Rice Science

Rice Science

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Leaf Morphology Genes SRL1 and RENL1 Co-Regulate Cellulose Synthesis and Affect Plant drought Tolerance

  1. State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding, China National Rice Research Institute, Hangzhou 310006, China; Research Center of Plant Functional Genes and Tissue Culture Technology, College of Bioscience and Bioengineering, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, 330045, China; 3National Nanfan Research Institute (Sanya), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Sanya 572024, China; #These authors contributed equally to this work
  • Contact: ZHANG Guangheng; HU Songping; QIAN qian
  • Supported by:

    This work was supported by the Nanfan Special Project of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (Grant No. ZDXM2315), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 32372125, 31861143006 and 32188102), Special Support Program of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NKYCLJ-C-2021-015), Specific Research Fund of the Innovation Platform for Academicians of Hainan Province, and 2023 College Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship Project of Jiangxi Agricultural University (Grant No. S202310410095).

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Abstract: The morphological development of rice (Oryza sativa L.) leaves is closely related to plant architecture, physiological activities, and resistance. However, it is unclear whether there is a co-regulatory relationship between the morphological development of leaves and adaptation to a drought environment. In this study, a drought-sensitive, roll-enhanced, and narrow-leaf mutant (renl1) was induced by an ethyl methane sulfonate (EMS) solution from a semi-rolled leaf mutant (srl1), which was obtained from Nipponbare (NPB) through an EMS solution. Map-based cloning and functional validation showed that RENL1 encoded a cellulose synthase, with an allele of NRL1/OsCLSD4. The RENL1 mutation resulted in reductions of vascular bundles, vesicular cells, cellulose, and hemicellulose contents in cell walls, diminishing the water-holding capacity of leaves. In addition, the root system of renl1 was poorly developed and its ability to scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS) was decreased, leading to an increase of reactive oxygen species after drought stress. Meanwhile, genetic results showed that RENL1 and SRL1 synergistically regulated cell wall components. Our results revealed a theoretical basis for further improving the molecular regulation mechanism of cellulose on rice drought tolerance, and provided a new genetic resource for enhancing the synergistic regulation network of plant type and stress resistance, thereby realizing simultaneous improvement of multiple traits in rice. 

Key words: cellulose; cell wall, drought tolerance, leaf morphology, rice (Oryza sativa L.)