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Weeds that infest crops are a primary factor limiting agricultural productivity worldwide. Weedy rice, also called red rice, has experienced independent evolutionary events through gene flow from wild rice relatives and de-domestication from cultivated rice. Each evolutionary event supplied/equipped weedy rice with competitive abilities that allowed it to thrive with cultivated rice and severely reduce yields in rice fields. Understanding how competitiveness evolves is important not only for noxious agricultural weed management but also for the transfer of weedy rice traits to cultivated rice. Molecular studies of weedy rice using simple sequence repeat (SSR), restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP), and whole-genome sequence have shown great genetic variations in weedy rice populations globally. These variations are evident both at the whole-genome and at the single-allele level, including Sh4 (shattering), Hd1 (heading and flowering), and Rc (pericarp pigmentation). The goal of this review is to describe the genetic diversity of current weedy rice germplasm and the significance of weedy rice germplasm as a novel source of disease resistance. Understanding these variations, especially at an allelic level, is also crucial as individual loci that control important traits can be of great target to rice breeders.
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Multiple compensatory mutations contribute to the de‐domestication of Iberian weedy rice
Societal Impact StatementWeedy plants are a major constraint on agricultural productivity. Weedy rice is a weed that invades rice fields worldwide and is responsible for reductions in rice yields. Studies to date have detected multiple independent weedy rice origins in different parts of the world. We investigated the origin of weedy rice in Spain and Portugal and found that it has evolved from a cultivated rice variety group grown locally. Iberian weeds carry mutations that reverse domesticated pericarp color to its ancestral red color. Our results imply that management strategies are needed to prevent the evolution of troublesome weeds from cultivated ancestors. SummaryWeedy rice, a damaging conspecific weed of cultivated rice, has arisen multiple times independently around the world. Understanding all weedy rice origins is necessary to create more effective weed management strategies. The origins of weedy rice in Spain and Portugal, where there are no nativeOryzaspecies, are unknown. In this study, we try to identify the likely ancestors of Iberian weedy rice and the mechanisms involved in the evolution of two weedy traits, seed shattering, and red pericarps.We used genotyping by sequencing to understand the origin of Iberian weedy rice and its relationship to other weedy, wild, and cultivated rice groups worldwide. We also genotyped candidate genes for shattering and pericarp color.We find that weedy rice in the Iberian Peninsula has primarily evolved through de‐domestication oftemperate japonicacultivars, with minor origins from exotic weedy rice. Iberian weeds have evolved the capacity to shatter seeds via novel loci and have acquired red pericarps via compensatory mutations in theRcdomestication gene. Our results suggest the Iberian weeds have experienced selection at multiple locations in the genome to establish as weeds, likely targeting male fertility genes among other functions.Our characterization of Iberian weedy rice adds to the growing evidence that de‐domestication of cultivated rice varieties is the main source of weedy rice worldwide. Their evolutionary versatility explains why weedy rice continues to be one of the most problematic weeds of cultivated rice.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1947609
- PAR ID:
- 10370536
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- PLANTS, PEOPLE, PLANET
- Volume:
- 4
- Issue:
- 5
- ISSN:
- 2572-2611
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- p. 499-510
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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