Guangdong Key Laboratory of New Technology in Rice Breeding, Guangdong Rice Engineering Laboratory, Key Laboratory of Genetics and Breeding of High Quality Rice in Southern China (Co-Construction by Ministry and Province), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Rice Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China.
Guangdong Key Laboratory for Crop Germplasm Resources Preservation and Utilization, Agro-Biological Gene Research Center, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China.
Genes (Basel). 2024 Jan 9;15(1):82. doi: 10.3390/genes15010082.
Rice blast disease, caused by the fungal pathogen , is a major threat to rice production worldwide. This study investigates the role of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in rice's response to this destructive disease, with a focus on their impacts on disease resistance and yield traits. Three specific lncRNAs coded by infection-responsive lncRNAs (), , , and , were identified as key regulators of rice's response to infection. Strikingly, when and were overexpressed, they exhibited a dual function: they increased rice's susceptibility to blast fungus, indicating a negative role in disease resistance, while simultaneously enhancing tiller numbers and single-plant yield, with no adverse effects on other yield-related traits. This unexpected improvement in productivity suggests the possibility of overcoming the traditional trade-off between disease resistance and crop yield. These findings provide a novel perspective on crop enhancement, offering a promising solution to global food security challenges by developing rice varieties that effectively balance disease resistance and increased productivity.
稻瘟病由真菌病原体引起，是全球范围内水稻生产的主要威胁。本研究探讨了长非编码 RNA（lncRNA）在水稻应对这种破坏性疾病中的作用，重点研究了它们对抗病性和产量性状的影响。研究发现，三个特定的 lncRNA 编码由 感染响应 lncRNA（）、、、和 ，被鉴定为水稻对 感染反应的关键调节剂。引人注目的是，当 和 过表达时，它们表现出双重功能：它们增加了水稻对稻瘟病菌的易感性，表明它们在抗病性方面发挥了负面作用，同时又增加了分蘖数和单株产量，而对其他与产量相关的性状没有不利影响。这种生产力的意外提高表明，有可能克服传统的抗病性和作物产量之间的权衡。这些发现为作物改良提供了新的视角，通过开发有效平衡抗病性和提高生产力的水稻品种，为解决全球粮食安全挑战提供了有希望的解决方案。
