Identification of Drought-Resistant Genes in Shanlan Upland Rice

Abstract

Shanlan upland rice is a kind of upland rice and is suitable for planting in the mountains and in hilly terrain. It is mainly found in China’s Hainan province. To discover the drought-resistant genes in Shanlan upland rice, two representative varieties—Baishanuo (BSN) and Dongfang Manpoxiang (MPX)—were selected for transcriptome sequencing, after which gene expression analysis was used to confirm their gene expression patterns. The results demonstrated that 2791 and 829 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified for each variety, including 184 and 58 transcriptional factors, respectively. Expression analysis demonstrated that some genes with unknown functions, such as Os10g0505900, were highly expressed under drought stress treatment. The transcriptomic data and digital gene expression profiling data obtained in this study provide a basis for studying the drought-resistant mechanism in Shanlan upland rice.

Integrative analysis of transcriptome and metabolism reveals potential roles of carbon fixation and photorespiratory metabolism in response to drought in Shanlan upland rice

“…It is clear that ABA binds directly to the PYR/PYL family of ABA receptors, resulting in the inhibition of type 2C phosphatases (PP2C) and activation of downstream ABA signaling, hence inducing the expression of various DRGs, such as ABI1 and ABI2 [ 8 , 42 ], and some transcription factors in rice including OsMADS25 [ 43 ], OsABF1 [ 44 ]. Some DRGs involved in ABA-dependent pathways were reported previously in Shanlan upland rice, such as AWPM-19-like (Os05g0381400) [ 7 ]. In current study, biological pathways related to response to stress were highly enriched in the list of up-regulated list DEGs in SL10 (Fig.…”

“…Shanlan upland rice has a long history of cultivation on Hainan Island, China, and the typical cultivation method is slash-and-burn [ 6 ]. After a long period of domestication, it has become a special type of upland rice, and it is suitable for cultivation on hillsides and is especially tolerant to DS [ 7 ]. The great DS resistance in Shanlan upland rice is always related to high plant height, scattered panicles, many grains, a high seed setting rate, a high 1000 grain weight, high per plant yields, and rich genetic diversity [ 7 ].…”

“…After a long period of domestication, it has become a special type of upland rice, and it is suitable for cultivation on hillsides and is especially tolerant to DS [ 7 ]. The great DS resistance in Shanlan upland rice is always related to high plant height, scattered panicles, many grains, a high seed setting rate, a high 1000 grain weight, high per plant yields, and rich genetic diversity [ 7 ]. Therefore, Shanlan upland rice could provide important germplasm for drought breeding in cultivated rice.…”

“…Liu and colleagues observed higher chlorophyll content and water use efficiency (WUE) in Shanlan upland rice than that in cultivated rice varieties at the seedling stage under DS [ 10 ]. Under dry farming conditions, WUE and the stability of plasma membrane of Shanlan upland rice are higher than those of cultivated rice [ 7 ]. Furthermore, Liu and colleagues cloned a HKT2 gene in Shanlan upland rice and elucidated the molecular mechanism of Na + and K + transport [ 11 ] (Liu et al, 2013).…”

“…Using a japonica rice cultivar, Yoo and colleagues claimed that osphyB (Os03g0309200) negatively regulates the tolerance to DS by repressing the activity of ascorbate peroxidase and modulating the total leaf area and stomatal density [ 15 ]. Niu and colleagues identified some unknown genes with high expression under DS treatment in Shanlan upland rice lines using transcriptome analysis [ 7 ]. In addition, metabolites involved in the plant central metabolic network serve as a hub for regulating carbon and energy metabolism under various stress conditions [ 16 ].…”