CRISPR/Cas knockout of the NADPH oxidase gene OsRbohB reduces ROS overaccumulation and enhances heat stress tolerance in rice.

ABSTRACT: Heat stress (HS) has become a major factor limiting crop yields worldwide. HS inhibits plant growth by ROS accumulation, and NADPH oxidases (Rbohs) are major ROS producers in plants. Here, we show that CRISPR/Cas knockout of the OsRbohB (OsRbohB-KO) significantly increased rice tolerance to HS imposed at various different growth stages. We produced OsRbohB-KO and OsRbohB-overexpression (OsRbohB-OE) lines in a japonica cultivar, Nipponbare. Compared with nontransgenic wild-type (WT) plants, the OsRbohB-KO lines showed a significant increase in chlorophyll contents (5.2%-58.0%), plant growth (48.2%-65.6%) and grain yield (8.9%-20.5%), while reducing HS-induced ROS accumulation in seeds (21.3%-33.0%), seedlings (13.0%-30.4%), anthers (13.1%-20.3%) and grains (9.7%-22.1%), under HS conditions.

SUBMITTER: Liu X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11772341 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature