Molecular Plant
Volume 14, Issue 10, 4 October 2021, Pages 1699-1713
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Research Article
The RING E3 ligase CLG1 targets GS3 for degradation via the endosome pathway to determine grain size in rice

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molp.2021.06.027Get rights and content
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Abstract

G-protein signaling and ubiquitin-dependent degradation are both involved in grain development in rice, but how these pathways are coordinated in regulating this process is unknown. Here, we show that Chang Li Geng 1 (CLG1), which encodes an E3 ligase, regulates grain size by targeting the Gγ protein GS3, a negative regulator of grain length, for degradation. Overexpression of CLG1 led to increased grain length, while overexpression of mutated CLG1 with changes in three conserved amino acids decreased grain length. We found that CLG1 physically interacts with and ubiquitinats GS3which is subsequently degraded through the endosome degradation pathway, leading to increased grain size. Furthermore, we identified a critical SNP in the exon 3 of CLG1 that is significantly associated with grain size variation in a core collection of cultivated rice. This SNP results in an amino acid substitution from Arg to Ser at position 163 of CLG1 that enhances the E3 ligase activity of CLG1 and thus increases rice grain size. Both the expression level of CLG1 and the SNP CLG1163S may be useful variations for manipulating grain size in rice.

Key words

grain size
CLG1
GS3
E3 ligase
endosome

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Published by the Molecular Plant Shanghai Editorial Office in association with Cell Press, an imprint of Elsevier Inc., on behalf of CSPB and CEMPS, CAS.