近日，中国科学院分子植物科学卓越创新中心韩斌团队的最新研究揭示了串联microRNA156的重建使水稻能够进行多年生营养生长。2026年3月19日出版的《科学》杂志发表了这项成果。

利用野生稻和栽培稻的渗透系，研究团队鉴定出了包含串联microRNA156基因（MIR156BC）的无尽分枝和分蘖（EBT1）位点。这个地点负责花的恢复和无性繁殖，有助于野生水稻的多年生生长。与培养的等位基因相比，野生水稻等位基因EBT1W1943在分蘖芽中表现出更高的染色质可及性和较低的抑制组蛋白标记H3K27me3水平，以重置MIR156BC的表达。此外，该课题组导入了EBT1和匍匐生长基因PROG1和TIG1，以产生具有匍匐生长习惯的重组系。他们的发现为未来开发可持续的多年生水稻品种铺平了道路。

研究人员表示，一年生栽培稻是由多年生野生稻驯化而来，但其生长习性的遗传机制尚不清楚。

附：英文原文

Title: Resetting of a tandem microRNA156 enables vegetative perennial growth in rice

Author: Bingxin Dai, Danfeng Lv, Erwang Chen, Zhoulin Gu, Dongling Guo, Yan Li, Yaoxin Zhang, Kun Liu, Ahong Wang, Qiang Zhao, Yan Zhao, Qingqing Hou, Yongchun Wang, Qi Feng, Danlin Fan, Congcong Zhou, Qilin Tian, Zixuan Wang, Jia-Wei Wang, Bin Han

Issue&Volume: 2026-03-19

Abstract: Annual cultivated rice was domesticated from perennial wild rice, yet the genetic mechanism of perennial growth habit remains unclear. Using introgression lines of wild and cultivated rice, we identified the Endless Branches and Tillers (EBT1) locus, comprising tandem microRNA156 genes (MIR156BC). This locus is responsible for floral reversion and vegetative propagation contributing to perennial growth in wild rice. The wild rice allele EBT1W1943 exhibits higher chromatin accessibility and lower levels of the repressive histone mark H3K27me3 to reset MIR156BC expression in tiller buds compared with the cultivated allele. Additionally, we introgressed EBT1 and prostrate growth genes PROG1 and TIG1 to generate recombinant lines exhibiting a robust perennial habit. Our findings pave the way for developing sustainable perennial rice cultivars in the future.

DOI: adv2188

Source: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adv2188