A MADS51 allele is associated with flowering-time divergence and contributes to ecological adaptation during wild rice speciation.

A MADS51 allele with a 4-bp frameshift is linked to flowering-time divergence and ecological adaptation in wild rice species Oryza rufipogon and O. nivara.

• Why it matters: Understanding the genetic basis of flowering-time divergence is crucial for revealing mechanisms of ecological speciation in wild plants, yet causal genes remain largely unknown.
• What they did: Researchers used genome scans, population genomics, functional assays, and transformation systems to identify MADS51, with a functional haplotype FH2 nearly fixed in Southeast Asian O. nivara, and demonstrated its role in flowering-time variation.
• The result: The FH2 haplotype promotes earlier flowering, and a selective sweep suggests it arose de novo in O. nivara, highlighting how new mutations can drive phenotypic differentiation during wild rice speciation.