Xiaorong Xiao

To overcome reproductive barriers and utilize beneficial genes from wild rice, total DNA from blast-resistant Oryza officinalis was introduced into elite restorer line R225 via panicle-neck injection (pollen-tube pathway), and after multi-generation selection, the novel restorer ‘Hai Hui 2011′ was developed and crossed with ‘Long Te Fu A’ to produce the hybrid ‘Te You 2011’. Multi-year field trials in Hainan showed that ‘Te You 2011’ yielded 8.48–8.70 t/ha in early seasons, with increases of 2.23–9.70% over the check ‘Te You 009’, and an 8.36% increase in late season, indicating that it has good yield potential. SSR marker RM154 detected a 183bp specific fragment shared with the wild donor in ‘Hai Hui 2011’ and Oryza officinalis but absent in ‘R225’, providing preliminary evidence of genetic relatedness. Marker alleles associated with four known blast resistance loci (Pib, Pik, Pi54, and Pi33) were detected in both ‘Hai Hui 2011’ and ‘Te You 2011’. Under natural field conditions and artificial inoculation with the predominant Hainan YF race group, both lines showed strong resistance. These findings preliminarily suggest that panicle-neck injection of exogenous total DNA may be a potential approach for introducing wild-rice genetic material, and that ‘Te You 2011’ is a promising high-yielding, blast-resistant hybrid for tropical and subtropical rice regions.

Cardamine hupingshanensis (C. hupingshanensis) is an important dietary source of selenium for humans due to its remarkable capacity for selenium hyperaccumulation. As core components of the SCF (SKP1–Cullin–F-box) ubiquitin ligase complex, F-box proteins play vital roles in plant responses to environmental stress, such as salt and drought. However, information regarding the F-box gene family in C. hupingshanensis and its potential functions in regulating responses to abiotic stress remains limited. In this study, members of the F-box gene family in C. hupingshanensis were identified through sequence alignment. Comprehensive bioinformatic analyses, including analyses of physicochemical properties, phylogenetic relationships, subcellular localization, conserved motifs and domains, gene structure, chromosomal distribution, promoter cis-elements, and gene duplication events, were performed using TBtools and associated online resources. In particular, a total of 548 F-box genes were identified and classified into nine distinct groups based on phylogenetic analysis. Protein sequence analysis predicted 15 conserved motifs and 18 distinct domains across the identified F-box proteins. Promoter analysis suggested the presence of 32 different cis-elements that may be potentially associated with growth, development, hormone signaling, and abiotic stress responses. Furthermore, 283 collinear gene pairs were detected within the C. hupingshanensis genome, providing insights into the possible expansion of this gene family. Quantitative real-time PCR was employed to examine the tissue-specific expression levels of F-box genes in various organs, as well as their expression profiles in response to exogenous selenium, salt, osmotic stress, and abscisic acid treatment. The results indicated that 11 ChFBX genes responded to exogenous selenium, salt, osmotic stress, or abscisic acid. Notably, transgenic plants overexpressing ChFBX171 displayed heightened sensitivity to salt stress during seed germination. In conclusion, this study provides a comprehensive identification and characterization of 548 F-box genes in C. hupingshanensis and offers valuable insights into the potential role of ChFBX genes, particularly ChFBX171, in mediating responses to abiotic stress.

Bacterial blight (BB), caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. Oryzae (Xoo), is one of the most devastating diseases in rice worldwide. Common wild rice (Oryza rufipogon Griff.) inhabiting the high-temperature and high-humidity environments of Hainan Island has evolved strong disease resistance through natural selection, representing a valuable genetic reservoir for resistance breeding. However, large-scale characterization of resistance phenotypes, resistance genes, and their combinations remains limited. In this study, we evaluated BB resistance in 1511 Hainan common wild rice accessions against three Xoo strains (HNX004, PXO99^A, and Z173) and analyzed the distribution of ten major known resistance genes (Xa1, Xa3, Xa4, xa5, Xa7, Xa10, xa13, Xa21, Xa23, and Xa27). Phenotypic evaluation revealed distinct strain-specific resistance patterns. Broad-spectrum resistance analysis (defined as moderate resistance or higher) revealed that 35 accessions (2.32%) were resistant to all strains, and 378 accessions (25.02%) showed resistance to two strains. Genotyping of known resistance genes revealed that, except for one accession, which lacked all tested genes but showed resistance to strain PXO99^A, all other accessions carried every tested gene except Xa21 and xa13. Interestingly, different Xoo strains exhibited distinct requirements for resistance genes, revealing a clear strain-specific resistance pattern. Notably, the number of resistance genes did not correlate with resistance level. Instead, specific complementary combinations, particularly Xa1 + Xa10 + Xa23 + Xa4 + Xa7, conferred the strongest broad-spectrum resistance. Our results demonstrate that gene quality and specific complementary combinations are more important than the absolute number of resistance genes. The identified resistant accessions and favorable gene combinations provide valuable resources for rice breeding programs.

Background: The Calcineurin B-like (CBL) and CBL-interacting protein kinase (CIPK) system constitute critical signaling modules mediating plant responses to abiotic stress. Although these families have been studied across various species, their evolutionary dynamics across grasses and the functional plasticity of specific isoforms remain elusive. Methods: A genome-wide analysis of CBL and CIPK families was conducted across five major Poaceae species (Oryza sativa, Triticum aestivum, Zea mays, Sorghum bicolor, and Saccharum spontaneum). Phylogenetic and synteny analyses were analyzed to family expansion and evolution. Cis-regulatory elements analysis in gene promoter regions were examined to predict potential stress-responsive features. Expression profiles of OsCBL and OsCIPK gene families were examined by qRT-PCR under conditions involving PEG-induced osmotic stress, pathogen strain P6 inoculation, and exogenous application of the phytohormones abscisic acid (ABA) and methyl jasmonate (MeJA). Protein–protein interactions between selected CBL (OsCBL4) and CIPK pairs were assessed via Yeast Two-Hybrid (Y2H) and Luciferase Complementation Imaging assays (LCI). Results: Phylogenetic and synteny analyses indicated that segmental duplications have contributed substantially to the expansion of these gene families. Promoter analysis revealed that the majority of CBL and CIPK family members, exemplified by OsCBL4, traditionally characterized as a salt sensor, possesses a cis-element architecture (rich in ABREs and MBS) heavily biased towards dehydration responsiveness. Expression profiling showed that OsCBL4 is significantly hyper-induced by direct osmotic stress (PEG) but exhibits almost no response to exogenous ABA. A subset of kinases genes (e.g., OsCIPK2, 9, 18) displayed PEG-induced expression patterns resembling those of OsCBL4, whereas OsCIPK30 remained transcriptionally unresponsive under the same conditions. Protein interaction assays demonstrated that OsCBL4 physically interacts exclusively with PEG-responsive transcriptionally activated kinases such as OsCIPK9, but failed to interact with the non-responsive OsCIPK30. Conclusions: Our study provides a genomic characterization of CBL and CIPK families across five major Poaceae species. The combined expression and interaction data reveal that OsCBL4-assembles with specific CIPKs into signaling modules during osmotic stress responses in rice, pointing to roles that go beyond salt stress responses. The findings establish a foundation for further functional dissection of CBL-CIPK pathway diversification in abiotic stress adaptation.

Shanlan upland rice is a unique rice resource of the Li and Miao ethnic group in China and serves as a valuable gene pool adapted to tropical mountainous environments. To explore the genetic relationships of Shanlan upland rice from different geographical origins, 21 SSR markers were used to conduct genetic diversity and population structure analyses on 288 Shanlan upland rice accessions from 10 provinces (regions) in southern China. Results: The study revealed that the mean values of effective allele number (Ne), Shannon’s information index (I), polymorphic information content (PIC), observed heterozygosity (Ho), and expected heterozygosity (He) for Shanlan upland rice were 1.616, 0.491, 0.74, 0.129, and 0.306, respectively. Genetic diversity analysis and molecular variance analysis (AMOVA) showed that the main source of variation between materials was the individual Shanlan upland rice plants. Genetic distance and differentiation results revealed the phylogenetic relationships among Shanlan upland rice populations. Both clustering and population structure analyses divided the materials into five subgroups, suggesting that the Shanlan upland rice from Qiongzhong, Hainan, might be the center of genetic diversity for the Hainan Shanlan upland rice, while rice from Dongfang, Hainan, and the inland populations exhibit genetic isolation. This study provides foundational data for the prioritized conservation and innovative utilization of Shanlan upland rice germplasm resources.

Colored rice (black, purple, red and brown) has been consumed in China for nearly 4000 years. Recent research has focused on exploring its nutritional and metabolomic profiles and associated health benefits. Due to the improvement in detection and quantification techniques for health-promoting compounds and their activities, the number of studies has increased significantly. In this regard, a timely and updated review of research on nutritional composition, phytochemistry, and metabolite content and composition can significantly enhance consumer awareness. Here, we present a detailed and up-to-date understanding and comparison of the nutritional and phytochemical (metabolite) composition of colored rice. While earlier literature reviews focus on either single type of colored rice or briefly present nutritional comparison or bioactivities, here we present more detailed nutrient profile comparison (carbohydrates, fats, proteins, amino acids, minerals, and vitamins), together with the most recent comparative data on phytochemicals/metabolites (flavonoids, anthocyanins, fatty acids, amino acids and derivatives, phenolic acids, organic acids, alkaloids, and others). We discuss how metabolomics has broadened the scope of research by providing an increasing number of detected compounds. Moreover, directions on the improvement in colored rice nutritional quality through breeding are also presented. Finally, we present the health-beneficial activities (antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, hypoglycemic, neuroprotective, anti-aging, and antitumor activities) of different colored rice varieties, together with examples of the clinical trials, and discuss which bioactive substances are correlated with such activities.

Background: This study aimed to explore the active oxygen scavenging mechanism of Kandelia candel, in order to provide a theoretical basis for further analysis on the physiological mechanism of salt tolerance in mangrove plants. Different concentrations of NaCl solution (0, 150, 300 and 450 mmol/L) were used for salt stress treatments on Kandelia candel, physiological indicators in the root of Kandelia candel were measured in different processing time. Results: With the increase of salt concentrations and processing time, the contents of total proteins in the root of Kandelia candel were reduced; the CAT activity, SOD activity, ASA content and MDA content all had decreased with the increase of salt concentrations and shown a trend from ascent to descent with the increase of processing time, the peak of ASA and MDA contents were observed at 6 h, that of SOD activity was observed at 9 h and that of CAT activity was at 12 h; POD activity had shown an overall upward trend with the increase of salt concentrations and processing time, which reached the maximum at 24 h; the variations of these physiological indicators were more significant in high concentrations of NaCl solution (450 mmol/L). Conclusions: A certain salt concentration (Kandelia candel seedlings. At the early stage of high-salt stress, Kandelia candel can rapidly activate antioxidant defense system to resist the salt induced oxidative stress, thus reducing the damages of oxidative stress to plasma membrane, which might be an effective means for Kandelia candel to resist high salt stress.