Dual Regulation of the Rice Yield Traits and Stress Resilience by OsHSP20: Insights from Integrative Biochemical and Transcriptomic Analyses
4 affiliations
- 1Research Center for Plant Functional Genes and Tissue Culture Technology, College of Bioscience and Bioengineering, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
- 2Super Rice Research and Development Center, Jiangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanchang 330200, China
- 3State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding, China National Rice Research Institute, Hangzhou 311410, China
- 4Agriculture College, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
Abstract
Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a staple food crop globally, and identifying genes governing grain yield is critical for food security. Although heat shock proteins (HSPs) are known for their roles in stress tolerance, the molecular mechanisms by which they regulate yield formation remain unclear. In this study, we generated knockout and overexpression lines for OsHSP20 which is encoding a member of the Hsp20/alpha crystallin family, LOC_Os10g30162.1 (It is also one of the four candidate genes discovered during our fine mapping of major QTLs for photosynthetic rate in rice.), and performed integrated analyses combining field phenotyping, multi-stress assays, and transcriptomics. Phenotypic analyses revealed that OsHSP20 deficiency resulted in compromised plant architecture, leaf morphology, tillering, and panicle development, leading to a significant reduction in grain setting rate. Conversely, OsHSP20 overexpression enhanced drought tolerance. Mechanistically, transcriptomic and functional analyses demonstrated that OsHSP20 maintains protein homeostasis under drought stress via its chaperone activity; this function orchestrates a coordinated regulatory network involving lipid barrier formation, antioxidant defense, and carbon allocation. Our findings establish OsHSP20 as a positive regulator of both yield and drought resilience, improving crop adaptability by balancing growth and stress responses. In addition, our previous research has shown that OsHSP20 is actually one of the important components of the main QTL for rice photosynthetic rate. Therefore, this study can provide new genetic resources and a theoretical basis for cultivating rice varieties with high yield, stress resistant, and a high photosynthetic rate.
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BibTeX
@article{liao2026dual,
title = {{Dual Regulation of the Rice Yield Traits and Stress Resilience by OsHSP20: Insights from Integrative Biochemical and Transcriptomic Analyses}},
author = {Yan Liao and Muneeba Saleem and Nan Zhang and Qingping Pang and Juan Du and Qianhui Wang and Siyao Li and Baishi Chen and Qiong Hu and Yuanyuan Nie and Lin Zhang and Hanhua Tong and Zhen Zhang and Haohua He and Songping Hu},
journal = {International Journal of Molecular Sciences},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.3390/ijms27188341},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/18/8341},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Dual Regulation of the Rice Yield Traits and Stress Resilience by OsHSP20: Insights from Integrative Biochemical and Transcriptomic Analyses
AU - Yan Liao
AU - Muneeba Saleem
AU - Nan Zhang
AU - Qingping Pang
AU - Juan Du
AU - Qianhui Wang
AU - Siyao Li
AU - Baishi Chen
AU - Qiong Hu
AU - Yuanyuan Nie
AU - Lin Zhang
AU - Hanhua Tong
AU - Zhen Zhang
AU - Haohua He
AU - Songping Hu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/19
JO - International Journal of Molecular Sciences
DO - 10.3390/ijms27188341
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/18/8341
AB - Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a staple food crop globally, and identifying genes governing grain yield is critical for food security. Although heat shock proteins (HSPs) are known for their roles in stress tolerance, the molecular mechanisms by which they regulate yield formation remain unclear. In this study, we generated knockout and overexpression lines for OsHSP20 which is encoding a member of the Hsp20/alpha crystallin family, LOC_Os10g30162.1 (It is also one of the four candidate genes discovered during our fine mapping of major QTLs for photosynthetic rate in rice.), and performed integrated analyses combining field phenotyping, multi-stress assays, and transcriptomics. Phenotypic analyses revealed that OsHSP20 deficiency resulted in compromised plant architecture, leaf morphology, tillering, and panicle development, leading to a significant reduction in grain setting rate. Conversely, OsHSP20 overexpression enhanced drought tolerance. Mechanistically, transcriptomic and functional analyses demonstrated that OsHSP20 maintains protein homeostasis under drought stress via its chaperone activity; this function orchestrates a coordinated regulatory network involving lipid barrier formation, antioxidant defense, and carbon allocation. Our findings establish OsHSP20 as a positive regulator of both yield and drought resilience, improving crop adaptability by balancing growth and stress responses. In addition, our previous research has shown that OsHSP20 is actually one of the important components of the main QTL for rice photosynthetic rate. Therefore, this study can provide new genetic resources and a theoretical basis for cultivating rice varieties with high yield, stress resistant, and a high photosynthetic rate.
SN - 1422-0067
ER -