–Rohit Bhattacharjee, Amity University, Kolkata.
The wheat and rice THOUSAND GRAIN WEIGHT 6 genes (TaTGW6 and OsTGW6, respectively) are reported in larger wheat and rice grains which are formed by reducing Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) production in developing grains. Although, a critical comparison of data on TaTGW6 and OsTGW6 with other reports on auxin synthesis in grains requires the hypothesis to be reinvestigated. This study reports that TaTGW6 and OsTGW6 are members of large gene families that have undergone major, lineage-specific gene expansion. Wheat has 9 genes and rice has 3 genes encoding for proteins with more than 80% amino acid identity with TGW6, making it difficult to contemplate how a single inactive allele could have a major effect on IAA levels. TGW6 is proposed to affect auxin levels by catalysing the IAA-glucose (IAA-Glc) hydrolysis.
Previous works on TGW6 showed maximal expression at 20 days after anthesis (DAA) in wheat and 2 DAA in rice. However, it was shown that neither of the genes was expressed in developing grains. Rather, TaTGW6, OsTGW6, and their close homologues are exclusively expressed in pre-emergence inflorescences. TaTGW6 is particularly expressed in microspores before mitosis. This combined with evidence for high IAA production levels from tryptophan in developing grain demonstrates TaTGW6 and OsTGW6 cannot regulate grain size via IAA-Glc hydrolysis. Instead, their similarity to rice strictosidine synthase-like 2 (OsSTRL2) indicates that they play a key role in pollen development.
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