The PPR-Domain Protein SOAR1 Regulates Salt Tolerance in Rice.

Previous studies in Arabidopsis reported that the PPR protein SOAR1 plays critical roles in plant response to salt stress. In this study, we reported that expression of the Arabidopsis SOAR1 (AtSOAR1) in rice significantly enhanced salt tolerance at seedling growth stage and promoted grain productivity under salt stress without affecting plant productivity under non-stressful conditions. The transgenic rice lines expressing AtSOAR1 exhibited increased ABA sensitivity in ABA-induced inhibition of seedling growth, and showed altered transcription and splicing of numerous genes associated with salt stress, which may explain salt tolerance of the transgenic plants. Further, we overexpressed the homologous gene of SOAR1 in rice, OsSOAR1, and showed that transgenic plants overexpressing OsSOAR1 enhanced salt tolerance at seedling growth stage. Five salt- and other abiotic stress-induced SOAR1-like PPRs were also identified. These data showed that the SOAR1-like PPR proteins are positively involved in plant response to salt stress and may be used for crop improvement in rice under salinity conditions through transgenic manipulation.

Inheritance and breeding of japonica rice with good eating quality in Jiangsu province.

In order to develop a variety of japonica rice with good eating quality suitable for planting in Jiangsu Province, the genetic basis of high quality, disease resistance and high yield japonica rice varieties in Jiangsu Province was systematically studied. The relationship among different rice qualities of cooking, nutrition, and eating was studied by association analysis. It was clear that amylose content was the key factor affecting eating quality. The semi waxy rice with amylose content of 10%~14% has bright surface, soft texture, and elasticity, combining the softness of glutinous rice and the elasticity of japonica rice. The cold rice is not hard, and the taste is excellent. It meets the taste requirements of people in Yangtze River Delta region who like to eat soft fragrant japonica rice. The semi waxy japonica rice variety "Kantou 194" with a low expression of amylose content gene Wx mp and an amylose content of about 10% was selected as the core germplasm for improving eating quality. Pyramiding breeding of japonica rice variety with good eating quality, disease resistance and high yield was carried out by examining the development of Wx mp gene molecular markers and the use of closely linked molecular markers with disease resistance and high yield genes. A series of new japonica rice varieties with good taste such as Nanjing 46, Nanjing 5055, Nanjing 9108, and Nanjing 5718, suitable for different rice areas of Jiangsu Province, have been bred and approved by Jiangsu Provincial Variety Approval Committee. The layout of japonica rice varieties with good taste covering different rice areas in Jiangsu Province has been formed. These varieties have been planted with an accumulated area of more than 5.3 million hectares, which has effectively promoted the development of high quality rice industry in Jiangsu Province and its surrounding areas, and made important contributions to the structural adjustment of the supply side of rice industry, improving quality and efficiency, and ensuring food security.

The Arabidopsis kinase-associated protein phosphatase KAPP, interacting with protein kinases SnRK2.2/2.3/2.6, negatively regulates abscisic acid signaling.

KEY MESSAGE: The kinase-associated protein phosphatase, KAPP, is negatively involved in abscisic acid (ABA) signaling. KAPP interacts physically with SnRK2.2, SnRK2.3 and SnRK2.6, and functionally acts upstream of SnRK2.2 and SnRK2.3. The kinase-associated protein phosphatase (KAPP) has been reported to be involved in the regulation of many developmental and signaling events, but it remains unknown whether KAPP is involved in ABA signaling. Here, we report that KAPP is negatively involved in ABA-mediated seed germination and early seedling growth in Arabidopsis thaliana. The two loss-of-function mutants of KAPP, kapp-1 and kapp-2, exhibit increased ABA sensitivity in ABA-induced seed germination inhibition and post-germination growth arrest. The three closely-related protein kinase, (SNF1)-related protein kinase SnRK2.2, SnRK2.3 and SnRK2.6, which play critical roles in ABA signaling, interact and co-localize with KAPP. Genetic evidence showed that the ABA-hypersensitive phenotypes caused by KAPP mutation were suppressed by the double mutation of SnRK2.2 and SnRK2.3, indicating that KAPP functions upstream of SnRK2.2 and SnRK2.3 in ABA signaling. RNA-sequencing analysis revealed that KAPP mutation affects expression of multiple ABA-responsive genes. These results demonstrated that KAPP is negatively involved in plant response to ABA, which help to understand the complicated ABA signaling mechanism.

A trans diacyloxylation of indoles.

A trans diacyloxylation of indoles is accomplished by employing PhI(OAc)(2) as the oxidant. A broad range of functional groups are well tolerated. Both the electronic properties of the N-protecting groups of indoles and the acidity of the reaction media play important roles in the selectivity of indole acyloxylation reactions.