RNAi-mediated down regulation of BADH2 gene for expression of 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline in non-scented indica rice IR-64 (Oryza sativa L.)

2Gs and plant architecture: breaking grain yield ceiling through breeding approaches for next wave of revolution in rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Rice is a principal food crop for more than half of the global population. Grain number and grain weight (2Gs) are the two complex traits controlled by several quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and are considered the most critical components for yield enhancement in rice. Novel molecular biology and QTL mapping strategies can be utilized in dissecting the complex genetic architecture of these traits. Discovering the valuable genes/QTLs associated with 2Gs traits hidden in the rice genome and utilizing them in breeding programs may bring a revolution in rice production. Furthermore, the positional cloning and functional characterization of identified genes and QTLs may aid in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying the 2Gs traits. In addition, knowledge of modern genomic tools aids the understanding of the nature of plant and panicle architecture, which enhances their photosynthetic activity. Rice researchers continue to combine important yield component traits (including 2Gs for the yield ceiling) by utilizing modern breeding tools, such as marker-assisted selection (MAS), haplotype-based breeding, and allele mining. Physical co-localization of GW7 (for grain weight) and DEP2 (for grain number) genes present on chromosome 7 revealed the possibility of simultaneous introgression of these two genes, if desirable allelic variants were found in the single donor parent. This review article will reveal the genetic nature of 2Gs traits and use this knowledge to break the yield ceiling by using different breeding and biotechnological tools, which will sustain the world's food requirements.

A fast breeding strategy creates fragrance- and anthocyanin-enriched rice lines by marker-free gene-editing and hybridization

As rice is a staple food for nearly half of the world's population, rice varieties with excellent agronomic traits as well as high flavor and nutritional quality such as fragrant rice and purple rice are naturally favored by the market. In the current study, we adopt a fast breeding strategy to improve the aroma and anthocyanin content in the excellent rice inbred line, F25. The strategy skillfully used the advantages of obtaining editing pure lines in T0 generation of CRISPR/Cas9 editing system and easy observation of purple character and grain shape, integrated the subsequent screening of non-transgenic lines, and the elimination of undesirable edited variants from gene-editing and cross-breeding at the same time as the separation of the progeny from the purple cross, thus expediting the breeding process. Compared with conventional breeding strategies, this strategy saves about 6-8 generations and reduces breeding costs. Firstly, we edited the OsBADH2 gene associated with rice flavor using an Agrobacterium-mediated CRISPR/Cas9 system to improve the aroma of F25. In the T0 generation, a homozygous OsBADH2-edited F25 line (F25B) containing more of the scented substance 2-AP was obtained. Then, we crossed F25B (♀) with a purple rice inbred line, P351 (♂), with high anthocyanin enrichment to improve the anthocyanin content of F25. After nearly 2.5 years of screening and identification over five generations, the undesirable variation characteristics caused by gene-editing and hybridization and the transgenic components were screened out. Finally, the improved F25 line with highly stable aroma component, 2-AP, increased anthocyanin content and no exogenous transgenic components were obtained. This study not only provides high-quality aromatic anthocyanin rice lines that meet the market demand, but also offers a reference for the comprehensive use of CRISPR/Cas9 editing technology, hybridization, and marker-assisted selection to accelerate multi-trait improvement and breeding process.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11032-023-01369-1.

Yellowhorn Xso-miR5149-XsGTL1 enhances water-use efficiency and drought tolerance by regulating leaf morphology and stomatal density

Yellowhorn (Xanthoceras sorbifolium) is a unique edible woody oil tree species in China. Drought stress is the major yield-limiting factor of yellowhorn. MicroRNAs play an important role in regulating the response of woody plants to drought stress. However, the regulatory function of miRNAs in yellowhorn remains unclear. Here, we first constructed coregulatory networks integrated with miRNAs and their target genes. According to GO function and expression pattern analysis, we selected the Xso-miR5149-XsGTL1 module for further study. Xso-miR5149 is a key regulator of leaf morphology and stomatal density by directly mediating the expression of the transcription factor XsGTL1. Downregulation of XsGTL1 in yellowhorn led to increased leaf area and reduced stomatal density. RNA-seq analysis indicated that downregulation of XsGTL1 increased the expression of genes involved in the negative control of stomatal density, leaf morphology, and drought tolerance. After drought stress treatments, the XsGTL1-RNAi yellowhorn plants were less damaged and had higher water-use efficiency than the WT plants, while destruction of Xso-miR5149 or overexpression of XsGTL1 had the opposite effect. Our findings indicated that the Xso-miR5149-XsGTL1 regulatory module plays a critical role in controlling leaf morphology and stomatal density; hence, it's a potential candidate module for engineering enhanced drought tolerance in yellowhorn.

Biosynthesis of 2-Acetyl-1-pyrroline in Fragrant Rice: Recent Insights into Agro-management, Environmental Factors, and Functional Genomics

Rice is a staple food for more than half of the world's population, and rice fragrance is a key quality attribute which is highly desired by consumers and attracts premium prices in the international market. There are around 200 volatile compounds involved in rice fragrance, but 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (2-AP) has been considered a master regulator of aroma in fragrant rice. Consequently, efforts were made to increase the 2-AP contents in the grain by managing agronomical practices or by using modern functional genomic tools, which successfully converted nonfragrant cultivars to fragrant rice. Furthermore, environmental factors were also reported to influence the 2-AP contents. However, a comprehensive analysis of 2-AP biosynthesis in response to agro-management practices, environmental factors, and the application of functional genomic tools for fragrant rice production was missing. In this Review, we summarize how micro/macronutrients, cultivation practices, amino acid precursors, growth regulators, and environmental factors, such as drought, salinity, light, and temperature, influence the 2-AP biosynthesis to modulate the aroma of fragrant rice. Furthermore, we also summarized the successful conversion of nonfragrant rice cultivars to fragrant rice using modern gene editing tools, such as RNAi, TALENS, and CRISPR-Cas9. Finally, we discussed and highlighted the future perspective and challenges related to the aroma of fragrant rice.

CRISPR-Cas9-mediated editing of BADH2 gene triggered fragrance revolution in rice

Fragrance is one of the most important quality traits for breeding in rice. The natural aroma substance 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (2-AP) is a key fragrance compound among over 200 volatiles identified in fragrant rice. In addition to rice, there are other plant species that contain a germplasm that naturally produces a fragrant aroma. These other plant species all have lower activity levels of the enzyme BETAINE ALDEHYDE DEHYDROGENASE 2 (BADH2). Therefore, improving fragrance efficiency has been a focus of intensive research. Recent studies have engineered BADH2 gene, which is responsible for fragrance trait in non-fragrant cultivars of rice, using CRISPR-Cas9. Although engineering rice BADH2 can be useful for upregulating 2-AP, there are still a lot of restrictions on how it can be applied in practice. In this review article, we discuss the recent developments in BADH2 editing and propose potential future strategies to effectively target BADH2 for transcriptional regulation, with the goal of producing a better fragrance.

Combined Metabolomic and Quantitative RT-PCR Analyses Revealed the Synthetic Differences of 2-Acetyl-1-pyrroline in Aromatic and Non-Aromatic Vegetable Soybeans

Aroma is an important economic trait of vegetable soybeans, which greatly influences their market value. The 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (2AP) is considered as an important substance affecting the aroma of plants. Although the 2AP synthesis pathway has been resolved, the differences of the 2AP synthesis in the aromatic and non-aromatic vegetable soybeans are unknown. In this study, a broad targeted metabolome analysis including measurement of metabolites levels and gene expression levels was performed to reveal pathways of aroma formation in the two developmental stages of vegetable soybean grains [35 (S5) and 40 (S6) days after anthesis] of the 'Zhexian No. 8' (ZX8, non-aromatic) and ZK1754 (aromatic). The results showed that the differentially accumulated metabolites (DAMs) of the two varieties can be classified into nine main categories including flavonoids, lipids, amino acids and derivatives, saccharides and alcohols, organic acids, nucleotides and derivatives, phenolic acids, alkaloids and vitamin, which mainly contributed to their phenotypic differences. Furthermore, in combination with the 2AP synthesis pathway, the differences of amino acids and derivatives were mainly involved in the 2AP synthesis. Furthermore, 2AP precursors' analysis revealed that the accumulation of 2AP mainly occurred from 1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate (P5C), not 4-aminobutyraldehyde (GABald). The quantitative RT-PCR showed that the associated synthetic genes were 1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate dehydrogenase (P5CDH), ∆¹-pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthetase (P5CS), proline dehydrogenase (PRODH) and pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase (P5CR), which further verified the synthetic pathway of 2AP. Furthermore, the betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (GmBADH2) mutant was not only vital for the occurrence of 2AP, but also for the synthesis of 4-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in vegetable soybean. Therefore, the differences of 2AP accumulation in aromatic and non-aromatic vegetable soybeans have been revealed, and it also provides an important theoretical basis for aromatic vegetable soybean breeding.

Reverse genetic approaches for breeding nutrient-rich and climate-resilient cereal and food legume crops

In the last decade, advancements in genomics tools and techniques have led to the discovery of many genes. Most of these genes still need to be characterized for their associated function and therefore, such genes remain underutilized for breeding the next generation of improved crop varieties. The recent developments in different reverse genetic approaches have made it possible to identify the function of genes controlling nutritional, biochemical, and metabolic traits imparting drought, heat, cold, salinity tolerance as well as diseases and insect-pests. This article focuses on reviewing the current status and prospects of using reverse genetic approaches to breed nutrient-rich and climate resilient cereal and food legume crops.

Co-functioning of 2AP precursor amino acids enhances 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline under salt stress in aromatic rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivars

Aromatic rice (Oryza sativa) fetches a premium price due to the pleasant aroma. The major aroma compound 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (2AP) has been found to be enhanced under stress. This condition can be considered to study the genes, precursors, enzymes, and metabolites involved in elevated levels of 2AP biosynthesis. In the present study, 100 mM salt treatment was given to two aromatic rice cultivars Ambemohar-157 (A-157) and Basmati-370 (B-370) at the vegetative stage (VS₃). After salt treatment, in the leaves, 2AP contents were elevated by 2.2 and 1.8 fold in A-157 and B-370, respectively. Under these elevated 2AP conditions, the precursor amino acids (glutamate, putrescine, ornithine, and proline), their related genes, enzymes, and metabolites (methylglyoxal and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) related to 2AP biosynthesis were analyzed. In addition, agronomic characters were also studied. It was observed that the proline content was enhanced in both the cultivars by 29% (A-157) and 40% (B-370) as compared to control. The Δ¹-pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthetase (P5CS) enzyme activity was increased in salt-treated plants leaf tissue by 31% (A-157) and 40% (B-370) compared to control. The P5CS gene expression was enhanced by A-157 (1.8 fold) and B-370 (2.2 fold) compared to control, putrescine content in A-157 and B-370 decreased by 2.5 and 2.7 fold respectively as compared to control. The ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity was enhanced in A-157 (12%) and B-370 (35%) over control. Further, ODC gene expression was enhanced in both the cultivars A-157 (1.5 fold) and B-370 (1.3 fold). The diamino oxidase (DAO) enzyme activity was increased by 28% (A-157) and 35% (B-370) respectively over control. The GABA content marginally increased over control in both the cultivars namely, A-157 (1.9%) and B-370 (9.5%). The methylglyoxal levels were enhanced by 1.4 fold in A-157 and 1.6 fold in B-370. Interestingly, the enhancement in 2AP in the vegetative stage also helped to accumulate it in mature grains (twofold in A-157 and 1.5 fold in B-370) without test weight penalty. The study indicated that the ornithine and proline together along with methylglyoxal contribute towards the enhancement of 2AP under salt stress.

Production of aromatic three-line hybrid rice using novel alleles of BADH2

Aroma is a key grain quality trait that directly influences the market price of rice globally. Loss of function of betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (OsBADH2) affects the biosynthesis of 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (2-AP), which is responsible for aroma in fragrant rice. The current study was aimed at creating new alleles of BADH2 using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology under the genetic background of the japonica Ningjing 1 (NJ1) and indica Huang Huazhan (HHZ) varieties. Sensory evaluation and analysis using headspace solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS) showed that the grains of the four homozygous T₁ lines with new alleles of BADH2 (nj1-cr ^BADH2 -1, nj1-cr ^BADH2 -2, hhz-cr ^BADH2 -1 and hhz-cr ^BADH2 -2) produced moderate fragrance and had significantly increased 2-AP content compared with wild-types. Moreover, there were no significant differences in the amylose content and gelatinization temperature among the four lines with new alleles of BADH2 to the wild-types. Thereafter, we crossed the HHZ background new alleles of BADH2 with CMS line Taonong 1A (TN1A) to produce a three-line hybrid variety B-Tao-You-Xiangzhan (BTYXZ) with increased grain aroma. The 2-AP content in grains of the improved BTYXZ-1 and BTYXZ-2 reached at 26.16 and 18.74 μg/kg, and the gel consistency of BTYXZ-1 and BTYXZ-2 increased significantly by 9.1% and 6.5%, respectively, compared with the wild-type Tao-You-Xiangzhan (TYXZ). However, the γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) content in the improved three-line hybrid rice BTYXZ-1 (5.6 mg/100 g) and BTYXZ-2 (10.7 mg/100 g) was significantly lower than that of the TYXZ. These results demonstrated that CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology could be successfully utilized in improving aroma in non-fragrant japonica and indica varieties. In addition, the newly developed BADH2 alleles provided important genetic resources for grain aroma improvement in three-line hybrid rice.

Transcriptome analysis and identification of genes associated with floral transition and fruit development in rabbiteye blueberry (Vaccinium ashei)

Flowering and fruit set are important traits affecting fruit quality and yield in rabbiteye blueberry (Vaccinium ashei). Intense efforts have been made to elucidate the influence of vernalization and phytohormones on flowering, but the molecular mechanisms of flowering and fruit set remain unclear. To unravel these mechanisms, we performed transcriptome analysis to explore blueberry transcripts from flowering to early fruit stage. We divided flowering and fruit set into flower bud (S2), initial flower (S3), bloom flower (S4), pad fruit (S5), and cup fruit (S6) based on phenotype and identified 1,344, 69, 658, and 189 unique differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in comparisons of S3/S2, S4/S3, S5/S4, and S6/S5, respectively. There were obviously more DEGs in S3/S2 and S5/S4 than in S4/S3, and S6/S5, suggesting that S3/S2 and S5/S4 represent major transitions from buds to fruit in blueberry. GO and KEGG enrichment analysis indicated these DEGs were mostly enriched in phytohormone biosynthesis and signaling, transporter proteins, photosynthesis, anthocyanins biosynthesis, disease resistance protein and transcription factor categories, in addition, transcript levels of phytohormones and transporters changed greatly throughout the flowering and fruit set process. Gibberellic acid and jasmonic acid mainly acted on the early stage of flowering development like expression of the florigen gene FT, while the expression of auxin response factor genes increased almost throughout the process from bud to fruit development. Transporter proteins were mainly associated with minerals during the early flowering development stage and sugars during the early fruit stage. At the early fruit stage, anthocyanins started to accumulate, and the fruit was susceptible to diseases such as fungal infection. Expression of the transcription factor MYB86 was up-regulated during initial fruit development, which may promote anthocyanin accumulation. These results will aid future studies exploring the molecular mechanism underlying flowering and fruit set of rabbiteye blueberry.