Hong Gao

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) production faces significant challenges from environmental stresses, necessitating the identification of functional genes to enhance crop resilience. The DUF679 membrane protein (DMP) family has been recently recognized for its diverse associations with plant development and stress adaptation, although much of the current research has focused on its involvement in doubled haploid (DH) technology in species such as maize and Arabidopsis. This study performed a comprehensive genome-wide analysis to characterize the 19-member OsDMP family in rice, integrating bioinformatics methods to analyze their physicochemical properties, phylogenetic relationships, and chromosomal distribution, complemented by qRT-PCR to validate expression patterns under abiotic stress and transient expression assays to verify subcellular localization of one representative member (OsDMP16). Our analysis classified OsDMP genes into four of five subfamilies, revealing significant functional diversification and closer evolutionary ties with other monocots. Furthermore, promoter analysis revealed abundant stress- and hormone-responsive cis-acting elements, correlating with diverse tissue-specific expression and significant responses to drought, salt, and hormonal stimuli. These findings provide a robust framework for understanding OsDMP evolution and expression regulation, revealing transcriptional responsiveness to abiotic stress and providing candidate genes for future functional validation and application in breeding programs.

The Cupin superfamily, characterized by a conserved β-barrel structure, plays crucial roles in plant growth, development, and stress responses. However, comprehensive analyses of this gene family in rice remains limited. Here, we performed a genome-wide identification, molecular evolution, and expression analysis of Cupin genes in rice under abiotic stress. Utilizing the telomere-to-telomere (T2T) genome of rice, 54 Cupin genes (OsCupins) were identified and classified into four subfamilies (GLP, PIRIN, TRR14, and ARD) based on phylogenetic relationships with Arabidopsis homologs. These genes were unevenly distributed across ten chromosomes, with tandem and segmental duplications driving their expansion. Structural and synteny analyses revealed conserved motifs and orthologous relationships with sorghum and Arabidopsis. The promoter regions of OsCupins were enriched in stress-responsive cis-elements, including ABRE, MYB, and MYC motifs. qRT-PCR data demonstrated the significant upregulation of multiple OsCupins (e.g., OsGLP15, OsGLP38, and OsGLP43) under NaCl and PEG 6000 treatments. Functional validation in yeast showed that the overexpression of OsGLP15, OsGLP38, or OsGLP43 enhanced salt and drought tolerance in yeast, with OsGLP43 exhibiting the strongest stress resilience. Our findings provide insights into the evolutionary dynamics and stress-responsive regulatory mechanisms of the Cupin superfamily in rice, offering potential targets for enhancing abiotic stress tolerance in this critical crop.

The research on rice lodging resistance holds immeasurable value for achieving high yield, stable production, and superior quality of rice. To investigate the effects of mechanical properties and physicochemical characteristics of Japonica hybrid rice on its lodging resistance ability under natural field cultivation conditions, LY1052, LY9906, and GY1, which were mainly popularized in northern China, were selected as the experimental subjects, and NL313, Japonica hybrid rice prone to lodging, was taken as the control (NL313).The max bending force, breaking moment, bending section coefficient, single stem weight mass moment, bending strength, Young’s elastic modulus, inertia moment, and other mechanical indexes were measured by the bending test and tensile test, and the correlations between mechanical indexes, physicochemical indexes, and lodging index were studied. There was an extremely significant difference in the lodging index of experimental subjects and control (NL313) (p < 0.05). Therefore, it was concluded that the lower plant height and lighter panicle were not the stronger lodging resistance under appropriate cultivation conditions. Optimization of rice plant-type structure can achieve the unity of high culm and high yield. The lodging resistance of rice could be improved by shortening the internode length, increasing the tissue thickness and vascular bundle area, and increasing the content of cellulose and potassium in the stem. It was also found that the lodging resistance of rice plants was positively correlated with the maximum stem bending force, breaking moment, bending section coefficient, bending strength, and Young’s elastic modulus (p < 0.01) and negatively correlated with single stem weight mass moment and inertia moment (p < 0.01). It is feasible to select them as reference indexes of the lodging resistance of rice. The experimental results not only help to enrich the theoretical system of rice lodging resistance research but also provide an essential reference and basis for formulating scientific cultivation and management measures and breeding lodging-resistant rice varieties in practical production, which is of great significance for ensuring global food security and promoting sustainable agricultural development.