Abstract
Inferior spikelets usually exhibit a slower grain filling rate and lower grain weight than superior spikelets in a rice (Oryza sativa L.) panicle. This study investigated whether the variations in grain filling between the two kinds of spikelets were attributed to their sink strength and whether the sink strength was regulated by the hormonal levels in the grains. Using two field-grown rice genotypes, the division rate of endosperm cells, hormonal levels in the grains, and grain weight of both superior and inferior spikelets were determined during the grain filling period. The results showed that superior spikelets had dominance over inferior spikelets in endosperm cell division rate and cell number, grain filling and grain weight. Changes in zeatin (Z) and zeatin riboside (ZR) contents paralleled and were very significantly correlated with the cell division rate and cell number. Cell division rate and the content of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) in the grains were also significantly correlated. Gibberellin (GAs; GA1+ GA4) content of the grains was high but ABA levels were low at the early grain filling stage. ABA increased substantially during the linear phase of grain growth and was very significantly correlated with grain dry weight during this period. Application of kinetin at 2 through 6 days post anthesis (DPA) significantly increased cell number, while spraying ABA at 11 through 15 DPA significantly increased the grain filling rate. The results suggest that differences in sink strength are responsible for variations in grain filling between superior and inferior spikelets. Both cytokinins and IAA in the grains may mediate cell division in rice endosperm at early grain filling stages, and therefore regulate the sink size of the grain, whereas ABA content correlates with sink activity during the linear period of grain growth.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ackerson R.C. 1985. Invertase activity and abscisic acid in relation to carbohydrate status in developing soybean reproductive structures. Crop Sci. 25: 615–618.
Bai X.F., Cai Y.P. and Nie F. 1989. Relationship between abscisic acid and grain filling of rice and wheat. Plant Physiol. Commun. (China) 3: 40–41.
Bangerth F. 1989. Dominance among fruits/sinks and the search for a correlative signal. Physiol. Plant. 76: 608–614.
Banowetz G.M., Ammar K. and Chen D.D. 1999. Postanthesis temperatures influence cytokinin accumulation and wheat kernel weight. Plant Cell Environ. 22: 309–316.
Barratt D.H.P., Whitford P.N., Cook S.K., Butcher G. and Wang T.L. 1989. An analysis of seed development in Pisum sativum. VIII. Does abscisic acid prevent precocious germination and control storage protein synthesis? J. Exp. Bot. 40: 1009–1014.
Berüter J. 1983. Effect of abscisic acid on sorbitol uptake in growing apple fruits. J. Exp. Bot. 34: 737–743.
Bollmark M., Kubat B. and Eliasson L. 1988. Variations in endogenous cytokinin content during adventitious root formation in pea cuttings. J. Plant Physiol. 132: 262–265.
Brenner M.L. and Cheikh N. 1995. The role of hormones in photosynthate partitioning and seed filling. In: Davies P.J. (ed.), Plant Hormones, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, pp. 649–670.
Browning G. 1980. Endogenous-abscisic acid and pea seed development: evidence for a role in seed growth from changes induced by temperature. J. Exp. Bot. 31: 185–197.
Cao X., Zhu Q. and Yang J. 1992. Classification of source-sink types in rice varieties with corresponding cultivated ways. In: Xiong Z. and Min S. (eds), Prospects of Rice Farming for 2000, Zhejiang Sci. & Tech. Press, Hangzhou, pp. 361–372.
Davies P.J. 1987. The plant hormones: their nature, occurrence, and functions. In: Davies P.J. (ed.), Plant Hormones and Their Role in Plant Growth and Development, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, The Netherlands, pp. 1–11.
de Bruijn S.M. and Vreugdenhil D. 1992. Abscisic acid and assimilate partitioning to develop seeds. I. Dose abscisic acid influence the growth rate of pea seeds? J. Plant Physiol. 140: 201–206.
Dewdney S.J. and McWha J.A. 1979. Abscisic acid and the movement of photosynthetic assimilates towards developing wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grains. Z. Pflanzenphysiol. 92: 186–193.
Dietrich J.T., Kaminek M., Blevins D.G., Reinbott T.M. and Morris R.O. 1995. Changes in cytokinins and cytokinin oxidase activity in developing maize kernels and effects of exogenous cytokinin on kernel development. Plant Physiol. Biochem. 33: 327–336.
Eeuwens C.J. and Schwabe W.W. 1975. Seed and pod wall development in Pisum sativum L. in relation to exacted and applied hormones. J. Exp. Bot. 26: 1–14.
Hansen H. and Grossmann K. 2000. Auxin-induced enthylene triggers abscisic acid biosynthesis and growth inhibition. Plant Physiol. 124: 1437–1448.
He Z. 1993. Method for an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent asssay. In: He Z.P. (ed.), Guidance to Experiment on Chemical Control in Crop Plants, Beijing Agricultural University Publishers, Beijing, pp. 60–68.
Ho L.C. 1988. Metabolism and compartmentation of imported sugars in sink organs in relation to sink strength. Annu. Rev. Plant Physiol. Plant Mol. Biol. 39: 355–378.
Iwasaki Y., Mae T., Makino A., Ohira K. and Ojima K. 1992. Nitrogen accumulation in the inferior spikelet of rice ear during ripening. Soil Sci. Plant Nutr. 38: 517–525.
Jones R.J. and Brenner M.L. 1987. Distribution of abscisic acid in maize kernel during grain filling. Plant Physiol. 83: 905–909.
Karssen C.M. 1982. The role of endogenous hormones during seed development and the onset of primary dormancy. In: Wareing P.F. (ed.), Plant Growth Substances, Academic Press, London, pp. 623–632.
Kato T. 1989. Relationship between grain filling process and sink capacity in rice. Jpn. J. Plant Breed. 39: 431–438.
Kato T., Sakurai N. and Kuraishi S. 1993. The changes of endogenous abscisic acid in developing grains of two rice cultivars with different grain size. Jpn. J. Crop Sci. 62: 456–461.
Kende H. and Zeevaart J.A.D. 1997. The five 'classical' plant hormones. Plant Cell 9: 1197–1210.
Liang J., Zhang J. and Cao X. 2001. Grain sink strength may be related to the poor grain filling of dica-japonica rice (Oryza sativa) hybrids. Physiol. Plant. 112: 470–477.
Michael G. and Seiler-Kelbitsch H. 1972. Cytokinin content and kernel size of barley grains as affected by environmental and genetic factors. Crop Sci. 12: 162–165.
Mohapatra P.K. and Sahu S.K. 1991. Heterogeneity of primary branch development and spikelet survival in rice in relation to assimilates of primary branches. J. Exp. Bot. 42: 871–879.
Mohapatra P.K., Patel R. and Sahu S.K. 1993. Time of flowering affects grain quality and spikelet partitioning within the rice panicle. Aust. J. Plant Physiol. 20: 231–242.
Morris R.D., Blevins D.G., Dietrich J.T., Durly R.C., Gelvin S.B., Gray J., Hommes N.G., Kaminek M., Mathews L.J., Meilan R., Reinbott T.M. and Sagavendra-Soto L. 1993. Cytokinins in plant pathogenic bacteria and developing cereal grains. Aust. J. Plant Physiol. 20: 621–637.
Murata Y. and Matsushima S. 1975. Rice. In: Evans L.T. (ed.), Crop Physiology, Cambridge University Press, London, pp. 75–99.
Murty P.S.S. and Murty K.S. 1982. Spikelet sterility in relation to nitrogen and carbohydrate contents in rice. Indian J. Plant Physiol. 25: 40–48.
Ober E.S. and Setter T.L. 1990. Timing of kernel development in water stressed maize: water potential and abscisic acid accumulation. Ann. Bot. 66: 665–672.
Pharis R.P. 1985. Gibberellins and reproductive development in seed plants. Annu. Rev. Plant Physiol. 36: 517–568.
Qin Z. and Tang X. 1984. Dynamics of some large bio-molecules during the formation of rice endosperm. China Sci. 12: 1103–1110.
Richards' F.J. 1959. A flexible growth function for empirical use. J. Exp. Bot. 10: 290–300.
Ross G.S. and McWha J.A. 1990. The distribution of abscisic acid in Pisum sativum plants during seed development. J. Plant Physiol. 136: 137–142.
Saha S., Nagar P.K. and Sircar P.K. 1986. Cytokinin concentration gradient in the developing grains and upper leaves of rice (Oryza sativa) during grain filling. Can. J. Bot. 64: 2068–2072.
Schussler J.R., Brenner M.L. and Brun W.A. 1991. Relationship of endogenous abscisic acid to sucrose level and seed growth rate of soybeans. Plant Physiol. 96: 1308–1313.
Seth A.K. and Waering P.E. 1967. Hormone-directed transport of metabolites and its possible role in plant senescence. J. Exp. Bot. 18: 65–77.
Sharp R.E. and LeNoble M.E. 2002. ABA, ethylene and the control of shoot and root growth under water stress. J. Exp. Bot. 53: 33–37.
Sikder H.P. and Gupta D.K.D. 1976. Physiology of grain in rice. Indian Agric. 20: 133–141.
Singh B.M. and Jenner C.F. 1982. A modified method for the determination of cell number in wheat endosperm. Plant Sci. Lett. 26: 273–278.
Singh G. and Gerung S.B. 1982. Hormonal role in the problem of sterility in Oryza sativa. Plant Physiol. Biochem. 9: 22–23.
Tietz A., Ludwig M., Dingkuhn M. and Dorffling K. 1981. Effect of abscisic acid on the transport of assimilates in barley. Planta 152: 557–561.
Umemoto T., Nakamura Y. and Ishikura N. 1994. Effect of grain location on the panicle on activities involved in starch synthesis in rice endosperm. Phytochemistry 36: 843–847.
Venkateswarlu B. and Visperas R.M. 1987. Source-sink relationships in crop plants. Int. Rice Res. Paper Ser. 125: 1–19.
Wang T.L., Cook S.K., Francis R.J., Ambrose M.J. and Hedley C.L. 1987. An analysis of seed development in Pisum sativum. VI. Abscisic acid accumulation. J. Exp. Bot. 38: 1921–1932.
Wang Y. 1981. Effectiveness of supplied nitrogen at the primordial panicle stage on rice characteristics and yields. Int. Rice Res. News Lett. 6: 23–24.
Wang Z., Yang J., Zhu Q., Zhang Z., Lang Y. and Wang X. 1998. Reasons for poor grain filling in intersubspecific hybrid rice. Acta Agron. Sin. 24: 782–787.
Warren W.J. 1972. Control of crop processes. In: Rees A.R., Cockshull K.E., Hand D.W. and Hurd R.G. (eds), Crop Processes in Controlled Environments, Academic, London/New York, pp. 7–30.
Wu S., Chen W. and Zhou X. 1988. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay for endogenous plant hormones. Plant Physiol. Commun. (China) 5: 53–57.
Yang J., Su B., Wang Z. and Zhu Q. 1999. Characteristics and physiology of grain filling in intersubspecific hybrid rice. Chin. Agric. Sci. 1: 61–70.
Yang J., Zhang J., Wang Z., Zhu Q. and Wang W. 2001. Hormonal Changes in the grains of rice subjected to water stress during grain filling. Plant Physiol. 127: 315–323.
Yoshida S., Forno D., Cock J. and Gomez K. 1976. Determination of sugar and starch in plant tissue. In: Yoshida S. (ed.), Laboratory Manual for Physiological Studies of Rice, International Rice Research Institute, The Philippines, pp. 46–49.
Yuan L.P. 1997. Hybrid rice breeding for super high yield. Hybrid Rice 12(6): 1–6.
Zhang J., He Z. and Wu Y. 1991. Establishment of an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent asssay for zeatin and zeatin riboside. J. Beijing Agric. Univ. (China) 17: 145–151.
Zhu Q., Cao X. and Luo Y. 1988. Growth analysis in the process of grain filling in rice (in Chinese with English abstract). Acta Agron. Sin. 14: 182–192.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yang, J., Zhang, J., Wang, Z. et al. Hormones in the grains in relation to sink strength and postanthesis development of spikelets in rice. Plant Growth Regulation 41, 185–195 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:GROW.0000007503.95391.38
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:GROW.0000007503.95391.38