Knockout of OsRbohD (the NADPH Oxidase Gene) Enhances Saline-Alkaline Stress Tolerance and Grain Yield in Rice by Reducing ROS Accumulation.
Liu X, Ji P, Li X, Yang H, Peng B
Crispr
Vast stretches of farmland worldwide are becoming too salty and alkaline to grow food — and this discovery points to a single gene tweak that could keep rice thriving on those struggling soils.
Rice plants have a gene that, under stressful salty or alkaline conditions, triggers a kind of internal chemical fire that damages cells and stunts growth. Researchers switched that gene off using a molecular scissors tool, and the plants stopped producing as much of that damaging chemistry. The result was dramatically better survival, root growth, and crop yields even in harsh, degraded soils.
Key Findings
CRISPR knockout of the OsRbohD gene increased rice grain yield by 12.5–175.2% in saline-alkaline soils compared to unedited plants.
Edited plants showed 5.77–28.85% higher seedling emergence rates and maintained higher chlorophyll and potassium levels while accumulating less sodium under stress.
The knockout upregulated protective genes involved in proline biosynthesis, ion transport, and cell death inhibition, while suppressing a cell-death-promoting gene.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists used CRISPR gene editing to knock out a gene in rice that produces harmful reactive oxygen species under salty, alkaline soil conditions. The edited rice plants survived better, grew more roots, and produced up to 175% more grain in degraded soils.
Abstract Preview
Saline-alkaline (SA) stress, characterized by high salinity and alkalinity, severely constrains global crop productivity by inducing excessive accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). This st...
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