Two FERONIA-like receptor ( FLR ) genes are required to maintain architecture, fertility, and seed yield in rice

The Arabidopsis gene FERONIA ( FER ) regulates cell elongation and fertility. Although the function of FER in promoting plant growth and regulating fructification in dicotyledon Arabidopsis has been investigated, how homologous FERONIA- like receptors ( FLRs ) function in the monocotyledon rice crop is little known. In this study, we generated flr1 and flr2 T-DNA insertion null mutants and investigated potential role of FLRs in rice yield. We observed that both FLR1 and FLR2 were involved in tillering of rice, but at different levels. Interestingly, FLR1 and FLR2 showed different functions related to fertility, and FLR1 might be specifically involved in rice male gametophyte development. With these similar but different functions, we suggest that FLR1 and FLR2 might function in complementary ways to regulate the yield of rice. The similar and different functions of FLR1 and FLR2 also suggest that there might be differentiation from FER to the duplication of FLRs , with FLR1 and FLR2 taking on partial functions from FER .