Date of Award
Winter 1-10-2023
Document Type
Thesis
First Advisor
Ana Caicedo
Second Advisor
Caroline Solomon
Abstract
Weedy rice, or red rice, is an agricultural weed that has evolved independently in different parts of the world from cultivated rice. Significant crop damage has resulted from weed infestations, leading to a loss of income for farmers and a severe reduction in crop yield. Seed shattering is one of the most distinctive and problematic characteristics of weedy rice, as it allows seeds to disperse and persist in soil for long periods and limit the effectiveness of current weed control efforts. While previous studies have identified a mutation causing a reduction in shattering between wild and cultivated rice, the exact genetic mechanism for the rise of seed shattering in weedy rice has yet to be characterized. Spanish weedy rice, found in the Iberian Peninsula, is derived from the temperate japonica crop variety. A novel mutation in the SH4 gene was identified in other temperate japonica-derived weedy biotypes and proposed as a likely candidate for the evolution of shattering in weedy rice, but it has not been functionally validated. In this study, we present evidence that this mutation is the genetic mechanism behind the evolution of seed shattering in weedy rice, and extensively investigate to what extent this imitation affects the Spanish weedy rice phenotype. These results will be significant in the development of long-term weedy rice control methods for temperate japonica rice, which has far-reaching effects, including an increase in crop yields and food supplies.
Recommended Citation
Heinze, Eric, "The Trojan Horse of the Paddy Field: Determining the Genetic Origins of Seed Shattering in Spanish Weedy Rice" (2023). Undergraduate University Honors Capstones. 91.
https://ida.gallaudet.edu/honors_capstones/91
