Rice

Preharvest sprouting (PHS) is an undesirable trait that decreases yield and quality in rice production. Understanding the genes and regulatory mechanisms underlying PHS is of great significance for breeding PHS-resistant rice. In this study, we identified a mutant, preharvest sprouting 39 (phs39), that exhibited an obvious PHS phenotype in the field. MutMap+ analysis and transgenic experiments demonstrated that OsAAH, which encodes allantoate amidohydrolase, is the causal gene of phs39 and is essential for PHS resistance...

Cultivating rice varieties with robust blast resistance is the most effective and economical way to manage the rice blast disease. However, rice blast disease comprises leaf and panicle blast, which are different in terms of resistance mechanisms. While many blast resistant rice cultivars were bred using genes conferring resistance to only leaf or panicle blast, mining durable and effective quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for both panicle and leaf blast resistance is of paramount importance. In this study, we conducted a pangenome-wide association study (panGWAS) on 9 blast resistance related phenotypes using 414 international diverse rice accessions from an international rice panel...

The quantity and composition of rice proteins play a crucial role in determining taste quality of sake, Japanese rice wine. However, the spatial distribution of proteins within rice grains, especially in endosperm tissue, and the differences between rice varieties remain unclear. Here, we analyzed the crude protein contents and composition ratios of table (Nipponbare and Koshihikari) and genuine sake rice varieties (Yamadanishiki, Gohyakumangoku, Dewasansan, Dewanosato, and Yumenokaori) to elucidate their spatial distribution within the Japonica rice grain endosperm...

BACKGROUND: Development of transgenic rice overexpressing transcription factors involved in drought response has been previously reported to confer drought tolerance and therefore represents a means of crop improvement. We transformed lowland rice IR64 with OsTZF5, encoding a CCCH-tandem zinc finger protein, under the control of the rice LIP9 stress-inducible promoter and compared the drought response of transgenic lines and nulls to IR64 in successive screenhouse paddy and field trials up to the T6 generation...

The quality of rice (Oryza sativa L) is determined by a combination of appearance, flavor, aroma, texture, storage characteristics, and nutritional composition. Rice quality directly influences acceptance by consumers and commercial value. The genetic mechanism underlying rice quality is highly complex, and is influenced by genotype, environment, and chemical factors such as starch type, protein content, and amino acid composition. Minor variations in these chemical components may lead to substantial differences in rice quality...

Rice blast, caused by Magnaporthe oryzae (M. oryzae), is one of the most common and damaging diseases of rice that limits rice yield and quality. The mediator complex plays a vital role in promoting transcription by bridging specific transcription factors and RNA polymerase II. Here, we show that the rice mediator subunit OsMED16 is essential for full induction of the diterpenoid phytoalexin biosynthesis genes and resistance to the ascomycetous fungus M. oryzae. Mutants of Osmed16 show reduced expression of the DP biosynthesis genes and are markedly more susceptible to M...

Allelopathy has been considered as a natural method of weed control. Despite the nature of allelochemical compounds has been studied, little is known about the genetic basis underlying allelopathy. However, it is known that rice exhibits diverse allelopathic potentials across varieties, and breeding for rice plants exhibiting allelopathic potential conferring an advantage against weeds in paddy fields would be highly desirable. Knowledge of the gene factors and the identification of the genomic regions responsible for allelopathy would facilitate breeding programs...

Strong seedling vigor is imperative to achieve stable seedling establishment and enhance the competitiveness against weeds in rice direct seeding. Shoot length (SL) is one of the important traits associated with seedling vigor in rice, but few genes for SL have been cloned so far. In the previous study, we identified two tightly linked and stably expressed QTLs for SL, qSL-1f and qSL-1d by genome-wide association study, and cloned the causal gene (LOC_Os01g68500) underlying qSL-1f. In the present study, we identify LOC_Os01g66100 (i...

The aus (Oryza sativa L.) varietal group comprises of aus, boro, ashina and rayada seasonal and/or field ecotypes, and exhibits unique stress tolerance traits, making it valuable for rice breeding. Despite its importance, the agro-morphological diversity and genetic control of yield traits in aus rice remain poorly understood. To address this knowledge gap, we investigated the genetic structure of 181 aus accessions using 399,115 SNP markers and evaluated them for 11 morpho-agronomic traits. Through genome-wide association studies (GWAS), we aimed to identify key loci controlling yield and plant architectural traits...

Sakuranetin plays a key role as a phytoalexin in plant resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses, and possesses diverse health-promoting benefits. However, mature rice seeds do not contain detectable levels of sakuranetin. In the present study, a transgenic rice plant was developed in which the promoter of an endosperm-specific glutelin gene OsGluD-1 drives the expression of a specific enzyme naringenin 7-O-methyltransferase (NOMT) for sakuranetin biosynthesis. The presence of naringenin, which serves as the biosynthetic precursor of sakuranetin made this modification feasible in theory...

Sulfur (S) is one of the main components of important biomolecules, which has been paid more attention in the anaerobic environment of rice cultivation. In this study, 12 accessions of rice materials, belonging to two Asian rice domestication systems and one African rice domestication system, were used by shotgun metagenomics sequencing to compare the structure and function involved in S cycle of rhizosphere microbiome between wild and cultivated rice. The sulfur cycle functional genes abundances were significantly different between wild and cultivated rice rhizosphere in the processes of sulfate reduction and other sulfur compounds conversion, implicating that wild rice had a stronger mutually-beneficial relationship with rhizosphere microbiome, enhancing sulfur utilization...

The advancement of hybrid technology plays a crucial role in addressing yield plateau and diminishing resources in rice cultivating regions. The knowledge of genetic diversity among parental lines is a prerequisite for effective hybrid breeding program. In the current study, a set of 66 parental lines was studied for diversity based on both morphological characters and microsatellite SSR markers. The genetic variability parameters unveiled that number of productive tillers per plant, single plant yield and hundred grain weight exhibited additive gene action...

High temperature during grain filling considerably reduces yield and quality in rice, but its molecular mechanisms are not fully understood. We investigated the functions of a seed preferentially expressed Aux/IAA gene, OsIAA29, under high temperature-stress in grain filling using CRISPR/Cas9, RNAi, and overexpression. We observed that the osiaa29 had a higher percentage of shrunken and chalkiness seed, as well as lower 1000-grain weight than ZH11 under high temperature. Meanwhile, the expression of OsIAA29 was induced and the IAA content was remarkably reduced in the ZH11 seeds under high temperature...

Leaf senescence, the last stage of leaf development, is essential for crop yield by promoting nutrition relocation from senescence leaves to new leaves and seeds. NAC (NAM/ATAF1/ATAF2/CUC2) proteins, one of the plant-specific transcription factors, widely distribute in plants and play important roles in plant growth and development. Here, we identified a new NAC member OsNAC103 and found that it plays critical roles in leaf senescence and plant architecture in rice. OsNAC103 mRNA levels were dramatically induced by leaf senescence as well as different phytohormones such as ABA, MeJA and ACC and abiotic stresses including dark, drought and high salinity...

Rice blast, caused by the fungal pathogen Magnaporthe oryzae, is one of the most devastating diseases for rice crops, significantly affecting crop yield and quality. During the infection process, M. oryzae secretes effector proteins that help in hijacking the host's immune responses to establish infection. However, little is known about the interaction between the effector protein AvrPik-D and the host protein Pikh, and how AvrPik-D increases disease severity to promote infection. In this study, we show that the M...

This study investigated the production of Sangyod rice bran hydrolysate (SYRB) from Sangyod rice, focusing on incubation times (1, 3, and 5 h) and alcalase enzyme concentrations (0, 0.7, and 1% v/v). The results demonstrated a concentration-dependent relationship: higher alcalase concentrations increased hydrolysate yield. Prolonged incubation, especially with alcalase, enhanced substrate breakdown, further increasing hydrolysate production. The degree of hydrolysis, reflecting peptide bond cleavage, depended on both incubation time and enzyme concentration, emphasizing the role of enzyme activity in efficiency...

BACKGROUND: Hybrid rice has significant yield advantage and stress tolerance compared with inbred rice. However, production of hybrid rice seeds requires extensive manual labors. Currently, hybrid rice seeds are produced by crosspollination of male sterile lines by fertile paternal lines. Because seeds from paternal lines can contaminate the hybrid seeds, mechanized production by mixed-seeding and mixed-harvesting is difficult. This problem can be solved if the paternal line is female sterile...

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B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2)-associated athanogene (BAG) family genes play prominent roles in regulating plant growth, development, and stress response. Although the molecular mechanism underlying BAG's response to abiotic stress has been studied in Arabidopsis, the function of OsBAG underlying saline-alkaline stress tolerance in rice remains unclear. In this study, OsBAG6, a chaperone regulator localized to mitochondria, was identified as a novel negative regulator of saline-alkaline stress tolerance in rice...

Rice leaf folder, Cnaphalocrocis medinalis (Guenée), is one of the most serious pests on rice. At present, chemical control is the main method for controlling this pest. However, the indiscriminate use of chemical insecticides has non-target effects and may cause environmental pollution. Besides, leaf curling behavior by C. medinalis may indirectly reduce the efficacy of chemical spray. Therefore, it is crucial to cultivate efficient rice varieties resistant to this pest. Previous studies have found that three different rice varieties, Zhongzao39 (ZZ39), Xiushui134 (XS134), and Yongyou1540 (YY1540), had varying degrees of infestation by C...