A Rare Allele of ST5 From Wild Rice Enhances Salt Tolerance in Rice
Source abstract
Abstract
ABSTRACT Soil salinity critically impairs global rice productivity, necessitating the exploration of salt‐tolerant genetic resources in wild rice ( Oryza rufipogon ). Here, we identified a C2H2 transcription factor, ST5, from wild rice using a chromosome segment substitution line population. Functional analysis reveals that ST5 negatively regulates rice salt tolerance. A 36‐bp insertion in the ST5 W promoter harbors two W‐box motifs, transcription factor OsWRKY80 binds to this insertion and represses ST5 W expression. This repression reduces ST5 W expression, alleviating its negative regulation on the downstream genes OsCPK4 , which are pivotal for maintaining Na + /K + homeostasis under salinity stress. Notably, the ST5 W allele is exclusively present in a few of O. rufipogon accessions and absent in all cultivated rice varieties. Field trials demonstrate ST5 W significantly improves grain yield across diverse genetic backgrounds under saline field conditions. Our work provides both an underexploited genetic resource and molecular insights for breeding salt‐tolerant rice varieties to address soil salinization challenges.
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Research context
OpenAlex topics: Plant Stress Responses and Tolerance · Plant Molecular Biology Research · Genetic Mapping and Diversity in Plants and Animals
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
Affiliations
State Key Laboratory of Crop Gene Resources and Breeding Institute of Crop Sciences Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences Beijing China
National Nanfan Research Institute Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences Sanya China
State Key Laboratory of Genome and Multi‐omics Technologies Shenzhen Branch Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture Genome Analysis Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences Shenzhen China
Cereal Crop Institute Hainan Academy of Agricultural Sciences Haikou China
Jining Academy of Agricultural Sciences Jining Shandong China
Institute of Coastal Agriculture Hebei Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences Tangshan China
China National Rice Research Institute Hangzhou China
Institute of Wetland Agriculture and Ecology, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences Jinan China
Yazhouwan National Laboratory Sanya China
Funding
National Key Research and Development Program of China
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