OsPDCD5 negatively regulates plant architecture and grain yield in rice

Significance Rice breeding programs aim to develop cultivars with improved traits, including high grain yield and superior quality. In rice, OsPDCD5 encodes a programmed cell death 5 protein. Targeted mutagenesis of OsPDCD5 enhanced grain yield and plant architecture. Statistical analysis indicated that plot grain yield of OsPDCD5 knockout lines was enhanced by 6.25 to 20.13% in 11 popular or newly bred rice cultivars compared with the corresponding wild types. The OsPDCD5 knockout lines showed increases in milled rice percentage and gel consistency, and a decrease in amylose content. Our results provide insight into the molecular mechanism by which OsPDCD5 influences grain yield and plant architecture, and highlight a promising candidate gene for use in breeding programs designed to develop super rice cultivars.