Oryza sativa Cytochrome P450 Family Member OsCYP96B4 Reduces Plant Height in a Transcript Dosage Dependent Manner

BACKGROUND: Plant cytochromes P450 are involved in a wide range of biosynthetic reactions and play various roles in plant development. However, little is known about the biological functions of the subfamily CYP96 in plants. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here, we report a novel semi-dwarf rice mutant, in which a single copy of transposon dissociator (Ds) was inserted into the gene OsCYP96B4 (Oryza sativa Cytochrome P450 96B4). The mutant exhibits the defects in cell elongation and pollen germination, which can be complemented by the wild type OsCYP96B4 and be rescued by remobilization of the Ds element with the presence of the transposase Activator (Ac). Transgenic plants harboring OsCYP96B4 double-stranded RNA interference construct mimicked the mutant phenotype. The oscyp96b4 mutant phenotype could not be rescued by all the tested phytohormones and it was found that OsCYP96B4 reduced plant height in a transcript dosage dependent manner. Heterologous expression of OsCYP96B4 in Schizosaccharomyces pombe resulted in missegregation and wider cells. Further investigation showed that the mutant exhibited the defects in the metabolism of some lipid molecular species when compared with the wild type. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The oscyp96b4 mutant is a novel rice semi-dwarf mutant. Our data suggest that OsCYP96B4 might be involved in lipid metabolism and regulate cell elongation.