Modulation of F1 hybrid stature without altering parent plants through trans-activated expression of a mutated rice GAI homologue

Hybrid breeding, by taking advantage of heterosis, brings about many superior properties to the F1 progeny. However, some properties, such as increased plant height, are not desirable for agronomic purposes. To specifically counter the height increase associated with hybrid progeny, we employed an Arabidopsis model and tested a trans-activation system for specifically expressing a mutated GAI gene only in the F1 hybrid plants to reduce plant stature. A transcriptional activator, the Gal4 DNA-binding domain fused to the acidic activation domain of herpes simplex virus VP16 protein, driven by a maize ubiquitin promoter, was introduced in one parental line. A rice GAI homologue with an N-terminal deletion of the DELLA domain, driven by a promoter that is responsive to the transcriptional activator, was transferred into another parental line. After genetic crossing, trans-activation of the GAI mutant gene resulted in a dwarf phenotype. Over 50 pair-wise crosses between the parental lines were performed, and analyses suggested that the percentage of F1 progeny exhibiting dwarfism ranged from about 25% to 100%. Furthermore, the dwarfism trait introduced in F1 progeny did not seem to affect total seed yield. Our result suggests the feasibility of manipulating F1 hybrid progeny traits without affecting parent plants or the agronomic property of the progeny.