Identification of Rice Leaf Width Gene FLW11 Through Genome-Wide Association Study and Functional Analysis

doi:10.1016/j.rsci.2025.06.004

Rice Science ›› 2025, Vol. 32 ›› Issue (6): 756-760.DOI: 10.1016/j.rsci.2025.06.004

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Identification of Rice Leaf Width Gene FLW11 Through Genome-Wide Association Study and Functional Analysis

Yang Yulu¹, Zhang Yanfang¹^,², Liu Xiong¹, Zhang Lihua¹^,³, Huang Jingfen³, Shen Lixing¹, Zhao Huibo¹^,³, Shen Lan¹, Zhang Qiang¹^,³, Zhu Li¹^,³, Hu Jiang¹^,³, Ren Deyong¹, Gao Zhenyu¹, Dong Guojun¹^,³, Qiao Weihua³, Qian Qian¹^,³(), Zhang Guangheng¹^,³()

¹State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding, China National Rice Research Institute, Hangzhou 310006, China
²College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang Normal University, Hangzhou 321004, China
³Academician Workstation, National Nanfan Research Institute (Sanya), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Sanya 572024, China

Received:2025-03-01 Accepted:2025-06-13 Online:2025-11-28 Published:2025-12-04
Contact: Zhang Guangheng (zhangguangheng@126.com);Qian Qian (qianqian@hotmail.com)
About author:First author contact:^#These authors contributed equally to this work

Abstract

Yang Yulu, Zhang Yanfang, Liu Xiong, Zhang Lihua, Huang Jingfen, Shen Lixing, Zhao Huibo, Shen Lan, Zhang Qiang, Zhu Li, Hu Jiang, Ren Deyong, Gao Zhenyu, Dong Guojun, Qiao Weihua, Qian Qian, Zhang Guangheng. Identification of Rice Leaf Width Gene FLW11 Through Genome-Wide Association Study and Functional Analysis[J]. Rice Science, 2025, 32(6): 756-760.

Figures/Tables 1

Fig. 1. Fine mapping of qFLW11 in near-isogenic lines (NILs) and functional analysis of FLW11. A, Fine mapping of qFLW11 on chromosome (Chr.) 11 in NILs (H1-H8). NPB, Nipponbare; Y476, Wild rice (Oryza rufipogon). FLW, Flag leaf width. B, Phenotypes (above) and FLW (below) of NIL-FLW11Y476-90, NIL-FLW11Y476-94, NIL-FLW11NPB-81, and NIL-FLW11NPB-111 (NIL-FLW11Y476-90 and NIL-FLW11Y476-94 lines containing the Y476 fragment in the qFLW11 interval, while NIL-FLW11NPB-81 and NIL-FLW11NPB-111 lines containing the NPB fragment in the qFLW11 interval). Scale bars, 10 cm (above) and 2 cm (below). C, Phenotypes of wild type Zhonghua 11 (ZH11) and knockout mutants (FLW11-KO-1 and FLW11-KO-2) at the heading stage. Scale bar, 30 cm. D and E, FLW of ZH11, FLW11-KO-1, and FLW11-KO-2. Scale bar, 1 cm. In E, data are mean ± SD (n = 10). Differences between ZH11and FLW11-KO were analyzed using the Student’s t-test. ns, P > 0.05; *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01. F, Cross section of leaves of ZH11, FLW11-KO-1, and FLW11-KO-2 under blue fluorescence with a light-emitting diode wavelength of 470 nm. Scale bars, 200 μm. The red arrow indicates the small vascular bundle. G-I, The number of large vascular bundles (G), distance between large vascular bundles (H), and the number of small vascular bundles (I) for ZH11 and FLW11-KO (FLW11-KO-1 and FLW11-KO-2). Data are mean ± SD (n = 10). Differences between ZH11 and FLW11-KO were analyzed using the Student’s t-test. ns, P > 0.05; *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01. J, High-density gene-based association analysis and linkage disequilibrium heat map of local Manhattan map, around the peak on chromosome 11. K, Haplotype analysis and genetic structure map of FLW11. L and M, FLW (L) and yield per plant (M) in different FLW11 haplotypes. Data are mean ± SD (n > 50). Significant differences among Hap1, Hap2, and Hap3 were determined by one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s post hoc test. ns, P > 0.05; *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01.

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Identification of Rice Leaf Width Gene FLW11 Through Genome-Wide Association Study and Functional Analysis

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