Accumulation of silicon (Si) is known to confer resistance in plants against abiotic and biotic stresses; however, questions remain about the underlying mechanisms of Si-mediated resistance against insect herbivores. We investigated the Si-mediated resistance mechanisms in rice against fall armyworm,
Spodoptera frugiperda,
using the
OsLsi1
mutant rice (cv. Nipponbare) lines deficient in Si uptake from the soil.
We investigated these questions using a multidisciplinary approach, combining bioassays of insect and plant growth and biochemical quantification of defense metabolites, phytohormones, and volatiles. Further, we studied constitutive and herbivory-induced gene expression in Os
Lsi1
rice mutants relative to the wild type (WT). Moreover, we detected high-impact SNPs/InDels associated with plant–insect interactions, and integrated these variants with expression signatures across mutants and WT.
Si played a key role in mediating constitutive resistance to FAW, but Si content did not substantially alter induced responses. High Si content promoted compensatory growth post-herbivory and had no effect on constitutive or induced activities of peroxidases, polyphenol oxidases, trypsin inhibitors, and jasmonic acid. Low Si plants constitutively emitted higher levels of certain terpene volatiles. Comparative transcriptomics across mutants and WT showed that Si modulates gene expression under both constitutive and post-herbivory. Plants with high Si levels appear well defended but also capable of allocating resources to re-growth than low Si plants. Genes including
OsbHLH024, OsLsi1, OsMSH3
,
OsARC5, OsCKX2
, and
OsBBX3
are candidates for engineering rice varieties with enhanced herbivory resistance.
These results suggest that Si-deficient rice lines are genetically and transcriptionally less equipped to resistance.
J. Sharma, Chanderkant Chaudhary, Rajat Pruthi et al.· Plant and Soil· 0 citations
Rice (Oryza sativa L.) feeds half of humanity, yet its cultivation is increasingly threatened by soil salinization, which now affects 1.4 billion hectares globally. Decades of breeding and engineering have focused on Na+ exclusion, principally through the Saltol QTL and the xylem-unloading transporter OsHKT1;5, yet this strategy has reached a physiological ceiling. Excluder genotypes survive salinity but fail to fill grain, because the ATP-intensive cost of continuous ion extrusion starves reproductive sinks, while ABA-mediated stomatal closure imposes chronic carbon limitation. The resulting "survival-yield gap" exposes a fundamental flaw in single-trait approaches to a polygenic stress. In this review, we argue that durable, yield-stable salt tolerance requires a coordinated systems-level intervention spanning five mechanistic tiers: (i) CRISPR/Cas9-mediated removal of negative regulatory brakes (OsRR22, RST1, PC1) that suppress plant's latent stress-adaptive capacity; (ii) reinforcement of actin-myosin cytoskeletal transport to sustain SOS1, NHX1, and HKT1;5 delivery under ionic stress; (iii) importation of halophyte design principles from Oryza coarctata, including salt gland architecture and superior Na+ compartmentalization; (iv) recalibration of the ROS-photosynthesis axis via the DHHC09-STRK1-CatC molecular switch and stomatal density engineering; and (v) pyramiding these modules into a "Salt-Shield Rice" genotype through multiplex editing, marker-assisted introgression, speed breeding, and genomic selection. We propose a phased ten-year roadmap that integrates synthetic biology circuit design with conventional breeding to deliver field-ready, multi-module varieties with greater than 70% yield stability at 8-10 dS m-1. This remains an aspirational design target rather than a demonstrated outcome, as three of the five tiers-halophyte-derived structural traits, cytoskeletal reinforcement, and full multi-module pyramiding-remain unvalidated in rice.
M. Bulle, Ravi Kiran Reddy Kondi, M. Rahman et al.· International Journal of Bio...· 0 citations
A genomics‐enabled roadmap for developing heat‐resilient rice cultivars under intensifying global warming and supporting sustainable global rice production is outlined.
Prabhat Rana, Chanderkant Chaudhary, Rajat Pruthi et al.· The Plant Genome· 0 citations
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