Semidwarf ( sd-1 ), “green revolution” rice, contains a defective gibberellin 20-oxidase gene

Abstract

The introduction of semidwarf rice ( Oryza sativa L.) led to record yield increases throughout Asia in the 1960s. The major semidwarfing allele, sd-1 , is still extensively used in modern rice cultivars. The phenotype of sd-1 is consistent with dwarfism that results from a deficiency in gibberellin (GA) plant growth hormones. We propose that the semidwarf ( sd-1 ) phenotype is the result of a deficiency of active GAs in the elongating stem arising from a defective 20-oxidase GA biosynthetic enzyme. Sequence data from the rice genome was combined with previous mapping studies to locate a putative GA 20-oxidase gene (Os20ox2) at the predicted map location of sd-1 on chromosome 1. Two independent sd-1 alleles contained alterations within Os20ox2: a deletion of 280 bp within the coding region of Os20ox2 was predicted to encode a nonfunctional protein in an indica type semidwarf (Doongara), whereas a substitution in an amino acid residue (Leu-266) that is highly conserved among dioxygenases could explain loss of function of Os20ox2 in a japonica semidwarf (Calrose76). The quantification of GAs in elongating stems by GC-MS showed that the initial substrate of GA 20-oxidase activity (GA 53 ) accumulated, whereas the content of the major product (GA 20 ) and of bioactive GA 1 was lower in semidwarf compared with tall lines. We propose that the Os20ox2 gene corresponds to the sd-1 locus.