microRNAs act as fine-tuners in the regulation of plant growth and resistance against biotic and abiotic stress. Here we demonstrate that rice miR1432 fine-tunes yield and blast disease resistance via different modules. The expression of miR1432 is differentially regulated in the susceptible and resistance accessions by the infection of the blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. Overexpression of miR1432 leads to compromised resistance and decreased yield, whereas blocking miR1432 using a target mimic of miR1432 results in enhanced resistance and yield. Moreover, miR1432 suppresses the expression of LOC_Os03g59790, which encodes an EF-hand family protein 1 (OsEFH1). Overexpression of OsEFH1 leads to enhanced rice resistance but decreased grain yield. Consistently, blocking miR1432 or overexpression of OsEFH1 improves pathogen/microbe-associated molecular pattern- triggered immunity. In contrast, overexpression of ACOT, a previously identified target gene of miR1432 involved in the regulation of rice yield traits, has no significant effects on rice blast disease resistance. Altogether, these results indicate that miR1432 balances yield and resistance via different target genes, and blocking miR1432 can simultaneously improve yield and resistance.
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