A rice gene pair controls drought survival through protein degradation
Li X, Xu B, Jia X, Cao X, Sun W
Crop Improvement
Rice feeds more than half the world's population, and understanding how it senses and survives drought could help breeders develop varieties that keep producing food as rainfall patterns grow less predictable.
Researchers found two proteins in rice that work like a seesaw to control drought tolerance. One protein, OsMYB61, normally suppresses the plant's stress-response genes and gets broken down by a partner protein called OsRFP1, which helps rice cope with dry conditions. When scientists boosted OsMYB61 levels, rice plants handled drought worse, but when they removed OsRFP1 entirely, plants also struggled, showing both proteins need to work together in balance for rice to survive water shortages.
Key Findings
Overexpressing OsMYB61 decreased rice drought tolerance by suppressing key stress genes OsDREB2A and OsNCED1/4
OsMYB61 directly binds and ubiquitinates OsRFP1, marking it for degradation via the ubiquitin-26S proteasome pathway
CRISPR-Cas9 knockout of OsRFP1 caused decreased drought and osmotic stress tolerance, confirming its positive regulatory role
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists identified a molecular switch in rice that controls how the plant responds to drought, and found that dialing down one gene's activity actually helps rice survive dry conditions better. This discovery could help breed more drought-resistant rice varieties as water becomes scarcer.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
The OsRFP1-OsMYB61 module regulates rice drought tolerance by modulating the transcription of ABA- and drought-responsive genes.
Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a major food crop worldwide. With the acceleration of global warming, drought is becoming one of the major limitations for rice productivity. In plants, MYB transcription ...
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