A Dysfunction in a Member of the Ap2/Erf And F-Box Protein Family Increases the Full Emergence of Panicles in Rice

Complete panicle exsertion (CPE) is a significant quantitative trait that influences grain production in rice. We utilized a comprehensive strategy to investigate the molecular basis of CPE by employing a stable ethyl methane sulfonate mutant line, CPE-109 of the Samba Mahsuri (SM) rice variety (Oryza sativa), which demonstrates CPE. Two stable genomic regions associated with CPE were discovered through quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping [qCPE-4 (28.24–31.22 Mb) and qCPE-12 (2.30–3.18 Mb)] as well as QTL-sequencing [chr 4 (31.21–33.69 Mb) and chr 12 (0.12–3.15 Mb)]. Two non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms, specifically KASP 12–12 (T→C; chr12:1269983) in Os12g0126300, which encodes an AP2/ERF transcription factor, and KASP 12–16 (G→A; chr12:1515198) in Os12g0131400, encoding a protein with an F-box domain, accounted for 81.05% and 59.61% of the phenotypic variance, respectively.