A transgenic approach to controlling wheat seed dormancy level by using Triticeae DOG1-like genes

Seed dormancy is an important agronomic trait: low levels can cause premature germination, while too much can inhibit uniform germination. As an approach to controlling the seed dormancy level in crops, we used Triticeae DOG1-like genes as transgenes. DOG1 is an Arabidopsis gene that underlies natural variation in seed dormancy. We previously showed that although their sequence similarities to DOG1 were low, some cereal DOG1-like genes enhanced seed dormancy in Arabidopsis. Here, we introduced two DOG1-like genes, TaDOG1L4 from wheat and HvDOG1L1 from barley, individually into the wheat cultivar Fielder. Their overexpression under the control of a maize ubiquitin promoter enhanced the seed dormancy level while leaving other traits unchanged. TaDOG1L4 was more effective than HvDOG1L1, which accords with the previously revealed difference in the effectiveness of these two genes in Arabidopsis seed dormancy. Knockdown of endogenous TaDOG1L4 in Fielder using double-strand RNA interference decreased the seed dormancy level by several tens of percent. This result indicates that some degree of seed dormancy inherent in wheat is imparted by DOG1-like genes.