6月24日，《Nature Genetics》在线发表了中国科学院遗传与发育生物学研究所傅向东研究员、华南农业大学张桂权教授和中国水稻研究所钱前研究员合作的最新科研成果。这篇题为“Control of grain size, shape and quality by OsSPL16 in rice ”的论文报道了科学家们在研究水稻品种“ Basmati ”时，发现一个与稻米品质有关基因——GW8。该基因同时影响水稻品质和产量，将它应用到新品种选育中，能让稻米变得更为细长，还会影响米粒色泽、米粒中淀粉粒的排列和结构等特性，提高稻米在外观、口感等多方面的品质。

进一步研究又发现，在中国大面积种植的一些高产水稻中也含有这个基因，只不过这些水稻中含有的是GW8基因的另一个变异类型，其主要作用不是影响品质，而是促进细胞分裂，从而增加米粒重量，提高产量。

试验结果表明，将新GW8基因变异类型引入水稻品种“Basmati ”后，可以在保证优质的基础上提高产量14％；而在将它引入中国高产水稻后，可以在保证产量不减的基础上显著提升稻米品质。

论文摘要：

Grain size and shape are important components of grain yield and quality and have been under selection since cereals were first domesticated. Here, we show that a quantitative trait locus GW8 is synonymous with OsSPL16, which encodes a protein that is a positive regulator of cell proliferation. Higher expression of this gene promotes cell division and grain filling, with positive consequences for grain width and yield in rice. Conversely, a loss-of-function mutation in Basmati rice is associated with the formation of a more slender grain and better quality of appearance. The correlation between grain size and allelic variation at the GW8 locus suggests that mutations within the promoter region were likely selected in rice breeding programs. We also show that a marker-assisted strategy targeted at elite alleles of GS3 and OsSPL16 underlying grain size and shape can be effectively used to simultaneously improve grain quality and yield.

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