OsGLU3, a Putative Membrane-Bound Endo-1, 4-Beta-Glucanase, Is Required for Root Cell Elongation and Division in Rice （Oryza sativa L.）

Plant roots move through the soil by elongation. This is vital to their ability to anchor the plant and acquire water and minerals from the soil. In order to identify new genes involved in root elongation in rice, we screened an ethyl methane sulfonate （EMS）-mutagenized rice library, and isolated a short root mutant, Osglu3-1. The map-based cloning results showed that the mutant was due to a point mutation in OsGLU3, which encodes a putative membrane-bound endo- 1,4-13-glucanase. Osglu3-1 displayed less crystalline cellulose content in its root cell wall, shorter root cell length, and a slightly smaller root meristem as visualized by restricted expression of OsCYCBI, I：GUS. Exogenous application of glu- cose can suppress both the lower root cell wall cellulose content and short root phenotypes of Osglu3-1. Consistently, OsGLU3 is ubiquitously expressed in various tissues with strong expression in root tip, lateral root, and crown root pri- modia. The fully functional OsGLU3-GFP was detected in plasma membrane