Brassinosteroid-auxin crosstalk shapes rice flag leaf angle to boost dense planting yield

Abstract

Flag leaf angle (FLA) critically determines rice yield potential under dense planting conditions. As two pivotal phytohormones determine rice FLA, the antagonistic interaction between brassinosteroid (BR) and auxin remains largely uncharacterized. We here demonstrate that BR signaling reduces auxin biosynthesis to control FLA via regulating the biosynthesis of secondary cell wall (SCW). Genetic evidence demonstrates OsYUC8 mutants disrupt SCW formation, leading to increased FLA. At the molecular level, the BR-related transcription factor OsBZR1 directly binds to and represses OsYUC8 promoter activity, thereby fine-tuning auxin-mediated SCW biosynthesis. Field evaluations reveal that osbzr1 mutants display optimized flag leaf architecture and improved yield performance under high-density cultivation. Our study not only delineates the antagonistic BR-auxin interaction governing FLA but also establishes a genetic strategy for manipulating crop architecture to maximize yield in dense planting conditions. One-sentence summary OsBZR1-mediated repression of OsYUC8-driven auxin biosynthesis modulates secondary cell wall formation to optimize flag leaf architecture, providing a genetic strategy for maximizing yield under high-density cultivation.