Engineering a transport-facilitating molecular module to improve seed-setting rate and yield in rice

Anyao Huang; Shuofan Wu; Bodi Li; Limin Wang; Guohui Zhu; Taiyu Chen; Zhisheng Zhang; Xinxiang Peng

doi:10.1016/j.jgg.2026.03.005

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Engineering a transport-facilitating molecular module to improve seed-setting rate and yield in rice

doi: 10.1016/j.jgg.2026.03.005

a. Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory for the Development Biology and Environmental Adaptation of Agricultural Organisms, College of Life Sciences, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510642, China;
b. Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Utilization and Conservation of Food and Medicinal Resources in Northern Region, School of Biology and Agriculture, Shaoguan University, Shaoguan, Guangdong 512000, China;
c. College of Agriculture and Biology, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510225, China

Funds:

This work was supported by the Biological Breeding-National Science and Technology Major Project (2024ZD04080), the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (2025A1515012660) and the Double First-Class Discipline Promotion Project (2023B10564004).

Received Date: 2025-10-27
Accepted Date: 2026-03-06
Rev Recd Date: 2026-03-03

Available Online: 2026-03-13

Abstract

Abstract

Rice yield is fundamentally governed by source–sink dynamics, in which the efficient translocation of non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) plays a pivotal role. Our previously developed GCGT photorespiratory bypass rice, while possessing high photosynthetic capacity, exhibits disordered sugar metabolism that impedes photoassimilate translocation and leads to a reduced seed-setting rate. To tackle this bottleneck, we construct a transport-facilitating molecular module, RSS, by integrating α-amylase (OsRAmy2A), sucrose phosphate synthase (OsSPS8), and sucrose transporter (OsSUT1) genes. In field trials, RSS rice plants (in both ZH11 and GCGT backgrounds) display significant increases in seed-setting rate, harvest index (HI), and grain yield. Crucially, the RSS module redirects photoassimilate partitioning, reducing NSC accumulation in vegetative tissues while enhancing allocation to panicles. This strategy not only improves yield in wild-type plants but also effectively ameliorates the sugar metabolism defects and photoassimilate stagnation in high-photosynthetic-efficient GCGT rice, substantially restoring the seed-setting rate. Taken together, our results demonstrate that the transport-facilitating molecular module RSS can significantly improve seed-setting rate and yield in rice, offering an effective strategy to unlock yield potential for rice.
- Photorespiratory bypass,
- Photosynthesis,
- Source-sink relationship,
- Seed-setting rate,
- Yield,
- Rice

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