A natural variation of TaERF-A1 encoding an AP2/ERF transcription factor confers semidwarf plant architecture and increased lodging resistance in wheat

The introduction of Reduced height (Rht) genes into wheat varieties results in semidwarf plant architecture with largely improved lodging resistance and harvest indices. Therefore, the exploration of new Rht gene resources to breed semidwarf wheat cultivars has been a major strategy for guaranteeing high and stable grain yields of wheat since the 1960s. In this study, we report the map-based cloning of TaERF-A1, which encodes an AP2/ERF transcription factor and acts as a positive regulator of wheat stem elongation, as a new gene for regulating plant height and spike length. The natural variant TaERF-A1