DROUGHT-INDUCED BRANCHED-CHAIN AMINO ACID AMINOTRANSFERASE enhances drought tolerance in rice.

Plants accumulate several metabolites in response to drought stress, including branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs). However, the roles of BCAAs in plant drought responses and the underlying molecular mechanisms for BCAA accumulation remain elusive. Here, we demonstrate that rice (Oryza sativa) DROUGHT-INDUCED BRANCHED-CHAIN AMINO ACID AMINOTRANSFERASE (OsDIAT) mediates the accumulation of BCAAs in rice in response to drought stress.

Rice NAC17 transcription factor enhances drought tolerance by modulating lignin accumulation.

Land plants have developed a comprehensive system to cope with the drought stress, and it is operated by intricate signaling networks, including transcriptional regulation. Herein, we identified the function of OsNAC17, a member of NAC (NAM, ATAF, and CUC2) transcription factor family, in drought tolerance. OsNAC17 is localized to the nucleus, and its expression was significantly induced under drought conditions.

Transcriptional activation of rice CINNAMOYL-CoA REDUCTASE 10 by OsNAC5, contributes to drought tolerance by modulating lignin accumulation in roots.

Drought is a common abiotic stress for terrestrial plants and often affects crop development and yield. Recent studies have suggested that lignin plays a crucial role in plant drought tolerance; however, the underlying molecular mechanisms are still largely unknown. Here, we report that the rice (Oryza sativa) gene CINNAMOYL-CoA REDUCTASE 10 (OsCCR10) is directly activated by the OsNAC5 transcription factor, which mediates drought tolerance through regulating lignin accumulation.

Overexpression of , a Vascular Tissue-Specific Transcription Factor Gene, Confers Drought Tolerance in Rice.

Abiotic stresses severely affect plant growth and productivity. To cope with abiotic stresses, plants have evolved tolerance mechanisms that are tightly regulated by reprogramming transcription factors (TFs). APETALA2/ethylene-responsive factor (AP2/ERF) transcription factors are known to play an important role in various abiotic stresses.

, a Ribonucleoprotein Gene, Regulates Chloroplast mRNA Stability That Confers Drought and Cold Tolerance.

Chloroplast ribonucleoproteins (cpRNPs) are nuclear-encoded and highly abundant proteins that are proposed to function in chloroplast RNA metabolism. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the regulation of chloroplast RNAs involved in stress tolerance are poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that (), a rice () cpRNP gene, is essential for stabilization of RNAs from the NAD(P)H dehydrogenase (NDH) complex, which in turn enhances drought and cold stress tolerance.

Efficiency of Recombinant CRISPR/rCas9-Mediated miRNA Gene Editing in Rice.

Drought is one of the major environmental stresses adversely affecting crop productivity worldwide. Precise characterization of genes involved in drought response is necessary to develop new crop varieties with enhanced drought tolerance. Previously, we identified 66 drought-induced miRNAs in rice plants.

Overexpression of , a CCCH-Zinc Finger, Improves Drought Tolerance in Rice by Regulating Stress-Related Genes.

CCCH zinc finger proteins are members of the zinc finger protein family, and are known to participate in the regulation of development and stress responses via the posttranscriptional regulation of messenger RNA in animals and yeast. However, the molecular mechanism of CCCHZF-mediated drought tolerance is not well understood. We analyzed the functions of , a member of the rice CCCHZF family.

Allantoin accumulation through overexpression of ureide permease1 improves rice growth under limited nitrogen conditions.

In legumes, nitrogen (N) can be stored as ureide allantoin and transported by ureide permease (UPS) from nodules to leaves where it is catabolized to release ammonium and assimilation to amino acids. In non-leguminous plants especially rice, information on its roles in N metabolism is scarce. Here, we show that OsUPS1 is localized in plasma membranes and are highly expressed in vascular tissues of rice.

Overexpression of OsTF1L, a rice HD-Zip transcription factor, promotes lignin biosynthesis and stomatal closure that improves drought tolerance.

Drought stress seriously impacts on plant development and productivity. Improvement of drought tolerance without yield penalty is a great challenge in crop biotechnology. Here, we report that the rice (Oryza sativa) homeodomain-leucine zipper transcription factor gene, OsTF1L (Oryza sativa transcription factor 1-like), is a key regulator of drought tolerance mechanisms.

The rice OsNAC6 transcription factor orchestrates multiple molecular mechanisms involving root structural adaptions and nicotianamine biosynthesis for drought tolerance.

Drought has a serious impact on agriculture worldwide. A plant's ability to adapt to rhizosphere drought stress requires reprogramming of root growth and development. Although physiological studies have documented the root adaption for tolerance to the drought stress, underlying molecular mechanisms is still incomplete, which is essential for crop engineering.

The NF-YA transcription factor OsNF-YA7 confers drought stress tolerance of rice in an abscisic acid independent manner.

The mechanisms of plant response and adaptation to drought stress require the regulation of transcriptional networks via the induction of drought-responsive transcription factors. Nuclear Factor Y (NF-Y) transcription factors have aroused interest in roles of plant drought stress responses. However, the molecular mechanism of the NF-Y-induced drought tolerance is not well understood.

The activities of four constitutively expressed promoters in single-copy transgenic rice plants for two homozygous generations.

We have characterized four novel constitutive promoters ARP1, H3F3, HSP and H2BF3 that are active in all tissues/stages of transgenic plants and stable over two homozygous generations. Gene promoters that are active and stable over several generations in transgenic plants are valuable tools for plant research and biotechnology. In this study, we characterized four putative constitutive promoters (ARP1, H3F3, HSP and H2BF3) in transgenic rice plants.

OsNAC5 overexpression enlarges root diameter in rice plants leading to enhanced drought tolerance and increased grain yield in the field.

Drought conditions are among the most serious challenges to crop production worldwide. Here, we report the results of field evaluations of transgenic rice plants overexpressing OsNAC5, under the control of either the root-specific (RCc3) or constitutive (GOS2) promoters. Field evaluations over three growing seasons revealed that the grain yield of the RCc3:OsNAC5 and GOS2:OsNAC5 plants were increased by 9%-23% and 9%-26% under normal conditions, respectively.

Characterization of the stress-inducible OsNCED3 promoter in different transgenic rice organs and over three homozygous generations.

To be effective in crop biotechnology applications, gene promoters need to be stably active over sequential generations in a population of single-copy transgenic lines. Most of the stress-inducible promoters characterized in plants thus far have been analyzed at early (T₀, T₁ or T₂) generations and/or by testing only a small number of transgenic lines. In our current study, we report our analysis of OsNCED3, a stress-inducible rice promoter involved in ABA biosynthesis, in various organs and tissues of transgenic rice plants over the T(2-4) homozygous generations.

Posttranscriptional control of photosynthetic mRNA decay under stress conditions requires 3' and 5' untranslated regions and correlates with differential polysome association in rice.

Abiotic stress, including drought, salinity, and temperature extremes, regulates gene expression at the transcriptional and posttranscriptional levels. Expression profiling of total messenger RNAs (mRNAs) from rice (Oryza sativa) leaves grown under stress conditions revealed that the transcript levels of photosynthetic genes are reduced more rapidly than others, a phenomenon referred to as stress-induced mRNA decay (SMD). By comparing RNA polymerase II engagement with the steady-state mRNA level, we show here that SMD is a posttranscriptional event.

Analysis of the APX, PGD1 and R1G1B constitutive gene promoters in various organs over three homozygous generations of transgenic rice plants.

We have previously characterized the constitutively active promoters of the APX, PGD1 and R1G1B genes in rice (Park et al. 2010 in J Exp Bot 61:2459-2467). To have potential crop biotechnology applications, gene promoters must be stably active over many generations.

Analysis of five novel putative constitutive gene promoters in transgenic rice plants.

Novel constitutive gene promoters are essential components of crop biotechnology. Our analysis of five such promoters, APX, SCP1, PGD1, R1G1B, and EIF5, in transgenic rice plants is reported here. The five promoter regions were linked to the gfp reporter gene and transformed into rice.