Characterization and gene cloning of the rice (Oryza sativa L.) dwarf and narrow-leaf mutant dnl3.

The dwarf and narrow-leaf rice (Oryza sativa L.) mutant dnl3 was isolated from the Japonica cultivar Zhonghua 11 (wild- type). dnl3 exhibited pleiotropic developmental defects. The narrow- leaf phenotype resulted from a marked reduction in the number of vascular bundles, while the dwarf stature was caused by the formation of foreshortened internodes and a reduced number of parenchyma cells. The suggestion that cell division is impaired in the mutant was consistent with the transcriptional behavior of various genes associated with cell division. The mutant was less responsive to exogenously supplied gibberellic acid than the wild-type, and profiling the transcription of genes involved in gibberellin synthesis and response revealed that a