The uptake and transport of iron (Fe) in plants are both important for plant growth and human health. However, little is known about the mechanism of Fe transport in plants, especially for crops. In the present study, the function of yellow stripe-like 13 (YSL13) in rice was analyzed. OsYSL13 was highly expressed in leaves, especially in leaf blades, whereas its expression was induced by Fe deficiency both in roots and shoots. Furthermore, the expression level of OsYSL13 was higher in older leaves than that in younger leaves. OsYSL13 was located in the plasma membrane. Metal measurement revealed that Fe concentrations were lower in the youngest leaf and higher in the older leaves of the osysl13 mutant under both Fe sufficiency and deficiency conditions, compared with the wild type and two complementation lines. Moreover, the Fe concentrations in the brown rice and seeds of the osysl13 mutant were also reduced. Opposite results were found in OsYSL13 overexpression lines. These results suggest that OsYSL13 is involved in Fe distribution in rice.
Transcriptional regulation is involved in responding to cadmium (Cd) stress in plants. However, the molecular mechanisms of Cd stress responses regulated by transcription factors remain largely unknown in plants. In this study, a rice (Oryza sativa) NAC (no apical meristem [NAM]; Arabidopsis transcription activation factor [ATAF]; cup-shaped cotyledon [CUC]-related) family transcription factor, OsNAC300, was isolated and functionally characterized for its involvement in Cd stress responses and tolerance. OsNAC300 was localized to the nucleus. OsNAC300 was mainly expressed in roots and significantly induced by Cd treatment. Knockout of OsNAC300 resulted in increased sensitivity to Cd stress, while its overexpression lines enhanced tolerance to Cd stress. RNA-Seq analysis revealed that the mutant is impaired in regulating some important genes that were responsive to Cd stress in wild-type rice, such as the pathogenesis-related genes 10a (OsPR10a), OsPR10b, chalcone synthase 1 (OsCHS1), and several others, which was validated by reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) analysis. Moreover, chromatin immunoprecipitation-qPCR assays and luciferase reporter assays demonstrated that OsNAC300 directly binds to the promoters of OsPR10a, OsPR10b, and OsCHS1 and activates their transcription. Overall, OsNAC300 is an important regulatory factor in Cd stress responses and tolerance in rice.
Cadmium (Cd+2) is a highly toxic metal, which significantly alters different biochemical and metabolic processes in plants. Massive amounts of Cd+2 is being released into the environment by different anthropogenic activities. In the present study, plant growth promoting activities of bacterial strain Bacillus cereus was evaluated under Cd+2 stress in two rice cultivars Basmati-385 and Shaheen Basmati. Cd+2 stress significantly decreased plant growth and biomass production in both cultivars. However, with the inoculation of B. cereus under Cd+2 treatments, reduced Cd+2 uptake and increased antioxidant enzymes activities in rice cultivars lead to enhanced plant growth, biomass production, photosynthetic pigments, micronutrients, and lowered electrolytes leakage. This study suggests that B. cereus has the ability to alleviating Cd toxicity and increased phytoremediation efficiency of rice seedling under Cd stress.
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