A study published in Plant, Cell & Environment demonstrates the potential of
breeding chilling-tolerant rice by editing the OsEIL2 gene in rice. Low
temperatures can significantly affect rice growth and productivity. Thus,
the study also explores the OsEIN2-OsEIL1/2 pathway in increasing rice
tolerance to low temperatures.



The researchers observed that rice plants overexpressing OsEIN2, OsEIL1, and
OsEIL2 showed severe stress symptoms under chilling conditions, including
excessive accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). On the other hand,
OsEIN2 and OsEIL1 mutants and OsEIL2-RNA interference plants (OsEIL2-Ri)
exhibited enhanced chilling tolerance.



Thus, the researchers investigated the OsEIN2-OsEIL1/2 pathway in regulating
ROS levels and photosynthetic capacity under chilling conditions by
modulating OsICE1 activity. The results of the study show that low levels of
OsEIL1 and OsEIL2 expression might confer chilling tolerance on rice
seedlings. Furthermore, the study also reports that the gene editing of the
OsEIL2 resulted in enhanced chilling tolerance in rice.



[onlinelibrary.wiley.com]#