WENKANG CHEN, HTTPS://ORCID.ORG/0000-0001-7326-2595LU CHEN, HTTPS://ORCID.ORG/0000-0002-5701-9306XUAN ZHANG, HTTPS://ORCID.ORG/0000-0002-5731-7020NING YANG, HTTPS://ORCID.ORG/0000-0002-6354-3534JIANGHUA GUO, HTTPS://ORCID.ORG/0000-0002-2042-9002MIN WANG, HTTPS://ORCID.ORG/0000-0001-6874-4282SHENGHUI JI, HTTPS://ORCID.ORG/0000-0001-8465-907XXIANGYU ZHAO, HTTPS://ORCID.ORG/0000-0003-4897-6259PENGFEI YIN, HTTPS://ORCID.ORG/0000-0002-7556-9635LICHUN CAI, HTTPS://ORCID.ORG/0000-0003-2584-8713JING XU, HTTPS://ORCID.ORG/0000-0003-4907-8688LILI ZHANG, HTTPS://ORCID.ORG/0000-0002-9022-0327YINGJIA HAN, HTTPS://ORCID.ORG/0000-0003-2171-9199YINGNI XIAO, HTTPS://ORCID.ORG/0000-0001-6245-7805GEN XU, HTTPS://ORCID.ORG/0000-0001-5701-4751YUEBIN WANG, HTTPS://ORCID.ORG/0000-0003-2768-0264SHUHUI WANG, HTTPS://ORCID.ORG/0000-0003-3578-7838SHENG WU, HTTPS://ORCID.ORG/0000-0002-3749-7634FANG YANG, HTTPS://ORCID.ORG/0000-0002-1915-8874DAVID JACKSON ,HTTPS://ORCID.ORG/0000-0002-4269-7649JINKUI CHENG, HTTPS://ORCID.ORG/0000-0002-7484-0497SAIHUA CHEN, HTTPS://ORCID.ORG/0000-0003-0073-8446CHUANQING SUN, HTTPS://ORCID.ORG/0000-0002-3589-9058FENG QIN, HTTPS://ORCID.ORG/0000-0001-9134-4711FENG TIAN, HTTPS://ORCID.ORG/0000-0003-3552-4536ALISDAIR R. FERNIE, HTTPS://ORCID.ORG/0000-0001-9000-335XJIANSHENG LI, HTTPS://ORCID.ORG/0000-0001-6661-0221 JIANBING YAN HTTPS://ORCID.ORG/0000-0001-8650-7811 AND XIAOHONG YANG

SCIENCE • 25 Mar 2022 • Vol 375, Issue 6587

Abstract

A better understanding of the extent of convergent selection among crops could greatly improve breeding programs. We found that the quantitative trait locus KRN2 in maize and its rice ortholog, OsKRN2, experienced convergent selection. These orthologs encode WD40 proteins and interact with a gene of unknown function, DUF1644, to negatively regulate grain number in both crops. Knockout of KRN2 in maize or OsKRN2 in rice increased grain yield by ~10% and ~8%, respectively, with no apparent trade-offs in other agronomic traits. Furthermore, genome-wide scans identified 490 pairs of orthologous genes that underwent convergent selection during maize and rice evolution, and these were enriched for two shared molecular pathways. KRN2, together with other convergently selected genes, provides an excellent target for future crop improvement.

全文链接: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abg7985