Researchers identify two antagonistic genes involved in rice plant stem growth

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Scientists at Nagoya University and colleagues in Japan have found two antagonistic genes involved in rice plant stem growth which could lead to new methods for genetically modifying rice crops.

The research paper, “Antagonistic regulation of the gibberellic acid response during stem growth in rice,” was published in journal ‘Nature’.

“We showed that gibberellic acid is necessary, but not enough, for stem elongation,” says bioscientist Motoyuki Ashikari.

Interestingly, the two genes called ACE1 and DEC1 counteract each other as part of the regulation process.

The team is now planning to understand stem elongation at the molecular level by identifying factors that are related to ACE1 and DEC1 expression.