Deleting one rice gene makes plants far more salt-tolerant
Lei H, Zhu Y, Du Q, Jiang L, Quan R
Crispr
Salty soil is quietly taking farmland out of rice production worldwide, and knowing exactly which gene to switch off gives breeders a fast, precise route to varieties that can grow where salt would normally kill them.
Rice plants have a gene called SZF12 that normally acts like a brake, dialing down the plant's stress response when salty water hits its roots. When researchers used CRISPR gene editing to knock out this gene, the rice plants handled salt far better: they kept less sodium in their tissues, survived longer, and even grew more grain. Plants engineered to make extra SZF12 did the opposite, struggling under salt stress and growing poorly, confirming that this one gene is a key switch controlling how well rice copes with salty soil.
Key Findings
CRISPR/Cas9 knockout mutants (szf12-c1, szf12-c2) showed higher survival rates, lower Na+ accumulation, and lower Na+/K+ ratios under salt stress compared to wild-type rice
SZF12-overexpressing lines showed the opposite pattern: reduced salt tolerance, stunted growth, and altered grain length
Loss of SZF12 activated ion transport genes and suppressed carbon metabolism genes, enabling more targeted transcriptional reprogramming under salt stress, and knockout plants showed increased grain yield under salt stress
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists found a rice gene called SZF12 that actually holds back the plant's ability to fight off salty soil. Turning this gene off with CRISPR made rice plants survive salt stress better and even produce more grain, pointing to a promising target for breeding tougher, salt-resistant rice.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
The CCCH-type zinc finger protein SZF12 negatively regulates salt stress tolerance in rice by suppressing stress-responsive transcriptional reprogramming.
Soil salinity represents one of the most damaging abiotic stresses constraining rice (Oryza sativa L.) production globally. Although CCCH-type zinc finger proteins have emerged as important regulat...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
Species Mentioned
Was this useful?
Want to tell us more? (optional)
Thanks for the note!
Something went wrong — please try again.
Too many submissions. Try again in an hour.
Gene editing removes 97% of celiac-triggering proteins from bread wheat
It could mean that people with celiac disease — roughly 1 in 100 worldwide — may one day safely eat bread made from real wheat, without sacrificing the taste...
Rice is a cereal grain and in its domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species Oryza sativa —or, much less commonly, Oryza glaberrima. Asian rice was domesticated in China some 13,500 to 8,200 y...