Effects of Suppressing OsCRY1a Gene Expression on Rice Agronomic Traits

Using primers designed according to the published sequence of rice OsCRY1a gene, we obtained part of the gene fragment by PCR and constructed an RNA interference expression vector with it. To down-regulate the expression level of the gene or lead to the loss-of-function of the gene, the vector was then introduced into rice via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Based on the performance of the transgenic plants, the functions of the gene were analyzed and deduced. The results indicated that suppressing the expression of the gene retarded flowering for 16 d in rice with the plant height and grain length significantly increasing whereas other important agronomic traits observed remained unchanged apparently.