TGW1a locus simultaneously shortens growth duration and boosts grain yield in rice
Reconciling the trade-off between short growth duration and high grain yield is essential for enhancing annual rice yields. We found that qTGW1a , encoding a flowering locus T-like protein, controls heading and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) underpinning grain weight and yield in rice. TGW1a interacts with and stabilizes Ghd7 and Hd1 to boost NUE and grain yield. Natural variations in the promoter enable the ancestral allele TGW1a JZ to maintain an intermediate level of TGW1a transcription. By decoupling its linkage to the weak grain number regulator Gn1a JZ , TGW1a JZ conferred 3.67 to 8.67 days shorter growth duration and 4.22 to 11.00% higher grain yield in five modern cultivars and derived F 1 hybrids. This research uncovers a locus for breeding rice varieties featuring shorter growth durations and higher yields.
Authors
- Yichen Cheng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9881-0762)
- Jian Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2804-0162)
- Xiaohong Tong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6580-5358)
- Xinyong Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7302-2214)
- Yuxuan Hou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0830-4717)
- Jiezheng Ying (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8457-8405)
- Yibo Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8256-3901)
- Yu Cheng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-3303-9342)
- Yifeng Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5187-3755)
- Zhiyong Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1309-7732)
- Zhichao Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0630-821X)
- Guomin Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4729-518X)
- Man Yin
- Xin Ai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-0746-8222)
- Zhen Cheng
- Guanghao Li
- Guan Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7717-0003)
- Guanghao Li
- Jie Huang
Institutions
- China National Rice Research Institute (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Science
- Published
- 2026-08-20
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.ady1619
- Primary Topic
- Rice Cultivation and Yield Improvement
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province