Lizhong Xiong
Huazhong Agricultural University
Processor Lizhong Xiong is currently the Dean in the College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, and the Director of the National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, China. He obtained his PhD (Biochemistry Molecular Biology) in 1999 at the Huazhong Agricultural University, where he worked since 2002, when he returned to China after three years’ postdoctoral experience in University of Arkansas. Current research interests are focused on discovery novel genes for stress resistance of rice with focus on drought and heat tolerance by using integrated functional genomics approaches. He has published more than 120 peer-reviewed papers in international scientific journals such as Nature Plants, Nature Communications, Plant Cell, PNAS, Molecular Plant, etc. Major honors he has received include Excellent Young Scholar of National Science Foundation and Changjiang Scholarship Professor of China.
Title of presentation
High throughput phenotyping promotes drought resistance gene discovery in rice
Authors
Lizhong Xiong, Huaijun Wang, Haifu Tu, Tiantian Ye, Yilong Yao, Yu Zhang, Yao Wang, Xiaokai Li, Haiyan Xiong, Xuelei Lai
National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
Abstract
Drought stress poses a significant threat to global rice production, underscoring the urgent need to decipher the genetic components of drought resistance in rice. Through a genome-wide association study of leaf-rolling (stomata behavior-related) traits measured by UAV-based in-field phenotyping technique, genetic basis of drought response was dissected, and valuable genes for drought resistance breeding were identified in rice. We further showcased that the natural variations in DROUGHT RESISTANCE GENE 9 (DRG9), encoding a double-stranded RNA binding protein, contribute to drought resistance in rice. Under drought stress, DRG9 condensed into stress granules (SGs) through liquid-liquid phase separation, via an α-helix embedded within a largely intrinsically disordered region. DRG9 binds to OsNCED4 mRNAs, a key gene for the biosynthesis of abscisic acid, and recruits them into SGs to protect them from degradation. In drought-resistant DRG9 allele, natural variations in the coding region, causing an amino acid substitution within the zinc finger domain, increased the DRG9 binding ability to OsNCED4 mRNA and enhanced drought resistance. Introgression of the drought-resistant DRG9 allele into the elite rice Huanghuazhan led to significant increase of drought resistance in the field, indicating promising value of the drought-resistant DRG9 allele in breeding drought-resistant rice.
My Sessions
High throughput phenotyping promotes drought resistance gene discovery in rice
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Presentation