The invention relates to the 
plant gene engineering field, aiming at providing 
protein encoded by a 
rice root growth and development control 
gene OsSPR1 and a 
gene for encoding the 
protein. The 
protein has an 
amino acid sequence shown by SEQ ID NO:2 and a 
nucleotide sequence shown by SEQ ID NO:1. In the invention, a rice 
mutant with a short adventitious root and a short 
branch root is taken as a research material to determine that the gene is involved in regulating and controlling growth and development of the 
rice root; the functional 
deletion mutant of the gene shows reduced 
ferric content of blades, and the 
ferric content in the root is in accordance with that of wild rice; and 
recovery of expression of the gene can recover the 
ferric content in the blades, thus showing that the gene can regulate and control the ferric content in the blades. The invention provides a molecular regulation and control mechanism for 
rice root growth and development and 
ferric ion in-vivo transport, and provides a foundation for regulating and controlling a rice root structure and the ferric content by a 
genetic engineering method.