Constitutive Activation OsbZIP62 Improves Plant Height and Yield through Regulating the Expression of Agronomic Traits Related Genes in Rice.

Plant height is an important morphological trait that affects crop yield. Several genes related to plant height and yield have been reported in rice (Oryza sativa L.), however, the molecular mechanism underlying the regulation of these traits is still not completely understood. VP64 is widely used as a transcriptional activator to investigate the biological function of genes encoding transcription factors. Here, we identified a novel bZIP transcription factor OsbZIP62 that is involved in modulating agronomic traits in rice. Overexpression of OsbZIP62-VP64 (Osb-ZIP62V) significantly increases the plant height and yield per plant in rice. RNA-seq analysis showed that some plant height and panicle development related genes (i.e., OsEATB, OsDSS1 and OsGA3ox2) were up-regulated in OsbZIP62V overexpressing rice plants. Besides, OsbZIP62 could also bind to the promoters of several putative target genes. These results suggested that OsbZIP62 plays a role as transcriptional regulator in regulating the expression of genes associated with agronomic traits, and OsbZIP62 fused with VP64 would be useful in crop genetic modification with improved plant architecture and yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]