Fine mapping and in silico isolation of the EUI1 gene controlling upper internode elongation in rice

Upper internode elongation in rice is an important agronomic trait. Well-known mutants with an elongated uppermost internode (eui) are important germplasms for developing unsheathed-panicle male-sterile lines in hybrid rice breeding. We finely mapped the eui1 gene and identified its candidate gene using in silico analysis based on previous research work and rice genomic sequence data. The rice eui1 gene was mapped to two overlapping BAC clones, OSJNBa0095J22 and OSJNBb0099O15, between the markers AC40 and AC46, that were 0.64 cM apart and spanned approximately 152 kb. A simple sequence repeat (SSR) marker AC41 that cosegregated with eui1 was located in an intron of a putative cytochrome P450-related gene. In silico analysis suggested that this encoded the cytochrome CYP714D1. Allelic sequencing confirmed that EUI1 corresponded to this P450 gene. A gamma ray-induced eui1 mutant carried a deletion in exon II of the EUI1 gene, and resulted in a frame-shift deletion that produced a truncated polypeptide. We conclude that the EUI1 gene controlling the upper internode elongation in rice is 9,804 bp long, and comprises two exons and one intron. The length of the cDNA is 1,931 bp containing a 1,734 bp ORF, a 110 bp 5'-UTR and a 87 bp 3'-UTR. The ORF encodes an unknown 577 amino acid functional protein, that appears to be a member of the cytochrome P450 family.