Abstract
High yield and wide adaptation of rice are crucial for grain supply and food security. Here, we report a type II phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase, OsPI4Kγ7, which positively regulates rice yield and confers wide adaptation of rice. We show that OsPI4Kγ7 interacts with the transcription factor, OsLIC, and promotes its stability and nuclear translocation via phosphorylation, thereby increasing yield. Meanwhile, the natural variation of OsPI4Kγ7 alters its expression level by modulating OsTb2 binding. The ospi4kγ7 mutants exhibit an earlier heading date. Intriguingly, the OsPI4Kγ7 HapG with an earlier heading date demonstrates a critical role on the initial extension towards high latitude for japonica rice, and the OsPI4Kγ7 HapA drives increased yield potential in…
Abstract
High yield and wide adaptation of rice are crucial for grain supply and food security. Here, we report a type II phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase, OsPI4Kγ7, which positively regulates rice yield and confers wide adaptation of rice. We show that OsPI4Kγ7 interacts with the transcription factor, OsLIC, and promotes its stability and nuclear translocation via phosphorylation, thereby increasing yield. Meanwhile, the natural variation of OsPI4Kγ7 alters its expression level by modulating OsTb2 binding. The ospi4kγ7 mutants exhibit an earlier heading date. Intriguingly, the OsPI4Kγ7 HapG with an earlier heading date demonstrates a critical role on the initial extension towards high latitude for japonica rice, and the OsPI4Kγ7 HapA drives increased yield potential in indica rice. Our findings unravel how phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase (PI4K) regulates rice yield, and how one of its critical natural variation contributes to the different “adaptability-yield” trade-offs in japonica and indica, which provide the alternative breeding strategy for raising grain yield in different latitudes.
Data availability
Sequences data libraries from this article can be found in the database of NC BI, following accession: OsPI4Kγ7 (LOC4347357), OsLIC (LOC4341994), OsTb2 (LOC4347031), OsActin (LOC4333919). RNA-Seq data generated in this work has been deposited in the Genome Sequence Archive database under accession CRA029983 in the National Genomics Data Center, China National Center for Bioinformation. The mass spectrometry proteomics data has been deposited in the ProteomeXchange Consortium under accession PXD068616. Source data are provided with this paper.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Dr. Erchao Duan for generously providing OsLIC transgenic lines. We appreciate the assistance provided by the biological mass spectrometry laboratory from College of Biological Sciences at China Agricultural University on our mass spectrometry experiment. This work was funded by the Natural Science Foundation of China (321750816 to Hongliang Z.), the National Key R&D Program (2021YFD1200502 321750816 to Hongliang Z.) and Natural Science Foundation of China (32560460 to Jianyin X.).
Author information
Author notes
These authors contributed equally: Rui Zhu, Tao Yang.
Authors and Affiliations
Frontiers Science Center for Molecular Design Breeding, Beijing Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
Rui Zhu, Tao Yang, Shichen Han, Qianfeng Hu, Ningjia Jiang, An Zeng, Jianxin Liang, Yanlin Qin, Haixia Liu, Chenyu Xia, Zhanying Zhang, Jinjie Li, Xingming Sun, Zichao Li & Hongliang Zhang 1.
Yazhouwan National Laboratory, Sanya, China
Tao Yang 1.
Sanya Nanfan Research Institute of Hainan University, Sanya, China
Jianyin Xie & Hongliang Zhang 1.
Sanya Institute of China Agricultural University, Sanya, China
Ningjia Jiang, An Zeng, Jianxin Liang, Yanlin Qin, Zichao Li & Hongliang Zhang
Authors
- Rui Zhu
- Tao Yang
- Shichen Han
- Qianfeng Hu
- Jianyin Xie
- Ningjia Jiang
- An Zeng
- Jianxin Liang
- Yanlin Qin
- Haixia Liu
- Chenyu Xia
- Zhanying Zhang
- Jinjie Li
- Xingming Sun
- Zichao Li
- Hongliang Zhang
Contributions
R.Z., and H.Z. conceived the project and designed the experiments. R.Z., and T.Y. performed most of the experiments. Q.H., S.H., J.X., N.J., A.Z., J.L., Y.Q., H.L., C.X., conducted part of the experiments. R.Z., and H.Z. wrote the manuscript. H.Z., and Z.L. oversaw the entire study and revise the manuscript. X.S., J.L., and Z.Z. provided critical guidance for the revision of the manuscript. All authors discussed the data and contributed to the manuscript.
Corresponding authors
Correspondence to Zichao Li or Hongliang Zhang.
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Cite this article
Zhu, R., Yang, T., Han, S. et al. Natural variation in Phosphatidylinositol 4-Kinase OsPI4Kγ7 and its interaction with OsLIC balance rice yield and latitudinal adaptation. Nat Commun (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-68814-5
Received: 18 August 2025
Accepted: 16 January 2026
Published: 28 January 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-68814-5