Identification of a major quantitative trait locus and its candidate underlying genetic variation for rice stigma exsertion rate

Stigma exsertion in male sterile lines of hybrid rice is important for seed yield.In the present study, ZS616 [Oryza sativa subsp.Xian(indica)], a male sterile line with a stigma exsertion rate(SER) as high as 94.5%, was crossed to DS552, a japonica line with almost no exserted stigmas.F3 plants with extremely low and high SER were sequenced to identify SER-associated quantitative trait loci(QTL).A major QTL for SER, qSER-3.1, was identified along with other QTL on chromosome 3 in a 3.9 Mb region.A total of 307 nonsynonymous single-nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs) and 27 frame-shift insertion/deletions(InDels)differentiating ZS616 and DS552 were identified in the region containing qSER-3.1.Most SNPs(294) and InDels(25) were excluded after further analysis because they were shared by ZS616 and low(<2.0%) SER accessions in the Huazhong Agricultural University(HAU) core rice collection.Association analysis using the full HAU collection identified a 17-bp InDel in OS03 G0689400 as the most likely causal genetic variant underlying qSER-3.1.ZS616-type accessions(n = 54, with the 17-bp insertion) in the HAU collection had minimum(16.5%)and mean(39.6%) SERs significantly greater than those(n = 424) without the insertion(with minimum and mean SERs of 0.2% and 20.6%, respectively).Thus, this study identified a major QTL for stigma exsertion and revealed the mutation in a candidate gene for the QTL.

Melatonin activates the OsbZIP79–OsABI5 module that orchestrates nitrogen and ROS homeostasis to alleviate nitrogen-limitation stress in rice

Melatonin(Mel)has previously been reported to effectively alleviate nitrogen-limitation(N-L)stress and thus increase nitrogen-use efficiency(NUE)in several plants,but the underlying mechanism remains obscure.Here,we revealed that OsbZIP79(BASIC LEUCINE ZIPPER 79)is transcriptionally activated under N-L conditions,and its expression is further enhanced by exogenous Mel.By the combined use of omics,genetics,and biological techniques,we revealed that the OsbZIP79–OsABI5(ABSCISIC ACID INSENSITIVE 5)module stimulated regulation of reactive oxygen species(ROS)homeostasis and the uptake and metabolismof nitrogen under conditions of indoor nitrogen limitation(1/16 normal level).OsbZIP79 activated the transcription of OsABI5,and OsABI5 then bound to the promoters of target genes,including genes involved in ROS homeostasis and nitrogen metabolism,activating their transcription.This module was also indispensable for upregulation of several other genes involved in abscisic acid catabolism,nitrogen uptake,and assimilation under N-L and Mel treatment,although these genes were not directly transactivated by OsABI5.Field experiments demonstrated that Mel significantly improved rice growth under low nitrogen(L-N,half the normal level)by the same mechanism revealed in the nitrogen-limitation study.Mel application produced a 28.6%yield increase under L-N and thus similar increases in NUE.Also,two OsbZIP79-overexpression lines grown in L-N field plots had significantly higher NUE(+13.7%and+21.2%)than their wild types.Together,our data show that an OsbZIP79–OsABI5 module regulates the rice response to N insufficiency(N limitation or low N),which is important for increasing NUE in rice production.