CDPK5 and CDPK13 play key roles in acclimation to low oxygen through the control of RBOH-mediated ROS production in rice.

CALCIUM-DEPENDENT PROTEIN KINASE (CDPK) stimulates reactive oxygen species (ROS)-dependent signaling by activating RESPIRATORY BURST OXIDASE HOMOLOG (RBOH). The lysigenous aerenchyma is a gas space created by cortical cell death that facilitates oxygen diffusion from the shoot to the root tips. Previously, we showed that RBOHH is indispensable for the induction of aerenchyma formation in rice (Oryza sativa) roots under low-oxygen conditions. Here, we showed that CDPK5 and CDPK13 localize to the plasma membrane where RBOHH functions. Mutation analysis of the serine at residues 92 and 107 of RBOHH revealed that these residues are required for CDPK5- and CDPK13-mediated activation of ROS production. The requirement of Ca2+ for CDPK5 and CDPK13 function was confirmed using in vitro kinase assays. CRISPR/Cas9-based mutagenesis of CDPK5 and/or CDPK13 revealed that the double knockout almost completely suppressed inducible aerenchyma formation, whereas the effects were limited in the single knockout of either CDPK5 or CDPK13. Interestingly, the double knockout almost suppressed the induction of adventitious root formation, which is widely conserved in vascular plants, under low-oxygen conditions. Our results suggest that CDPKs are essential for the acclimation of rice to low-oxygen conditions and also for many other plant species conserving CDPK-targeted phosphorylation sites in RBOH homologs.