Knocking Out the Transcription Factor OsNAC092 Promoted Rice Drought Tolerance

Abstract

Environmental drought stress threatens rice production. Previous studies have reported that related NAC (NAM, ATAF1/2, and CUC) transcription factors play an important role in drought stress. Herein, we identified and characterized OsNAC092, encoding an NAC transcription factor that is highly expressed and induced during drought tolerance. OsNAC092 knockout lines created using the clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-associated protein 9 (Cas9) system exhibited increased drought resistance in rice. RNA sequencing showed that the knockout of OsNAC092 caused a global expression change, and differential gene expression is chiefly associated with “response to light stimulus,” “MAPK signaling pathway,” “plant hormone signal transduction,” “response to oxidative stress,” “photosynthesis,” and “water deprivation.” In addition, the antioxidants and enzyme activities of the redox response were significantly increased. OsNAC092 mutant rice exhibited a higher ability to scavenge more ROS and maintained a high GSH/GSSG ratio and redox level under drought stress, which could protect cells from oxidant stress, revealing the importance of OsNAC092 in the rice’s response to abiotic stress. Functional analysis of OsNAC092 will be useful to explore many rice resistance genes in molecular breeding to aid in the development of modern agriculture.

Picea wilsonii NAC31 and DREB2A Cooperatively Activate ERD1 to Modulate Drought Resistance in Transgenic Arabidopsis

“…GhNAC3 regulated the content of ABA to enhance the drought resistance of transgenic plants [17]. An OsNAC092 mutant in rice protected cells from oxidant damage under drought stress [18]. Similar functions have been confirmed in woody plants.…”

Molecular Mechanisms and Regulatory Pathways Underlying Drought Stress Response in Rice

“…A mutation of OsNAC092 enhances the ROS scavenging ability of rice under drought stress. The mutant plants also maintain a high GSH/GSSG ratio and redox level to protect the cells from oxidative damage, thereby improving the drought tolerance of rice [204].…”