Stress response membrane protein gene OsSMP2 negatively regulates rice tolerance to drought

Wei Wang; Yaqi Li; Songjin Yang; Jiacheng Wu; Chuan Ma; Yulin Chen; Xingzhuo Sun; Lingli Wu; Xin Liang; Qiuping Fu; Zhengjun Xu; Lihua Li; Zhengjian Huang; Jianqing Zhu; Xiaomei Jia; Xiaoying Ye; Rongjun Chen

doi:10.1093/jxb/erae097

Stress response membrane protein gene OsSMP2 negatively regulates rice tolerance to drought

J Exp Bot. 2024 Mar 6:erae097. doi: 10.1093/jxb/erae097. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Wei Wang¹, Yaqi Li¹, Songjin Yang¹, Jiacheng Wu¹, Chuan Ma¹, Yulin Chen¹, Xingzhuo Sun¹, Lingli Wu¹, Xin Liang¹, Qiuping Fu¹, Zhengjun Xu¹, Lihua Li¹, Zhengjian Huang¹, Jianqing Zhu², Xiaomei Jia², Xiaoying Ye², Rongjun Chen^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Crop Gene Exploration and Utilization in Southwest China, Rice Research Institute of Sichuan Agricultural University of Rice Research Institute, Chengdu, 611130, China.
² Demonstration Base for International Science & Technology Cooperation of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University 211, Huimin Road, Chengdu 611130, China.
³ Crop Ecophysiology and Cultivation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Rice Research Institute of Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China.

PMID: 38447063
DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erae097

Abstract

In our gene chip analysis, OsSMP2 gene expression was induced under various abiotic stresses, prompting an investigation into its role in drought resistance and ABA signaling. Subsequent experiments, including qRT-PCR and GUS activity detection, affirmed the OsSMP2 gene's predominant induction by drought stress. Subcellular localization experiments indicated the OsSMP2 protein primarily localizes to the cell membrane system. Overexpressing OsSMP2 increased sensitivity to exogenous ABA, reducing drought resistance and leading to reactive oxygen species accumulation under drought stress. Conversely, in simulated drought experiments, OsSMP2-silenced transgenic plants showed significantly longer root lengths compared to the wild-type Nipponbare. These results suggest that OsSMP2 overexpression negatively affects rice drought resistance, offering valuable insights into molecular mechanisms and proposing OsSMP2 as a potential target for enhancing crop resilience to drought stress.

Keywords: Abscisic acid; drought; gene; reactive oxygen species; rice; roots.