A rice DELLA protein OsSLR1 positively regulates rice resistance to southern rice black-streaked dwarf virus infection

Abstract

Background

In the course of long-term confrontation with pathogens, plants have developed complex defense mechanisms to protect themselves from various pathogens. Previous studies have reported that the gibberellin (GA) signaling pathway negative regulator SLENDER RICE 1 (SLR1) in rice activates jasmonic acid (JA)-mediated broad-spectrum antiviral immunity, but the exploration regarding whether OsSLR1 exerts effects on alternative antiviral immune pathways remains limited.

Results

Here, we identified that OsSLR1 was significantly induced after virus infection and overexpression of OsSLR1 in rice enhance the resistance of rice to southern rice black-streaked dwarf virus (SRBSDV) in rice. Transcriptome analysis revealed that a total of 2,336 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were detected upon overexpression of OsSLR1 in rice, including 1,607 upregulated genes and 729 downregulated genes. Gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis and RT-qPCR analysis revealed that genes related to JA and reactive oxygen species (ROS) were significantly upregulated, while genes associated with abscisic acid (ABA) were significantly downregulated.

Conclusions

These results suggest that OsSLR1 positively regulates the antiviral immunity of rice by modulating multiple pathways.