Semi-Rolled Leaf2 modulates rice leaf rolling by regulating abaxial side cell differentiation

Moderate leaf rolling maintains the erectness of leaves and minimizes the shadowing between leaves which is helpful to establish ideal plant architecture. Here, we describe a srl2 (semi-rolled leaf2) rice mutant, which has incurved leaves due to the presence of defective sclerenchymatous cells on the abaxial side of the leaf and displays narrow leaves and reduced plant height. Map-based cloning revealed that SRL2 encodes a novel plant-specific protein of unknown biochemical function. SRL2 was mainly expressed in the vascular bundles of leaf blades, leaf sheaths, and roots, especially in their sclerenchymatous cells. The transcriptional activities of several leaf development-related YABBY genes were significantly altered in the srl2 mutant. Double mutant analysis suggested that SRL2 and SHALLOT-LIKE1 (SLL1)/ROLLED LEAF9 (RL9) function in distinct pathways that regulate abaxial-side leaf development. Hence, SRL2 plays an important role in regulating leaf development, particularly during sclerenchymatous cell differentiation.