Turning off one rice gene doubles its salt tolerance
Yuan P, Yang L, Bu F, Xu H, Tang J
Crispr
As coastal farmland and irrigation water grow saltier worldwide, a single gene switch that nearly doubles rice survival under salt stress could keep rice paddies productive in places where soil is quietly turning against the crop.
Rice plants have a gene, called OsERFSR1, that normally makes them more sensitive to salty soil rather than tougher. When researchers deleted this gene using CRISPR gene editing, the plants survived salt stress far better, nearly doubling their survival rate. When they instead cranked the gene's activity up, the plants did worse, building up more cell-damaging molecules and running low on their own stress-fighting defenses.
Key Findings
Overexpressing OsERFSR1 dropped salt-stress survival to 53.2% versus 70.2% in normal rice, while CRISPR knockout raised survival to 54.6% versus 28.2% in normal rice.
Plants with extra OsERFSR1 built up more malondialdehyde and hydrogen peroxide (markers of cell damage) and had weaker antioxidant enzyme activity than normal plants.
Gene activity differences among the three rice versions were linked to tryptophan metabolism and plant hormone signaling pathways.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists found a gene in rice that actually makes plants worse at handling salty soil. Turning the gene off boosted rice survival in salt stress from 28% to over 54%, pointing to a potential gene-editing target for growing rice in salt-affected fields.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Cloning and functional characterization of OsERFSR1, a negative regulator of salt stress tolerance in rice (Oryza sativa L.).
Salt stress is one of the major abiotic factors limiting rice growth, development and yield. In this study, a member of the AP2/ERF transcription factor family, OsERFSR1, was cloned from rice. Over...
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