is Involved in Regulating ABA Signaling-Mediated Seed Germination in Rice.

Seed germination represents a multifaceted biological process influenced by various intrinsic and extrinsic factors. In the present study, our investigation unveiled the regulatory role of , a gene identified as a facilitator of seed germination in rice. Notably, the germination kinetics of -overexpressing seeds surpassed those of their wild-type counterparts, indicating the potency of in enhancing this developmental process. Moreover, qRT-PCR results showed that was consistently expressed throughout the germination process in rice. Exogenous application of ABA on seeds and seedlings underscored the sensitivity of to ABA during both seed germination initiation and post-germination growth phases. Transcriptomic profiling following overexpression revealed profound alterations in metabolic pathways, MAPK signaling cascades, and phytohormone-mediated signal transduction pathways, with 15 genes related to the ABA pathways exhibiting significant expression changes. Complementary in vivo and in vitro assays unveiled the physical interaction between OsSCYL2 and TOR, thereby implicating OsSCYL2 in the negative modulation of ABA-responsive genes and its consequential impact on seed germination dynamics. This study elucidated novel insights into the function of Os in regulating the germination process of rice seeds through the modulation of ABA signaling pathways, thereby enhancing the understanding of the functional significance of the SCYL protein family in plant physiological processes.