Plasticity of OsERF109 mitigates drought stress by modulating the antioxidant defense system and morphophysiological traits in rice

Freshwater shortages, exacerbated by climate change and unpredictable rainfall, significantly hinder global food security. AP2/ERF transcription factors regulate genes that help plants survive and adapt to harsh environmental stresses. Although ERF109 is linked to drought tolerance, its exact role r...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Hemangini Parmar, Anjana Goel, V. Mohan Murali Achary, Ramesh V. Sonti, Malireddy K. Reddy
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-03-01
Series:Plant Stress
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667064X24003543
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849774398895030272
author Hemangini Parmar
Anjana Goel
V. Mohan Murali Achary
Ramesh V. Sonti
Malireddy K. Reddy
author_facet Hemangini Parmar
Anjana Goel
V. Mohan Murali Achary
Ramesh V. Sonti
Malireddy K. Reddy
author_sort Hemangini Parmar
collection DOAJ
description Freshwater shortages, exacerbated by climate change and unpredictable rainfall, significantly hinder global food security. AP2/ERF transcription factors regulate genes that help plants survive and adapt to harsh environmental stresses. Although ERF109 is linked to drought tolerance, its exact role remains unknown. To investigate this, we generated mutant alleles of the OsERF109 gene in an indica rice cultivar and studied their response to simulated drought conditions. Our findings show that the Oserf109 mutation exhibits no visible effect on plant growth and development under optimum environmental conditions. However, the Oserf109 null mutant demonstrated improved drought tolerance and survival rates. This improvement is due to reduced transpiration, lower canopy temperature, and better plant water status. The Oserf109 mutant maintains cellular hydration and membrane stability by increasing proline content under drought stress. The Oserf109 mutant also exhibits enhanced water use efficiency and improved gaseous exchange, which boosts photosynthetic efficiency, strengthens antioxidant defenses, and preserves chloroplast integrity, protecting the plant from oxidative damage during drought. Additionally, Oserf109 knockout plants showed increased tolerance to osmotic stress and reduced sensitivity to ABA, resulting in better seedling growth and higher germination rates. Our research reveals that the Oserf109 mutation enhances rice crop resilience and yield under adverse conditions. These findings illustrated the inhibitory regulatory role of OsERF109 in the drought tolerance mechanism, with the mutant form of this allele demonstrating potential implications in developing resilient rice cultivars for drought stress.
format Article
id doaj-art-9032dbf80c4d45f786c9d2fa7f365297
institution DOAJ
issn 2667-064X
language English
publishDate 2025-03-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Plant Stress
spelling doaj-art-9032dbf80c4d45f786c9d2fa7f3652972025-08-20T03:01:42ZengElsevierPlant Stress2667-064X2025-03-011510070110.1016/j.stress.2024.100701Plasticity of OsERF109 mitigates drought stress by modulating the antioxidant defense system and morphophysiological traits in riceHemangini Parmar0Anjana Goel1V. Mohan Murali Achary2Ramesh V. Sonti3Malireddy K. Reddy4Crop Improvement Group, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, Delhi 110067, India; Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Applied Sciences and Humanities, GLA University, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh 281406, IndiaDepartment of Biotechnology, Institute of Applied Sciences and Humanities, GLA University, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh 281406, IndiaCrop Improvement Group, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, Delhi 110067, IndiaCrop Improvement Group, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, Delhi 110067, IndiaCrop Improvement Group, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, Delhi 110067, India; Corresponding author.Freshwater shortages, exacerbated by climate change and unpredictable rainfall, significantly hinder global food security. AP2/ERF transcription factors regulate genes that help plants survive and adapt to harsh environmental stresses. Although ERF109 is linked to drought tolerance, its exact role remains unknown. To investigate this, we generated mutant alleles of the OsERF109 gene in an indica rice cultivar and studied their response to simulated drought conditions. Our findings show that the Oserf109 mutation exhibits no visible effect on plant growth and development under optimum environmental conditions. However, the Oserf109 null mutant demonstrated improved drought tolerance and survival rates. This improvement is due to reduced transpiration, lower canopy temperature, and better plant water status. The Oserf109 mutant maintains cellular hydration and membrane stability by increasing proline content under drought stress. The Oserf109 mutant also exhibits enhanced water use efficiency and improved gaseous exchange, which boosts photosynthetic efficiency, strengthens antioxidant defenses, and preserves chloroplast integrity, protecting the plant from oxidative damage during drought. Additionally, Oserf109 knockout plants showed increased tolerance to osmotic stress and reduced sensitivity to ABA, resulting in better seedling growth and higher germination rates. Our research reveals that the Oserf109 mutation enhances rice crop resilience and yield under adverse conditions. These findings illustrated the inhibitory regulatory role of OsERF109 in the drought tolerance mechanism, with the mutant form of this allele demonstrating potential implications in developing resilient rice cultivars for drought stress.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667064X24003543CRISPR/Cas9Drought toleranceERF109Rice
spellingShingle Hemangini Parmar
Anjana Goel
V. Mohan Murali Achary
Ramesh V. Sonti
Malireddy K. Reddy
Plasticity of OsERF109 mitigates drought stress by modulating the antioxidant defense system and morphophysiological traits in rice
Plant Stress
CRISPR/Cas9
Drought tolerance
ERF109
Rice
title Plasticity of OsERF109 mitigates drought stress by modulating the antioxidant defense system and morphophysiological traits in rice
title_full Plasticity of OsERF109 mitigates drought stress by modulating the antioxidant defense system and morphophysiological traits in rice
title_fullStr Plasticity of OsERF109 mitigates drought stress by modulating the antioxidant defense system and morphophysiological traits in rice
title_full_unstemmed Plasticity of OsERF109 mitigates drought stress by modulating the antioxidant defense system and morphophysiological traits in rice
title_short Plasticity of OsERF109 mitigates drought stress by modulating the antioxidant defense system and morphophysiological traits in rice
title_sort plasticity of oserf109 mitigates drought stress by modulating the antioxidant defense system and morphophysiological traits in rice
topic CRISPR/Cas9
Drought tolerance
ERF109
Rice
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667064X24003543
work_keys_str_mv AT hemanginiparmar plasticityofoserf109mitigatesdroughtstressbymodulatingtheantioxidantdefensesystemandmorphophysiologicaltraitsinrice
AT anjanagoel plasticityofoserf109mitigatesdroughtstressbymodulatingtheantioxidantdefensesystemandmorphophysiologicaltraitsinrice
AT vmohanmuraliachary plasticityofoserf109mitigatesdroughtstressbymodulatingtheantioxidantdefensesystemandmorphophysiologicaltraitsinrice
AT rameshvsonti plasticityofoserf109mitigatesdroughtstressbymodulatingtheantioxidantdefensesystemandmorphophysiologicaltraitsinrice
AT malireddykreddy plasticityofoserf109mitigatesdroughtstressbymodulatingtheantioxidantdefensesystemandmorphophysiologicaltraitsinrice