Researchers Identify Rice Protein Involved in Chloroplast Control and Stress Response

Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University researchers reported a rice protein that controls the chloroplast and stress response by dark-induced leaf death. Their findings, published in Plant Physiology, highlight the role of CRISPR gene editing in understanding leaf senescence in rice.

Leaf senescence can lead to metabolic changes that increase the chance of a plant's survival under stress conditions through the recycling of resources. The researchers conducted the study to elucidate the role of rice protein OsS40-14 in leaf senescence. By using CRISPR-Ca9 mutants and overexpression lines, they found that oss40-14 mutants maintained the green leaf phenotype under dark treatment, with preserved chlorophylls and photosynthetic capacity and reduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels. On the other hand, OsS40-14 overexpression lines showed faster leaf senescence.

With these findings, the researchers concluded that OsS40-14 fine-tunes the photosynthetic machinery and ROS homeostasis during developmental senescence and under dark conditions, thereby accelerating leaf senescence, reducing photosynthetic assimilation, and grain filling in rice.

Read more findings in Plant Physiology.