Molecular Characterization of Rice Gene and Functional Analysis of its Role in Insect Resistance.

In plants, sphingolipids, such as long-chain bases (LCBs), act as bioactive molecules in stress responses. Until now, it is still not clear if these lipids are involved in biotic stress responses to herbivore. Herein we report that a rice LCB gene, encoding a subunit of serine palmitoyltransferase (SPT), a key enzyme responsible for the biosynthesis of sphingolipids, plays a critical role in plant defense response to the brown planthopper (BPH) attack and that its up-regulation protects plants from herbivore infestation.