Enhancing disease resistances of Super Hybrid Rice with four antifungal genes

A plant expression vector harboring four antifungal genes was delivered into the embryogenic calli of ‘9311’, an indica restorer line of Super Hybrid Rice, via modified biolistic particle bombardment. Southern blot analysis indicated that in the regenerated hygromycin-resistant plants, all the four anti-fungal genes, including RCH10, RAC22, β-Glu and B-RIP, were integrated into the genome of ‘9311’, co-transmitted altogether with the marker gene hpt in a Mendelian pattern. Some transgenic R1 and R2 progenies, with all transgenes displaying a normal expression level in the Northern blot analysis, showed high resistance to Magnaporthe grisea when tested in the typical blast nurseries located in Yanxi and Sanya respectively. Furthermore, transgenic F₁ plants, resulting from a cross of R₂ homozygous lines with high resistance to rice blast with the non-transgenic male sterile line Peiai 64S, showed not only high resistance to M. grisea but also enhanced resistance to rice false smut (a disease caused by Ustilaginoidea virens) and rice kernel smut (another disease caused by Tilletia barclayana).     

Integrated control of rice kernel smut disease using plant extracts and salicylic acid

The effects of salicylic acid (SA) at three concentrations i.e. 2.5, 5 and 7 mM and plant extracts from pick tooth (Ammi visnaga), liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra), artemisia (Artemisia judaica), mint (Mentha viridis), clove (Syzygium aromaticum) and blue gum (Eucalyptus globulus) on the infection of rice kernel smut disease caused by Tilletia barclayana were studied. Spraying of rice plants with different concentrations of SA at seven days before infection was the most effective treatment against pathogen infection. Among all plant extract treatments, M. viridis and S. aromaticum were the most effective treatments. Additionally, our results showed increased levels of peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase, phenylalanine ammonia lyase and chitinase as well as total protein contents in the treated plants compared with the control. In conclusion, accumulations of these oxidative enzymes in plants treated with SA and plant extracts provide their role in the activation of induced resistance against T. barclayana.     

杂交水稻苗瘟抗性的配合力和遗传力分析

采用7×7不完全双列杂交设计,对反映杂交水稻苗瘟抗性的5个指标进行了配合力和遗传力分析.结果表明,杂交水稻苗瘟抗性遗传力高,受加性和非加性基因效应共同控制,但以加性效应为主;恢复系的苗瘟抗性一般配合力效应明显相对重要于不育系,不育系苗瘟抗性一般配合力效应对F1代的抗性有显著的影响;14个供试亲本中,多恢1号、成恢149、K42A、K40A具有较好的苗瘟抗性一般配合力效应.因此,在杂交水稻抗苗瘟育种中,对恢复系的抗性GCA选择和对亲本的抗性GCA评鉴至关重要,但不应忽视不育系对组合的抗性贡献和对组合的抗性评鉴;多恢1号、成恢149、K42A和K40A可作为优良抗苗瘟亲本加以利用.     

超高产杂交稻剑叶衰老过程中的抗氧化性的变化

与对照种汕优63相比,超高产水稻组合培矮64S/E32的剑叶在生长后期具有更高的抗氧化酶(抗坏血酸过氧化物酶APX和谷胱甘肽还原酶GR)活性和小分子抗氧化剂(抗坏血酸Vc、总Vc、还原型谷胱甘肽GSH和β-胡萝卜素)含量,高的清除有机自由基DPPH·能力,更低的膜脂过氧化产物丙二醛含量。这表明培矮64S/E32剑叶在生长后期有强的抗氧化性,这种强抗氧化性与超高产水稻在结实后期剑叶中较慢的叶绿素和蛋白质降解速度相一致。     

Rice Transformation with a Phytoalexin Gene and Bioassay of the Transgenic Plants

Immature embryos, mature embryos and embryogenie ealli of 6 rice ( Oryza sativa L. ) materials were transformed with particle bombardment. The plasmids pSSVsfl and pVE5 + were used, both containing the phytoalexin gene from grapevine coding for stilbene synthase, but driven by 35S and its own promoter respectively. Through resistance selection for G418 ( 100 to 150 mg/L) or hygromycin (50 mg/L), 54 independent transgenic plants were isolated and further assessed by PCR, Southern blot and Dot blot analyses. The transgenic plants and their progenies were tested for resistance to blast ( Pyricularia oryzae) and bacterial blight of rice ( Xanthomonas oryzae). Preliminary results indicated that the stilbene synthase gene could enhance the resistance of transgenic plants and their progenies to both pathogens.     

超高产水稻组合‘培矮64S/E32’的耐光氧化特性及其机理

甲基紫精(MV)介导的光氧化导致两个水稻品种‘汕优63’(目前我国大面积推广的杂交水稻)和‘培矮64S/E32’(新培育的超高产杂交水稻)细胞电解质渗漏率都增加,前者增加的量大于后者,显示‘培矮64S／E32’的细胞膜系统受光氧化的伤害小。光氧化条件下,‘培矮64S／E32’仍能维持较高的光合放氧能力(Amax,φi)、PSⅡ活性(Fv/Fm、φPSⅡ)和叶绿素荧光猝灭系数(qP、MPQ),而且光氧化引起‘培矮64S／E32’这些参数的下降幅度也小。另外,光氧化导致了两个水稻品种抗氧化酶SOD和APX活性增加,‘培矮64S／E32’增加的幅度约为‘汕优63’的3倍。结果 表明超高产水稻具有更强的耐光氧化能力。     

Enhancing blast disease resistance by overexpression of the calcium‐dependent protein kinase OsCPK4 in rice

Rice is the most important staple food for more than half of the human population, and blast disease is the most serious disease affecting global rice production. In this work, the isoform OsCPK4 of the rice calcium‐dependent protein kinase family is reported as a regulator of rice immunity to blast fungal infection. It shows that overexpression of OsCPK4 gene in rice plants enhances resistance to blast disease by preventing fungal penetration. The constitutive accumulation of OsCPK4 protein prepares rice plants for a rapid and potentiated defence response, including the production of reactive oxygen species, callose deposition and defence gene expression. OsCPK4 overexpression leads also to constitutive increased content of the glycosylated salicylic acid hormone in leaves without compromising rice yield. Given that OsCPK4 overexpression was known to confer also salt and drought tolerance in rice, the results reported in this article demonstrate that OsCPK4 acts as a convergence component that positively modulates both biotic and abiotic signalling pathways. Altogether, our findings indicate that OsCPK4 is a potential molecular target to improve not only abiotic stress tolerance, but also blast disease resistance of rice crops.     

Rice copine genes OsBON1 and OsBON3 function as suppressors of broad‐spectrum disease resistance

Breeding for disease resistance is the most effective strategy to control diseases, particularly with broad‐spectrum disease resistance in many crops. However, knowledge on genes and mechanism of broad‐spectrum resistance and trade‐off between defence and growth in crops is limited. Here, we show that the rice copine genes OsBON1 and OsBON3 are critical suppressors of immunity. Both OsBON1 and OsBON3 changed their protein subcellular localization upon pathogen challenge. Knockdown of OsBON1 and dominant negative mutant of OsBON3 each enhanced resistance to rice bacterial and fungal pathogens with either hemibiotrophic or necrotrophic lifestyles. The defence activation in OsBON1 knockdown mutants was associated with reduced growth, both of which were largely suppressed under high temperature. In contrast, overexpression of OsBON1 or OsBON3 decreased disease resistance and promoted plant growth. However, neither OsBON1 nor OsBON3 could rescue the dwarf phenotype of the Arabidopsis BON1 knockout mutant, suggesting a divergence of the rice and Arabidopsis copine genes. Our study therefore shows that the rice copine genes play a negative role in regulating disease resistance and their expression level and protein location likely have a large impact on the balance between immunity and agronomic traits.     

Chemical induction of disease resistance in rice is correlated with the expression of a gene encoding a nucleotide binding site and leucine-rich repeats

Probenazole (3-allyloxy-1,2-benzisothiazole-1,1-dioxide) is an agricultural chemical primarily used to prevent rice blast disease. Probenazole-treated rice acquires resistance to blast fungus irrespective of the rice variety. The chemical is applied prophylactically, and is thought to induce or bolster endogenous plant defenses. However, the mechanisms underlying this effect have not been established. To understand the mode of the chemical's action, we screened for novel probenazole-responsive genes in rice by means of differential display and identified a candidate gene, RPR1. RPR1 contains a nucleotide binding site and leucine-rich repeats, thus sharing structural similarity with known disease resistance genes. The expression of RPR1 in rice can be up-regulated by treatment with chemical inducers of systemic acquired resistance (SAR) and by inoculation with pathogens. RPR1-related sequences in rice varieties seem to be varied in sequence and/or expression, indicating that RPR1 itself is not a crucial factor for induced resistance in rice. However, Southern blot analysis revealed the existence of homologous sequences in all varieties examined. While the role of RPR1 has yet to be clarified, this is the first report of the identification of a member of this gene class and its induction during the systemic expression of induced disease resistance.     

红莲型杂交稻(红莲2号)及其骨干亲本的RAPD分析与鉴定

利用RAPD技术,从248个随机寡核苷酸引物（10－mer）中筛出18个引物对红莲型杂交稻组合红莲2号及其亲本（T－07A、T－07B、YD6－05）,另6个红莲型胞质不育系的骨干恢复和汕优63及其亲本共14份水稻材料进行分析。共检测到173个多态性标记。聚类分析结果表明：不育系与保持系间因核背景相似,遗传差异很小;杂种（F1）的基因型更倾向于恢复系;恢复系与保持系间遗传距离的相对较大,但各恢复系之间的遗传距离较小。利用这些标记能有效地地区交组合中不育系,保持系、恢复系和杂种（F1）。     

水稻杂种F1结实率与亲本程氏指数差异和同工酶遗传距离的关系及其预测研究

以4个籼粳测验种做母本按NCII(4×90)设计配置的360个杂交F1组合为材料,研究亲本的程氏指数差异(ID)、同工酶遗传距离(GD)与杂种F1结实率的关系.结果显示ID、GD与杂种F1结实率呈极显著负相关(r=-0.540,p＜0.01;r=-0.316,p＜0.01),但决定系数不高,分别是0.2916、0.0999.D、GD与F1结实率的相关性受父本和母本影响,其中对非广亲和品种测交F1结实率的预测效果较好,对广亲和品种及南京11的测交F1的预测则无效.因此,在利用ID和GD对水稻杂种F1结实率进行预测时,宜在一定的亲本类型之间进行,ID比GD的预测效果更好.     

水稻白叶枯病广谱抗性基因Xa21导入两用不育系培矮64S

以克隆的Xa21基因为外源基因,成熟胚愈伤组织为转化受体,应用农杆菌介导法对水稻两用型核不育系培矮64S进行转化,获46株转基因植株。PCR和Southern分析结果表明,Xa21已整合到受体基因组。用稻白叶枯病病原菌(Xanthomonasoryzaepv.oryzae)菲律宾小种6号接种鉴定,结果表明大多数转基因植株获得了抗病性。已整合的Xa21基因能够稳定地遗传,在所检测转基因株系的T1代中,Xa21基因显示3:1的分离。     

Rice NRR, a negative regulator of disease resistance, interacts with Arabidopsis NPR1 and rice NH1

Arabidopsis NPR1/NIM1 is a key regulator of systemic acquired resistance (SAR), which confers lasting broad-spectrum resistance. Over-expression of Arabidopsis NPR1 or the NPR1 homolog 1 (NH1) in rice results in enhanced resistance to the pathogen Xanthomonasoryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo), suggesting the presence of a related defense pathway in rice. We investigated this pathway in rice by identifying proteins that interact with NH1. Here we report the isolation and characterization of a rice cDNA encoding a novel protein, named NRR (for negative regulator of resistance). NRR interacts with NPR1 in the NPR1-interacting domain (NI25) consisting of 25 amino acids. NRR also interacts with NH1; however, NI25 was not sufficient for a strong interaction, indicating a difference between the rice and the Arabidopsis proteins. Silencing of NRR in rice had little effect on resistance to Xoo. When constitutively over-expressed in rice, NRR affected basal resistance, age-related resistance and Xa21-mediated resistance, causing enhanced susceptibility to Xoo. This phenotype was correlated with elevated NRR mRNA and protein levels and increased Xoo growth. Over-expression of NRR suppressed the induction of defense-related genes. NRR:GFP (green fluorescent protein) protein was localized to the nucleus, indicating that NRR may act directly to suppress the activation of defense genes. The fact that NRR compromises Xa21-mediated resistance indicates cross-talk or overlap between NH1- and Xa21-mediated pathways.     

Rice varieties with resistance to multiple races of Magnaporthe oryzae offer opportunities to manage rice blast in Australia

Rice blast caused by Magnaporthe oryzae is the most destructive disease of rice worldwide. Development of resistant varieties is considered as the most cost‐effective and sustainable way to manage rice blast. However, there remains a lack of knowledge about the resistance of rice varieties to blast disease in Australia. This study was conducted to determine if there was any resistance existing among the rice varieties grown in Australia to M. oryzae isolates from this country that belong to different races. There was a resistant reaction of the variety SHZ‐2 to all the five races of IA‐1, IA‐3, IA‐63, IB‐3 and IB‐59, with a percent disease index (%DI) less than 40. Varieties NTR587, BR‐IRGA‐409, Ceysvoni and Rikuto Norin 20 showed a resistant reaction to races IA‐3, IA‐63, IB‐3 and IB‐59; and the variety Kyeema exhibited a resistant reaction to races IA‐3, IB‐3 and IB‐59. For the races IA‐1 and IB‐59 with more than one isolate, varieties with differential disease reactions across different isolates belonging to the same race were also revealed: five varieties, Langi, Opus, Sherpa, Viet 1 and Topaz, exhibited differential disease reactions to the three IA‐1 isolates; 10 varieties showed differential disease reactions to the four IB‐59 isolates; in addition, the varieties that had differential disease reactions to the IA‐1 isolates also exhibited differential disease reactions to the IB‐59 isolates of race. This study provides valuable resistance sources for breeding programmes to develop rice varieties with resistance to multiple races of M. oryzae in Australia.     

Functional analysis of rice NPR1-like genes reveals that OsNPR1/NH1 is the rice orthologue conferring disease resistance with enhanced herbivore susceptibility

The key regulator of salicylic acid (SA)-mediated resistance, NPR1, is functionally conserved in diverse plant species, including rice (Oryza sativa L.). Investigation in depth is needed to provide an understanding of NPR1-mediated resistance and a practical strategy for the improvement of disease resistance in the model crop rice. The rice genome contains five NPR1-like genes. In our study, three rice homologous genes, OsNPR1/NH1, OsNPR2/NH2 and OsNPR3, were found to be induced by rice bacterial blight Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae and rice blast Magnaporthe grisea, and the defence molecules benzothiadiazole, methyl jasmonate and ethylene. We confirmed that OsNPR1 is the rice orthologue by complementing the Arabidopsis npr1 mutant. Over-expression of OsNPR1 conferred disease resistance to bacterial blight, but also enhanced herbivore susceptibility in transgenic plants. The OsNPR1-green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusion protein was localized in the cytoplasm and moved into the nucleus after redox change. Mutations in its conserved cysteine residues led to the constitutive localization of OsNPR1(2CA)-GFP in the nucleus and also abolished herbivore hypersensitivity in transgenic rice. Different subcellular localizations of OsNPR1 antagonistically regulated SA- and jasmonic acid (JA)-responsive genes, but not SA and JA levels, indicating that OsNPR1 might mediate antagonistic cross-talk between the SA- and JA-dependent pathways in rice. This study demonstrates that rice has evolved an SA-mediated systemic acquired resistance similar to that in Arabidopsis, and also provides a practical approach for the improvement of disease resistance without the penalty of decreased herbivore resistance in rice.     

Perception of the chitin oligosaccharides contributes to disease resistance to blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae in rice

Chitin is a component of fungal cell walls, and its fragments act as elicitors in many plants. The plasma membrane glycoprotein CEBiP, which possesses LysM domains, is a receptor for the chitin elicitor (CE) in rice. Here, we report that the perception of CE by CEBiP contributes to disease resistance against the rice blast fungus, Magnaporthe oryzae, and that enhanced responses to CE by engineering CEBiP increase disease tolerance. Knockdown of CEBiP expression allowed increased spread of the infection hyphae. To enhance defense responses to CE, we constructed chimeric genes composed of CEBiP and Xa21, which mediate resistance to rice bacterial leaf blight. The expression of either CRXa1 or CRXa3, each of which contains the whole extracellular portion of CEBiP, the whole intracellular domain of XA21, and the transmembrane domain from either CEBiP or XA21, induced cell death accompanied by an increased production of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species after treatment with CE. Rice plants expressing the chimeric receptor exhibited necrotic lesions in response to CE and became more resistant to M. oryzae. Deletion of the first LysM domain in CRXA1 abolished these cellular responses. These results suggest that CEs are produced and recognized through the LysM domain of CEBiP during the interaction between rice and M. oryzae and imply that engineering pattern recognition receptors represents a new strategy for crop protection against fungal diseases.     

Rice RING protein OsBBI1 with E3 ligase activity confers broad-spectrum resistance against Magnaporthe oryzae by modifying the cell wall defence

Emerging evidence suggests that E3 ligases play critical roles in diverse biological processes, including innate immune responses in plants. However, the mechanism of the E3 ligase involvement in plant innate immunity is unclear. We report that a rice gene, OsBBI1, encoding a RING finger protein with E3 ligase activity, mediates broad-spectrum disease resistance. The expression of OsBBI1 was induced by rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae, as well as chemical inducers, benzothiadiazole and salicylic acid. Biochemical analysis revealed that OsBBI1 protein possesses E3 ubiquitin ligase activity in vitro. Genetic analysis revealed that the loss of OsBBI1 function in a Tos17-insertion line increased susceptibility, while the overexpression of OsBBI1 in transgenic plants conferred enhanced resistance to multiple races of M. oryzae. This indicates that OsBBI1 modulates broad-spectrum resistance against the blast fungus. The OsBBI1-overexpressing plants showed higher levels of H(2)O(2) accumulation in cells and higher levels of phenolic compounds and cross-linking of proteins in cell walls at infection sites by M. oryzae compared with wild-type (WT) plants. The cell walls were thicker in the OsBBI1-overexpressing plants and thinner in the mutant plants than in the WT plants. Our results suggest that OsBBI1 modulates broad-spectrum resistance to blast fungus by modifying cell wall defence responses. The functional characterization of OsBBI1 provides insight into the E3 ligase-mediated innate immunity, and a practical tool for constructing broad-spectrum resistance against the most destructive disease in rice.     

CRISPR/Cas9-mediated simultaneous mutation of three salicylic acid 5-hydroxylase (OsS5H) genes confers broad-spectrum disease resistance in rice

Salicylic acid (SA) is an essential plant hormone that plays critical roles in basal defence and amplification of local immune responses and establishes resistance against various pathogens. However, the comprehensive knowledge of the salicylic acid 5-hydroxylase (S5H) in rice-pathogen interaction is still elusive. Here, we reported that three OsS5H homologues displayed salicylic acid 5-hydroxylase activity, converting SA into 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid (2,5-DHBA). OsS5H1, OsS5H2, and OsS5H3 were preferentially expressed in rice leaves at heading stage and responded quickly to exogenous SA treatment. We found that bacterial pathogen Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) strongly induced the expression of OsS5H1, OsS5H2, and OsS5H3. Rice plants overexpressing OsS5H1, OsS5H2, and OsS5H3 showed significantly decreased SA contents and increased 2,5-DHBA levels, and were more susceptible to bacterial blight and rice blast. A simple single guide RNA (sgRNA) was designed to create oss5h1oss5h2oss5h3 triple mutants through CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene mutagenesis. The oss5h1oss5h2oss5h3 exhibited stronger resistance to Xoo than single oss5h mutants. And oss5h1oss5h2oss5h3 plants displayed enhanced rice blast resistance. The conferred pathogen resistance in oss5h1oss5h2oss5h3 was attributed to the significantly upregulation of OsWRKY45 and pathogenesis-related (PR) genes. Besides, flg22-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) burst was enhanced in oss5h1oss5h2oss5h3. Collectively, our study provides a fast and effective approach to generate rice varieties with broad-spectrum disease resistance through OsS5H gene editing.