RNA-seq Analysis of the Mechanisms Underlying Chalky Grain and Characterization of Two IAA Receptor Proteins OsAFB3 and OsAFB5 in Chalkiness Formation in Oryza sativa

Abstract Grain chalkiness is an undesirable agronomic trait that negatively affects both the yield and quality of rice (Oryza sativa). The molecular mechanisms underlying chalky grain phenotype have remained largely unclear. In this study, we selected the rice variety HK300 with a high chalkiness, a...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Shaojie Shi, Huiying Wang, Wenjun Zha, An Huang, Ziyi Chen, Yan Wu, Junxiao Chen, Changyan Li, Bian Wu, Sanhe Li, Huashan Xu, Peide Li, Kai Liu, Zhijun Chen, Guocai Yang, Lei Zhou, Aiqing You
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SpringerOpen 2025-05-01
Series:Rice
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12284-025-00799-z
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850268605085646848
author Shaojie Shi
Huiying Wang
Wenjun Zha
An Huang
Ziyi Chen
Yan Wu
Junxiao Chen
Changyan Li
Bian Wu
Sanhe Li
Huashan Xu
Peide Li
Kai Liu
Zhijun Chen
Guocai Yang
Lei Zhou
Aiqing You
author_facet Shaojie Shi
Huiying Wang
Wenjun Zha
An Huang
Ziyi Chen
Yan Wu
Junxiao Chen
Changyan Li
Bian Wu
Sanhe Li
Huashan Xu
Peide Li
Kai Liu
Zhijun Chen
Guocai Yang
Lei Zhou
Aiqing You
author_sort Shaojie Shi
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Grain chalkiness is an undesirable agronomic trait that negatively affects both the yield and quality of rice (Oryza sativa). The molecular mechanisms underlying chalky grain phenotype have remained largely unclear. In this study, we selected the rice variety HK300 with a high chalkiness, and ZR24D with a low chalkiness, as experimental materials and systematically characterized the reasons of grain chalkiness formation at molecular level by means of RNA-seq analysis. Analysis results revealed that the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in these two rice varieties were significantly enriched in transcriptional regulation, sucrose and starch metabolism, and phytohormone signal transduction. Moreover, we found the expression of 13 genes related to trehalose pathway (4 out of 14 TPS genes and 9 out of 13 TPP genes in rice genome) were significantly different between the two varieties, indicating trehalose synthesis pathways may contribute to the increased chalkiness formation. Notably, the number of DEGs associated with the signal transduction pathway for indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), which has been rarely studied for its involvement in chalkiness formation, was the highest among those associated with plant hormone signal transduction. Among them, the expression of two IAA receptor genes, OsAFB3 and OsAFB5, were significantly lower in HK300 than that in ZR24D through RNA-seq and qRT-PCR. Furthermore, we newly validated the two genes negatively regulated the formation of chalkiness through gene knockout. Our findings provided the theoretical basis and novel gene resources for molecular breeding aimed at improving rice quality.
format Article
id doaj-art-079b8a07178f4f4782aac3c815db2f6d
institution OA Journals
issn 1939-8425
1939-8433
language English
publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher SpringerOpen
record_format Article
series Rice
spelling doaj-art-079b8a07178f4f4782aac3c815db2f6d2025-08-20T01:53:25ZengSpringerOpenRice1939-84251939-84332025-05-0118111610.1186/s12284-025-00799-zRNA-seq Analysis of the Mechanisms Underlying Chalky Grain and Characterization of Two IAA Receptor Proteins OsAFB3 and OsAFB5 in Chalkiness Formation in Oryza sativaShaojie Shi0Huiying Wang1Wenjun Zha2An Huang3Ziyi Chen4Yan Wu5Junxiao Chen6Changyan Li7Bian Wu8Sanhe Li9Huashan Xu10Peide Li11Kai Liu12Zhijun Chen13Guocai Yang14Lei Zhou15Aiqing You16Laboratory of Crop Molecular Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Hubei Key Laboratory of Food Crop Germplasm and Genetic Improvement, Food Crops Institute, Hubei Academy of Agricultural SciencesLaboratory of Crop Molecular Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Hubei Key Laboratory of Food Crop Germplasm and Genetic Improvement, Food Crops Institute, Hubei Academy of Agricultural SciencesLaboratory of Crop Molecular Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Hubei Key Laboratory of Food Crop Germplasm and Genetic Improvement, Food Crops Institute, Hubei Academy of Agricultural SciencesLaboratory of Crop Molecular Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Hubei Key Laboratory of Food Crop Germplasm and Genetic Improvement, Food Crops Institute, Hubei Academy of Agricultural SciencesLaboratory of Crop Molecular Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Hubei Key Laboratory of Food Crop Germplasm and Genetic Improvement, Food Crops Institute, Hubei Academy of Agricultural SciencesLaboratory of Crop Molecular Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Hubei Key Laboratory of Food Crop Germplasm and Genetic Improvement, Food Crops Institute, Hubei Academy of Agricultural SciencesLaboratory of Crop Molecular Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Hubei Key Laboratory of Food Crop Germplasm and Genetic Improvement, Food Crops Institute, Hubei Academy of Agricultural SciencesLaboratory of Crop Molecular Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Hubei Key Laboratory of Food Crop Germplasm and Genetic Improvement, Food Crops Institute, Hubei Academy of Agricultural SciencesLaboratory of Crop Molecular Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Hubei Key Laboratory of Food Crop Germplasm and Genetic Improvement, Food Crops Institute, Hubei Academy of Agricultural SciencesLaboratory of Crop Molecular Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Hubei Key Laboratory of Food Crop Germplasm and Genetic Improvement, Food Crops Institute, Hubei Academy of Agricultural SciencesLaboratory of Crop Molecular Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Hubei Key Laboratory of Food Crop Germplasm and Genetic Improvement, Food Crops Institute, Hubei Academy of Agricultural SciencesLaboratory of Crop Molecular Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Hubei Key Laboratory of Food Crop Germplasm and Genetic Improvement, Food Crops Institute, Hubei Academy of Agricultural SciencesLaboratory of Crop Molecular Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Hubei Key Laboratory of Food Crop Germplasm and Genetic Improvement, Food Crops Institute, Hubei Academy of Agricultural SciencesLaboratory of Crop Molecular Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Hubei Key Laboratory of Food Crop Germplasm and Genetic Improvement, Food Crops Institute, Hubei Academy of Agricultural SciencesLaboratory of Crop Molecular Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Hubei Key Laboratory of Food Crop Germplasm and Genetic Improvement, Food Crops Institute, Hubei Academy of Agricultural SciencesLaboratory of Crop Molecular Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Hubei Key Laboratory of Food Crop Germplasm and Genetic Improvement, Food Crops Institute, Hubei Academy of Agricultural SciencesLaboratory of Crop Molecular Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Hubei Key Laboratory of Food Crop Germplasm and Genetic Improvement, Food Crops Institute, Hubei Academy of Agricultural SciencesAbstract Grain chalkiness is an undesirable agronomic trait that negatively affects both the yield and quality of rice (Oryza sativa). The molecular mechanisms underlying chalky grain phenotype have remained largely unclear. In this study, we selected the rice variety HK300 with a high chalkiness, and ZR24D with a low chalkiness, as experimental materials and systematically characterized the reasons of grain chalkiness formation at molecular level by means of RNA-seq analysis. Analysis results revealed that the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in these two rice varieties were significantly enriched in transcriptional regulation, sucrose and starch metabolism, and phytohormone signal transduction. Moreover, we found the expression of 13 genes related to trehalose pathway (4 out of 14 TPS genes and 9 out of 13 TPP genes in rice genome) were significantly different between the two varieties, indicating trehalose synthesis pathways may contribute to the increased chalkiness formation. Notably, the number of DEGs associated with the signal transduction pathway for indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), which has been rarely studied for its involvement in chalkiness formation, was the highest among those associated with plant hormone signal transduction. Among them, the expression of two IAA receptor genes, OsAFB3 and OsAFB5, were significantly lower in HK300 than that in ZR24D through RNA-seq and qRT-PCR. Furthermore, we newly validated the two genes negatively regulated the formation of chalkiness through gene knockout. Our findings provided the theoretical basis and novel gene resources for molecular breeding aimed at improving rice quality.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12284-025-00799-zRiceChalkinessGrain qualityIAA signal transductionBreeding
spellingShingle Shaojie Shi
Huiying Wang
Wenjun Zha
An Huang
Ziyi Chen
Yan Wu
Junxiao Chen
Changyan Li
Bian Wu
Sanhe Li
Huashan Xu
Peide Li
Kai Liu
Zhijun Chen
Guocai Yang
Lei Zhou
Aiqing You
RNA-seq Analysis of the Mechanisms Underlying Chalky Grain and Characterization of Two IAA Receptor Proteins OsAFB3 and OsAFB5 in Chalkiness Formation in Oryza sativa
Rice
Rice
Chalkiness
Grain quality
IAA signal transduction
Breeding
title RNA-seq Analysis of the Mechanisms Underlying Chalky Grain and Characterization of Two IAA Receptor Proteins OsAFB3 and OsAFB5 in Chalkiness Formation in Oryza sativa
title_full RNA-seq Analysis of the Mechanisms Underlying Chalky Grain and Characterization of Two IAA Receptor Proteins OsAFB3 and OsAFB5 in Chalkiness Formation in Oryza sativa
title_fullStr RNA-seq Analysis of the Mechanisms Underlying Chalky Grain and Characterization of Two IAA Receptor Proteins OsAFB3 and OsAFB5 in Chalkiness Formation in Oryza sativa
title_full_unstemmed RNA-seq Analysis of the Mechanisms Underlying Chalky Grain and Characterization of Two IAA Receptor Proteins OsAFB3 and OsAFB5 in Chalkiness Formation in Oryza sativa
title_short RNA-seq Analysis of the Mechanisms Underlying Chalky Grain and Characterization of Two IAA Receptor Proteins OsAFB3 and OsAFB5 in Chalkiness Formation in Oryza sativa
title_sort rna seq analysis of the mechanisms underlying chalky grain and characterization of two iaa receptor proteins osafb3 and osafb5 in chalkiness formation in oryza sativa
topic Rice
Chalkiness
Grain quality
IAA signal transduction
Breeding
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12284-025-00799-z
work_keys_str_mv AT shaojieshi rnaseqanalysisofthemechanismsunderlyingchalkygrainandcharacterizationoftwoiaareceptorproteinsosafb3andosafb5inchalkinessformationinoryzasativa
AT huiyingwang rnaseqanalysisofthemechanismsunderlyingchalkygrainandcharacterizationoftwoiaareceptorproteinsosafb3andosafb5inchalkinessformationinoryzasativa
AT wenjunzha rnaseqanalysisofthemechanismsunderlyingchalkygrainandcharacterizationoftwoiaareceptorproteinsosafb3andosafb5inchalkinessformationinoryzasativa
AT anhuang rnaseqanalysisofthemechanismsunderlyingchalkygrainandcharacterizationoftwoiaareceptorproteinsosafb3andosafb5inchalkinessformationinoryzasativa
AT ziyichen rnaseqanalysisofthemechanismsunderlyingchalkygrainandcharacterizationoftwoiaareceptorproteinsosafb3andosafb5inchalkinessformationinoryzasativa
AT yanwu rnaseqanalysisofthemechanismsunderlyingchalkygrainandcharacterizationoftwoiaareceptorproteinsosafb3andosafb5inchalkinessformationinoryzasativa
AT junxiaochen rnaseqanalysisofthemechanismsunderlyingchalkygrainandcharacterizationoftwoiaareceptorproteinsosafb3andosafb5inchalkinessformationinoryzasativa
AT changyanli rnaseqanalysisofthemechanismsunderlyingchalkygrainandcharacterizationoftwoiaareceptorproteinsosafb3andosafb5inchalkinessformationinoryzasativa
AT bianwu rnaseqanalysisofthemechanismsunderlyingchalkygrainandcharacterizationoftwoiaareceptorproteinsosafb3andosafb5inchalkinessformationinoryzasativa
AT sanheli rnaseqanalysisofthemechanismsunderlyingchalkygrainandcharacterizationoftwoiaareceptorproteinsosafb3andosafb5inchalkinessformationinoryzasativa
AT huashanxu rnaseqanalysisofthemechanismsunderlyingchalkygrainandcharacterizationoftwoiaareceptorproteinsosafb3andosafb5inchalkinessformationinoryzasativa
AT peideli rnaseqanalysisofthemechanismsunderlyingchalkygrainandcharacterizationoftwoiaareceptorproteinsosafb3andosafb5inchalkinessformationinoryzasativa
AT kailiu rnaseqanalysisofthemechanismsunderlyingchalkygrainandcharacterizationoftwoiaareceptorproteinsosafb3andosafb5inchalkinessformationinoryzasativa
AT zhijunchen rnaseqanalysisofthemechanismsunderlyingchalkygrainandcharacterizationoftwoiaareceptorproteinsosafb3andosafb5inchalkinessformationinoryzasativa
AT guocaiyang rnaseqanalysisofthemechanismsunderlyingchalkygrainandcharacterizationoftwoiaareceptorproteinsosafb3andosafb5inchalkinessformationinoryzasativa
AT leizhou rnaseqanalysisofthemechanismsunderlyingchalkygrainandcharacterizationoftwoiaareceptorproteinsosafb3andosafb5inchalkinessformationinoryzasativa
AT aiqingyou rnaseqanalysisofthemechanismsunderlyingchalkygrainandcharacterizationoftwoiaareceptorproteinsosafb3andosafb5inchalkinessformationinoryzasativa