Identification of splice variant of in ssp. genotypes under salinity stress.

G-box-binding factors are plant transcription factors, involved in a wide range of biological processes including abiotic stress responses. In this study, we analyzed the expression of during salt stress in two contrasting spp. genotypes, and . Two-day-old seedlings were exposed to NaCl stress under two different conditions. One set was exposed to 100 mM NaCl before transferring to 250 mM (induction stress), while another set was transferred directly to 250 mM (shock stress). During early induction stress, was up-regulated in when compared to . We cloned full-length from these two genotypes, and analyzed the sequences. Our analysis indicated the presence of transcript variants, which are designated as and variant retained introns, which lead to the generation of premature termination codon. transcript levels were not significantly different at 12-h of induction stress in and . At 24-h of shock stress, was up-regulated in both genotypes and the transcript was more in . Since, and are predicted to be splice variants, we examined expression pattern of , a splicing factor and component of the spliceosome. In induction stress, was up-regulated at 12- and 24-h in when compared to . On the contrary, at 24-h shock stress, was down-regulated in when compared to . It is possible that expression was increased in during induction stress for accurate splicing that could aid in tolerance. This is the first report on splice variant and the variant could have specific functions linked to stress tolerance in rice.