Receptor-like kinase participates in the early events of plant signal transduction pathways. Previously, we screened the receptor-like kinase genes in rice and performed phylogenetic analyses. In this study, we isolated a receptor-like kinase gene, OsSI-RLK2, from rice. Expression of OsSI-RLK2 was induced by ABA treatment. In vitro analysis indicates that OsSI-RLK2 has Mn2+ dependent autophosphorylation activity, but does not have this activity in the presence of Ca2+ and Mg2+. Transgenic rice with over-expressed OsSI-RLK2 displayed shortened internodes resulting in a dwarf phenotype. Taken together, these results suggest that OsSI-RLK2 may represent a new type of functional RLK in rice that can inhibit the elongation of the internode.
