The group determined a series of qualities connected to rice plant fitness under dry spell, such as increased crown root density. Drought had a higher result on gene expression patterns in the roots than in the shoots, however the team recognized modules of co-expressed genes linked to dry spell tolerance in both the roots and the shoots. Many of these modules included genes that had formerly been connected to improved drought tolerance, such as those involved in root-to-shoot water transport and photosynthesis, and one module included genes understood to be included in interactions with soil-dwelling arbuscular mycorrhizal fungis.
The team hopes that the gene modules recognized in their research study will guide efforts to reproduce resistant rice ranges, alleviating some of the pressures of a hotter, drier world: “We might see with our own eyes how dry spell can affect rice production and, most notably, the lives of smallholder farmers in the area. This brought into point of view why we are doing the research study that we are doing.”
Referral: “Evolutionary systems biology reveals patterns of rice adjustment to drought-prone agro-ecosystems Get access Arrow” by Simon C Groen, Zoé Joly-Lopez, Adrian E Platts, Mignon Natividad, Zoë Fresquez, William M Mauck, III, Marinell R Quintana, Carlo Leo U Cabral, Rolando O Torres, Rahul Satija, Michael D Purugganan and Amelia Henry, 15 November 2021, The Plant Cell.DOI: 10.1093/ plcell/koab275.
Financing: National Science Foundation Plant Genome Research Program, NYU Abu Dhabi Research Institute, University of California at Riverside.
The researchers performing their field experiment. Credit: Dr. Amelia Henry, International Rice Research Institute, Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines
Study links gene expression patterns to characteristics that improve dry spell tolerance in rice plants.
For many smallholder farmers in South and Southeast Asia, rice is more than a staple food– its a livelihood. Generations of smallholder farmers have actually relied exclusively on rains to irrigate their crops, however the increasing frequency and severity of dry spells triggered by environment modification are putting rice production under extreme pressure. Some conventional rice varieties grown in these regions have actually adjusted to dry conditions, and may hold the key to developing techniques to boost rice production under drought: “If we can determine the genes associated with dry spell resistance of conventional rice ranges, we can utilize this knowledge for reproducing new, more stable-yielding, drought-resistant rice varieties,” states Dr. Simon “Niels” Groen, first author of an amazing new study published in The Plant Cell.
In a field experiment conducted in the Philippines, covering 2 years and involving countless rice plants, Dr. Groen and his associates set out to do simply that. Using a panel of 20 different rice ranges, some of which were understood to stand up well to drought, the team explored how dry conditions impact gene expression patterns in rice, how drought-stressed rice plants coordinate gene expression in between their roots and shoots, and how these gene expression patterns are connected to characteristics that make plants more durable in dry conditions.
Generations of smallholder farmers have relied solely on rainfall to water their crops, but the increasing frequency and severity of dry spells caused by environment modification are putting rice production under extreme pressure. Some conventional rice varieties grown in these regions have adjusted to dry conditions, and may hold the secret to establishing techniques to boost rice production under drought: “If we can identify the genes involved in drought resistance of conventional rice varieties, we can utilize this understanding for breeding brand-new, more stable-yielding, drought-resistant rice varieties,” says Dr. Simon “Niels” Groen, very first author of an exciting new study published in The Plant Cell.
The team determined a series of characteristics connected to rice plant physical fitness under dry spell, such as increased crown root density.