Although quantitative trait loci (QTL) underpin many desirable agronomic traits, their incorporation into crop plants through marker-assisted selection is limited by the low predictive value of markers on phenotypic performance. Here we used candidate defense response (DR) genes to dissect quantitative resistance in rice using recombinant inbred (RI) and advanced backcross (BC) populations derived from a blast-resistant cultivar, Sanhuangzhan 2 (SHZ-2). Based on DNA profiles of DR genes, RI lines were clustered into two groups corresponding to level of resistance. Five DR genes, encoding putative oxalate oxidase, dehydrin, PR-1, chitinase, and 14-3-3 protein, accounted for 30.0, 23.0, 15.8, 6.7, and 5.5% of diseased leaf area (DLA) variation, respectively. Together, they accounted for 60.3% of the DLA variation and co-localized with resistance QTL identified by interval mapping. Average phenotypic contributions of oxalate oxidase, dehydrin, PR-1, chitinase, and 14-3-3 protein in BC lines were 26.1, 19.0, 18.0, 11.5, and 10.6%, respectively, across environments. Advanced BC lines with four to five effective DR genes showed enhanced resistance under high disease pressure in field tests. Our results demonstrate that the use of natural variation in a few candidate genes can solve a long-standing problem in rice production and has the potential to address other problems involving complex traits.

Although 14-3-3 proteins have been reported to be involved in responses to biotic stresses in plants, their functions in rice blast, the most destructive disease in rice, are largely unknown. Only GF14e has been confirmed to negatively regulate leaf blast. We report that GF14b is highly expressed in seedlings and panicles during blast infection. Rice plants overexpressing GF14b show enhanced resistance to panicle blast but are susceptible to leaf blast. In contrast, GF14b-silenced plants show increased susceptibility to panicle blast but enhanced resistance to leaf blast. Yeast one-hybrid assays demonstrate that WRKY71 binds to the promoter of GF14b and modulates its expression. Overexpression of GF14b induces expression of jasmonic acid (JA) synthesis-related genes but suppresses expression of salicylic acid (SA) synthesis-related genes. In contrast, suppressed GF14b expression causes decreased expression of JA synthesis-related genes but activation of SA synthesis-related genes. These results suggest that GF14b positively regulates panicle blast resistance but negatively regulates leaf blast resistance, and that GF14b-mediated disease resistance is associated with the JA- and SA-dependent pathway. The different functions for 14-3-3 proteins in leaf and panicle blast provide new evidence that leaf and panicle blast resistance are controlled by different mechanisms.

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Although, microRNAs (miRNAs) have been reported to be associated with heat tolerance at the seedling stage in rice, their involvement in heat tolerance at the flowering stage is still unknown. In this study, small RNA profiling was conducted in a heat-tolerant variety Gan-Xiang-Nuo (GXN) and a heat-sensitive variety Hua-Jing-Xian-74 (HJX), respectively. Totally, 102 miRNAs were differentially expressed (DE) under heat stress. Compared to HJX, GXN had more DE miRNAs and its DE miRNAs changed earlier under heat stress. Plant Ontology (PO) analysis of the target genes revealed that many DE miRNAs were involved in flower development. As a parallel experiment, QTL mapping was also conducted and four QTLs for heat tolerance at the flowering stage were identified using chromosome single-segment substitution lines derived from GXN and HJX. Further, through integrating analysis of DE miRNAs with QTLs, we identified 8 target genes corresponding to 26 miRNAs within the four QTL regions. Some meaningful target genes such as LOC_Os12g42400, SGT1, and pectinesterase were within the QTL regions. The negative correlation between miR169r-5p and its target gene LOC_Os12g42400 was confirmed under heat stress, and overexpression of miR169r-5p enhanced heat tolerance at flowering stage in rice. Our results demonstrate that the integrated analysis of genome-wide miRNA profiling with QTL mapping can facilitate identification of miRNAs and their target genes associated with the target traits and the limited candidates identified in this study offer an important source for further functional analysis and molecular breeding for heat tolerance in rice.