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Overexpression of the RIXI xylanase inhibitor improves disease resistance to the fungal pathogen, Magnaporthe oryzae, in rice

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Abstract

In this paper we focus our attention on RIXI, a member of the XIP type xylanase inhibitor proteins in rice. RIXI-overexpression transgenic lines were generated by expressing the RIXI gene under the control of auliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter. In comparison with the wild-type (WT) plants, the transgenic plants had significantly increased levels of RIXI and showed resistance to Magnaporthe oryzae. Transgenic plants also contained higher levels of H2O2 and had larger changes in catalase and superoxide dismutase activities than the WT plants. The results showed that the increase in RIXI expression was accompanied by the up-regulation of pathogenesis-related genes and genes related to the jasmonate signaling pathway. To clarify the expression pattern of RIXI, a ProRIXI: GUS vector was constructed and transgenic rice lines were obtained. GUS staining results suggested that the RIXI gene possessed distinctive, tissue-specific and grow stage-specific expression patterns in rice. This is the first report on the expression patterns of rice xylanase inhibitors and our results provide direct evidence, at the plant level, that xylanase inhibitors are involved in plant defense against fungal pathogens.

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Abbreviations

XIs:

Xylanase inhibitors

XIP:

Xylanase-inhibiting protein

RIXI:

Rice xylanase inhibitor

R7:

RIXI-overexpression transgenic line 7

R8:

RIXI-overexpression transgenic line 8

WT:

Wild-type

PR:

Pathogenesis-related

H2O2 :

Hydrogen peroxide

SOD:

Superoxide dismutase

CAT:

Catalase

POD:

Peroxidase

HPT :

Hygromycin B phosphotransferase gene

MeJA:

Methyl jasmonate

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 30971702 and 31271632), and by research grants from the Science and Technology Department of Zhejiang Province, China (2013C32018). We thank L. L. Zhao for technical support in rice transformation, and Y.W. Que for pathogen inoculation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Life Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, People’s Republic of China

    Chunxiao Hou, Ting Lv, Yihua Zhan, Yaoyao Peng, Dean Jiang & Xiaoyan Weng

  2. College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, People’s Republic of China

    Yingying Huang

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  1. Chunxiao Hou
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  2. Ting Lv
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  3. Yihua Zhan
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  6. Dean Jiang
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  7. Xiaoyan Weng
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Correspondence to Xiaoyan Weng.

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Hou, C., Lv, T., Zhan, Y. et al. Overexpression of the RIXI xylanase inhibitor improves disease resistance to the fungal pathogen, Magnaporthe oryzae, in rice. Plant Cell Tiss Organ Cult 120, 167–177 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11240-014-0590-5

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