The immune receptor XA21 causes semi-male sterility and grain loss in rice.

ABSTRACT: As part of an armory against pathogens, plants carry resistance (R) genes despite the fitness costs they can incur. While these detrimental effects have been associated with the presence and interactions of numerous R genes in various plant species, molecular models do not exist for the mechanisms underlying R gene-mediated fitness costs. The rice R gene Xa21, encoding a cell-surface immune receptor, specifies robust resistance to Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae. Here, we demonstrate that Xa21 expression causes drastic fertility defects, including reduced pollen viability, impaired anther dehiscence, and severe grain loss, at a low temperature (24°C) and in a dose-dependent manner. Under such growth conditions, Xa21 plants displa

SUBMITTER: de Toledo Franceschi B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12640976 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature