Boosting one rice gene creates a natural pest-repelling scent
Falert S, Wang C, Qiu CL, Yu SY, Wang MQ
Crispr
The rice on your plate might one day need fewer pesticides thanks to a single gene that lets the plant release its own bug-repelling perfume when attacked.
Rice plants under attack from a sap-sucking insect called the brown planthopper ramp up a gene that makes a fragrant compound called linalool, the same floral scent found in lavender and many flowers. Researchers found that rice plants engineered to make extra linalool suffered less pest damage and even resisted a common fungal disease better, while plants missing the gene had weaker defenses. Because the change didn't hurt the plant's growth, this scent-making gene could become a useful tool for breeding tougher rice without trade-offs.
Key Findings
OsTPS10 expression rose sharply 24 hours after brown planthopper infestation, and the enzyme converts geranyl diphosphate into linalool.
Overexpression lines increased linalool emission from 0.0438% to 0.1537% after infestation and showed reduced pest damage plus altered insect behavior, while knockout lines had reduced volatile emissions.
Higher OsTPS10 expression also reduced susceptibility to sheath blight disease, with no negative effects on plant growth or physiology.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists engineered rice plants to produce more of a defensive scent called linalool, which helps the plants fend off a major pest called the brown planthopper and even resist a fungal disease, all without slowing the plant's growth.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
TPS10 contributes to linalool emission in rice in response to brown planthopper infestation.
Terpenoids, a prominent class of herbivore-induced plant volatiles, play a crucial role in plant responses to insect attacks. However, the precise ecological functions of individual terpene synthas...
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