Overexpressing lncRNA LAIR increases grain yield and regulates neighbouring gene cluster expression in rice

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are essential regulators of gene expression in eukaryotes. Despite increasing knowledge on the function of lncRNAs, little is known about their effects on crop yield. Here, we identify a lncRNA transcribed from the antisense strand of neighbouring gene LRK (leucine-rich repeat receptor kinase) cluster named LAIR (LRK Antisense Intergenic RNA). LAIR overexpression increases rice grain yield and upregulates the expression of several LRK genes. Additionally, chromatin immunoprecipitation assay results indicate H3K4me3 and H4K16ac are significantly enriched at the activated LRK1 genomic region. LAIR binds histone modification proteins OsMOF and OsWDR5 in rice cells, which are enriched in LRK1 gene region. Moreover, LAIR is demonstrated to bind 5′ and 3′ untranslated regions of LRK1 gene. Overall, this study reveals the role of lncRNA LAIR in regulating rice grain yield and lncRNAs may be useful targets for crop breeding.

The effect of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) on crop yield is unknown. Here, the authors show overexpression of a lncRNA, transcribed from the antisense strand of the previously discovered gene cluster LRK, can upregulate LRK genes’ expression, change histone modification status of LRK1, and increase rice grain yield.