Microrchidia OsMORC6 Positively Regulates Cadmium Tolerance and Uptake by Mediating DNA Methylation in Rice
Abstract Rice (Oryza sativa) is an extremely important global food crop. However, cadmium (Cd) contamination in paddy fields poses a serious threat to human health worldwide. To generate low-Cd or Cd-free rice germplasms, it is essential to understand the molecular mechanisms involved in Cd toleranc...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SpringerOpen
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Rice |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12284-025-00785-5 |
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| author | Jingai Tan Muhammad Fahad Lantian Zhang Liang Wu Xia Wu |
| author_facet | Jingai Tan Muhammad Fahad Lantian Zhang Liang Wu Xia Wu |
| author_sort | Jingai Tan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Rice (Oryza sativa) is an extremely important global food crop. However, cadmium (Cd) contamination in paddy fields poses a serious threat to human health worldwide. To generate low-Cd or Cd-free rice germplasms, it is essential to understand the molecular mechanisms involved in Cd tolerance, uptake, and translocation from soil to plant. In this study, we identify three Microrchidia proteins, OsMORC6a, OsMORC6b, and OsMORC6c, that regulate Cd tolerance and accumulation, although they do not alter the translocation of Cd from roots to shoots. Knockout of all three genes results in reducing Cd accumulation and increasing sensitivity to Cd stress. Furthermore, transcriptome analysis reveals 1,127 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the morc6abc mutants, which are significantly enriched in ‘plant-type cell wall’ and ‘oxidoreductase activity’ pathways. Through an integrating DNA methylome and transcriptome data, we identify 247 hyper-DMR-associated DEGs and 325 hypo-DMR-associated DEGs in morc6abc mutants. Gene Ontology (Go) enrichment analysis reveals that OsMORC6 proteins positively regulate Cd tolerance and uptake by mediating DNA methylation, which regulates the proper expression of genes related to plant cell wall and oxidative stress under Cd stress. Taken together, our findings reveal novel genes that mediate Cd tolerance and accumulation by affecting DNA methylation, offering valuable resource for breeding low-Cd or Cd-free rice germplasms. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9b0cdf5bb92f4f9d84e583818a12d519 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1939-8425 1939-8433 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | SpringerOpen |
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| series | Rice |
| spelling | doaj-art-9b0cdf5bb92f4f9d84e583818a12d5192025-08-20T02:17:10ZengSpringerOpenRice1939-84251939-84332025-04-0118111710.1186/s12284-025-00785-5Microrchidia OsMORC6 Positively Regulates Cadmium Tolerance and Uptake by Mediating DNA Methylation in RiceJingai Tan0Muhammad Fahad1Lantian Zhang2Liang Wu3Xia Wu4Hainan Yazhou Bay Seed Laboratory, Hainan Institute, Zhejiang UniversityHainan Yazhou Bay Seed Laboratory, Hainan Institute, Zhejiang UniversityHainan Yazhou Bay Seed Laboratory, Hainan Institute, Zhejiang UniversityHainan Yazhou Bay Seed Laboratory, Hainan Institute, Zhejiang UniversityHainan Yazhou Bay Seed Laboratory, Hainan Institute, Zhejiang UniversityAbstract Rice (Oryza sativa) is an extremely important global food crop. However, cadmium (Cd) contamination in paddy fields poses a serious threat to human health worldwide. To generate low-Cd or Cd-free rice germplasms, it is essential to understand the molecular mechanisms involved in Cd tolerance, uptake, and translocation from soil to plant. In this study, we identify three Microrchidia proteins, OsMORC6a, OsMORC6b, and OsMORC6c, that regulate Cd tolerance and accumulation, although they do not alter the translocation of Cd from roots to shoots. Knockout of all three genes results in reducing Cd accumulation and increasing sensitivity to Cd stress. Furthermore, transcriptome analysis reveals 1,127 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the morc6abc mutants, which are significantly enriched in ‘plant-type cell wall’ and ‘oxidoreductase activity’ pathways. Through an integrating DNA methylome and transcriptome data, we identify 247 hyper-DMR-associated DEGs and 325 hypo-DMR-associated DEGs in morc6abc mutants. Gene Ontology (Go) enrichment analysis reveals that OsMORC6 proteins positively regulate Cd tolerance and uptake by mediating DNA methylation, which regulates the proper expression of genes related to plant cell wall and oxidative stress under Cd stress. Taken together, our findings reveal novel genes that mediate Cd tolerance and accumulation by affecting DNA methylation, offering valuable resource for breeding low-Cd or Cd-free rice germplasms.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12284-025-00785-5CdOsMORC6aOsMORC6bOsMORC6cToleranceAccumulation |
| spellingShingle | Jingai Tan Muhammad Fahad Lantian Zhang Liang Wu Xia Wu Microrchidia OsMORC6 Positively Regulates Cadmium Tolerance and Uptake by Mediating DNA Methylation in Rice Rice Cd OsMORC6a OsMORC6b OsMORC6c Tolerance Accumulation |
| title | Microrchidia OsMORC6 Positively Regulates Cadmium Tolerance and Uptake by Mediating DNA Methylation in Rice |
| title_full | Microrchidia OsMORC6 Positively Regulates Cadmium Tolerance and Uptake by Mediating DNA Methylation in Rice |
| title_fullStr | Microrchidia OsMORC6 Positively Regulates Cadmium Tolerance and Uptake by Mediating DNA Methylation in Rice |
| title_full_unstemmed | Microrchidia OsMORC6 Positively Regulates Cadmium Tolerance and Uptake by Mediating DNA Methylation in Rice |
| title_short | Microrchidia OsMORC6 Positively Regulates Cadmium Tolerance and Uptake by Mediating DNA Methylation in Rice |
| title_sort | microrchidia osmorc6 positively regulates cadmium tolerance and uptake by mediating dna methylation in rice |
| topic | Cd OsMORC6a OsMORC6b OsMORC6c Tolerance Accumulation |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12284-025-00785-5 |
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