OsHMA7 mediates copper transport into the chloroplast to maintain photosynthetic efficiency and alleviate oxidative stress.
Ren Z, Wang P, Tang Z, Zhang W, Ji YX
Crop Improvement
PubMedThe rice on your plate depends on a tiny copper-moving protein inside each leaf cell — and understanding it could help breeders grow more productive rice crops even as soils worldwide face nutrient imbalances.
Inside every green rice leaf are tiny structures that capture sunlight and turn it into energy — but they need copper to do it well. Researchers found a protein that acts like a doorman, letting copper into these structures. When they used gene-editing to disable this doorman, the plants grew poorly and produced up to 96% less grain than normal.
Key Findings
Disabling OsHMA7 reduced rice grain yield by 81–96% and cut tiller (shoot) number by 76–78%.
Copper levels inside chloroplasts dropped sharply in mutant plants, causing large decreases in two key copper-dependent proteins involved in photosynthesis and antioxidant defense.
Without OsHMA7, photosynthetic efficiency declined and reactive oxygen species (cell-damaging molecules) increased, linking copper transport directly to plant health and productivity.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists discovered a protein in rice called OsHMA7 that acts as a gatekeeper, shuttling copper into the cell's photosynthesis factories (chloroplasts). Without it, rice plants produced dramatically less grain and struggled to capture sunlight or fight cell damage.
Abstract Preview
The chloroplast is a major sink for copper (Cu), which plays a crucial role in photosynthesis and oxidative stress protection in this organelle. The molecular mechanisms controlling Cu homeostasis ...
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