PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTOR-LIKE14 and SLENDER RICE1 Interaction Controls Seedling Growth under Salt Stress.

Early seedling development and emergence from the soil, which are critical for plant growth and important for crop production, are controlled by internal factors, such as phytohormones, and external factors, such as light and salt. However, little is known about how light and salt signals are integrated with endogenous cues in controlling plant physiological processes. Here, we show that overexpression of rice (Oryza sativa) PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTOR-LIKE14 (OsPIL14) or loss of function of the DELLA protein SLENDER RICE1 (SLR1) promotes mesocotyl and root growth, specifically in the dark and under salt stress. Furthermore, salt induces OsPIL14 turnover but enhances SLR1 accumulation. OsPIL14 directly binds to the promoter of cell elongation-related genes and regulates their expression. SLR1 physically interacts with OsPIL14 and negatively regulates its function. Our study reveals a mechanism by which the OsPIL14-SLR1 transcriptional module integrates light and gibberellin signals to fine-tune seedling growth under salt stress, enhancing understanding about how crops adapt to saline environments.

A pentatricopeptide repeat protein DUA1 interacts with sigma factor 1 to regulate chloroplast gene expression in Rice.

Chloroplast gene expression is controlled by both plastid-encoded RNA polymerase (PEP) and nuclear-encoded RNA polymerase and is crucial for chloroplast development and photosynthesis. Environmental factors such as light and temperature can influence transcription in chloroplasts. In this study, we showed that mutation in DUA1, which encodes a pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) protein in rice (Oryza sativa), led to deficiency in chloroplast development and chlorophyll biosynthesis, impaired photosystems, and reduced expression of PEP-dependent transcripts at low temperature especially under low-light conditions. Furthermore, we demonstrated that sigma factor OsSIG1 interacted with DUA1 in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, the levels of chlorophyll and PEP-dependent gene expression were significantly decreased in the Ossig1 mutants at low-temperature and low-light conditions. Our study reveals that the PPR protein DUA1 plays an important role in regulating PEP-mediated chloroplast gene expression through interacting with OsSIG1, thus modulates chloroplast development in response to environmental signals.

Rice FLUORESCENT1 Is Involved in the Regulation of Chlorophyll.

Chlorophyll biosynthesis plays essential roles in photosynthesis and plant growth in response to environmental conditions. The accumulation of excess chlorophyll biosynthesis intermediates under light results in the production of reactive oxygen species and oxidative stress. In this study, we identified a rice (Oryza sativa) mutant, oxidation under photoperiod (oxp), that displayed photobleached lesions on its leaves, reduced growth and decreased chlorophyll content during light/dark cycles or following a dark-to-light transition. The oxp mutant accumulated more chlorophyll precursors (5-aminolevulinic acid and protochlorophyllide) than the wild type in the dark, and more singlet oxygen following light exposure. Several singlet-oxygen-responsive genes were greatly upregulated in oxp, whereas the expression patterns of OsPORA and OsPORB, two genes encoding the chlorophyll biosynthesis enzyme NADPH:protochlorop hyllide oxidoreductase, were altered in de-etiolated oxp seedlings. Molecular and complementation studies revealed that oxp is a loss-of-function mutant in LOC_Os01g32730, a homolog of FLUORESCENT (FLU) in Arabidopsis thaliana. Rice PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTOR-LIKE14 (OsPIL14) transcription factor directly bound to the OsFLU1 promoter and activated its expression. Dark-grown transgenic rice seedlings overexpressing OsPIL14 accumulated more chlorophyll and turned green faster than the wild type upon light illumination. Thus, OsFLU1 is an important regulator of chlorophyll biosynthesis in rice.

Characterizing the development of photosynthetic capacity in relation to chloroplast structure and mineral nutrition in leaves of three woody fruit species.

Plants have evolved different developmental patterns of photosynthetic capacity to better adapt to changing environmental conditions. Natural variation in photosynthetic development offers great potential for improving crop productivity. In this study, leaf developmental patterns were characterized in three woody fruit tree species with distinct photosynthetic capacity and growth habits. Changes in the photosynthetic rate, photosystem II (PSII) efficiency, chloroplast ultrastructure, activities of photosynthetic enzymes, and contents of carbohydrates and mineral nutrients were examined at five developmental stages to explore the interspecific variation in photosynthetic development. Rapid development of photosynthetic machinery and high photosynthetic capacity were found in Indian jujube (Ziziphus mauritiana) and apple (Malus domestica), whose net CO2 assimilation rate (A) peaked at full leaf expansion (FLE). Litchi (Litchi chinensis), a delayed-greening species, showed slow development of photosynthetic competence, with A peaked after FLE. The low photosynthetic capacity of litchi during early leaf expansion was associated with its delayed chloroplast development, low accumulation of starch, and low activities of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase and NADP-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase. Correlations between mineral contents and A across leaf stages and species identified manganese as the rate-limiting nutrients in photosynthetic development in new leaves. Foliar spray of MnSO4 solution (1 g l-1) induced a short-term increase in photosynthesis in young leaves of litchi. These findings suggest that a better understanding of interspecific variation in photosynthetic development facilitates the development of new strategies for improving the photosynthetic efficiency of woody fruit trees.