetics and Breeding, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China

 Highlights 
● A single nucleotide substitution (A→G) in OgGS3.2, an ortholog of OsSLR1 cloned from Oryza glaberrima, was identified as the causal mutation conferring increased grain size.
● A single-segment introgression line (NIL2) carrying a ~2 Mb fragment from O. glaberrima exhibited a 16% yield increase without pleiotropic effects, providing a valuable genetic resource for rice breeding.
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摘要  

将近缘物种的基因组片段导入作物是丰富遗传多样性、创制新种质的有效途径。非洲栽培稻(Oryza glaberrima)作为两个栽培稻种之一,是改良亚洲栽培稻(O. sativa)的宝贵遗传资源。粒型是决定水稻产量的关键因素。本研究鉴定了一个携带非洲栽培稻单一染色体片段的渗入系。与轮回亲本相比,该渗入系的籽粒显著增大,而其他农艺性状未受明显影响。通过图位克隆,从该片段上鉴定到粒型基因 OgGS3.2,其是 OsSLR1的同源基因。进一步分析表明,OgGS3.2中的一个单核苷酸替换为导致籽粒增大的关键变异。单倍型分析显示,绝大多数非洲栽培稻种质在 GS3.2位点携带 G 类单倍型。本研究揭示了 OgGS3.2调控粒型的分子机制,并为提高栽培稻产量提供了策略性遗传资源。



Abstract  

Introducing genomic segments from related species into crops is an effective approach to enrich genetic diversity and create novel germplasm.  African cultivated rice (Oryza glaberrima), one of the two cultivated rice species, represents a valuable genetic resource for improving Asian cultivated rice (O. sativa).  Grain size/weight is among the most important components of grain yield in rice.  In this study, we isolated a chromosome segment introgression line harboring a single segment derived from O. glaberrima.  Compared to the recurrent parent, this line displayed a significant increase in grain size, whereas other agronomic traits were not significantly affected.  Using map-based cloning, we identified OgGS3.2 from this fragment as an ortholog of OsSLR1.  A single nucleotide substitution in OgGS3.2 was identified as the causal mutation underlying the increased seed size phenotype.  Haplotype analysis revealed that the vast majority of African rice germplasm carries the G haplotype at the GS3.2 locus.  This study reveals the molecular mechanism by which OgGS3.2 regulates grain size and offers strategic genetic resources for yield improvement in cultivated rice.

Keywords:  Oryza glaberrima        Oryza sativa L.       grain size       chromosome segment introgression lines  
Received: 04 March 2026   Accepted: 19 May 2026 Online: 11 June 2026  
Fund: 

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32261143756 and 31925029) and the Chinese Universities Scientific Fund (2024TC195).  

About author:  #Correspondence Zuofeng Zhu, E-mail: zhuzf@cau.edu.cn; Wenguang Wu, E-mail: wuwenguang@cau.edu.cn

Cite this article: 

Wei He, Linhua Wu, Bin Gao, Wenkai Luo, Jing Ning, Leqin Chang, Min Hu, Liang Luo, Wenguang Wu, Zuofeng Zhu. 2026. The African rice gene OgGS3.2 enhances grain size in Asian rice. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 25(10): 3941-3950.

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