Promoter Editing of FLR13 Boosts Growth and Disease Resistance in Rice

Hunan University researchers and partners from China reported that the receptor kinase gene FERONIA-Like Receptor 13 (FLR13) influences plant height, tillering, grain yield, and disease resistance. Their findings are published in The Crop Journal.

Receptor kinases are vital in discovering environmental signals. Consequently, gene pleiotropy is usually manifested among receptor kinases, thus posing a constraint on the use of such genes in crop improvement.

To elucidate more on this issue, the research team used promoter editing and generated novel alleles that conferred rice blast resistance and yield increase in rice plants. Furthermore, the knockout of the T5T6 segment reduced the inhibitory effects of two transcription factors, OsGBP1 and OsWRKY53, on FLR13 expression.

The findings contribute insights into using CRISPR-Cas9-mediated promoter-editing for receptor-like kinases.