The rice TRIANGULAR HULL1 protein acts as a transcriptional repressor in regulating lateral development of spikelet

As a basic unit of rice inflorescence, spikelet has profound influence on grain size, weight and yield. The molecular mechanism underlying spikelet development has not been fully elucidated. Here, we identified four allelic rice mutants, s2-89, xd151, xd281 and xd425, which exhibited reduced width of spikelet, especially in the apical region. Map-based cloning revealed that all these mutants had missense mutation in the TRIANGULAR HULL1 (TH1) gene, encoding an ALOG family protein. TH1 has been shown to regulate the lateral development of spikelet, but its mode of action remains unclear. Microscopic analysis revealed that the reduction in spikelet width was caused by decreased cell size rather than cell division. The TH1 protein was shown to localize in the nucleus and possess transcriptional repression activity. TH1 could form a homodimer and point mutation in the s2-89, xd281 and xd425 mutant inhibited homodimerization. The transcriptional repression activity of TH1 was partially relieved by the His129Tyr substitution in the s2-89 mutant. Fusion of an exogenous EAR transcription suppression domain to the mutant protein TH1(s2-89) could largely complemented the narrow spikelet phenotype. These results indicate that TH1 functions as a transcription repressor and regulates cell expansion during the lateral development of spikelet.