A Blast-Resistant NLR Gene Confers Drought Resistance by Competitively Interacting with an E3 Ligase to Protect Phenylalanine Ammonia-Lyase in Rice.

ABSTRACT: Drought and diseases represent major challenges to achieve high yield in crops, underscoring the urgent need to explore drought- and disease-resistant genetic resources and breed crop varieties with multi-stress resistance. Here, using a genome-wide association study combined with function analyses, PibH8, a homologous of the blast resistance gene Pib encoding a nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat receptor (NLR) is identified, which plays a crucial role in rice drought resistance. PibH8 interacts with phenylalanine ammonia-lyase OsPAL1, a rate-limiting enzyme in phenylpropanoids biosynthesis pathway in rice. It protects OsPAL1 from degradation by competitively binding to E3 ubiquitin ligase OsFBK16, which facilitates OsPAL1 degradation. This protective mechanism enhances PAL activity, l

SUBMITTER: Xiang D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12533315 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature