ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Breeding
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1639365
Large-scale genomic deletion in spl39 activates immune responses and confers resistance to rice bacterial blight
Provisionally accepted
Cheng Fang1
Wei Ma2Xiaotong Zhu3Lingling Peng3Liangzhi Tao1Zhiqiang Zhao4Fengbin Wang4
Ye Yafeng1
Bojun Ma3
Wu Yuejin1Jie Yuan4*
Binmei Liu1*
Xifeng Chen3*
Weimin Cheng1*- 1Key Laboratory of High Magnetic Field and Ion Beam Physical Biology, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230031, China, Hefei, China
- 2Huaihe River Basin Eco-Environmental Monitoring and Scientific Research Center of Huaihe River Basin Ecological Environmental Supervision and Administration Bureau, Bengbu, China
- 3Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
- 4Institute of Crop Sciences, Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Urumqi, Urumqi, China
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Lesion mimic mutants (LMMs) are invaluable for uncovering the molecular mechanisms of programmed cell death (PCD) and plant immunity and identifying more LMMs expands our understanding of these complex processes.In this study, we characterized a novel rice LMM, spl39, identified through heavy-ion beam irradiation. The spl39 mutant exhibits reddish-brown lesions from the tillering stage, reduced plant height, grain size, and fertility. Chloroplast ultrastructure analysis revealed thylakoid disruption and membrane damage, contributing to reduced photosynthetic capacity. Excessive ROS accumulation and reduced antioxidative enzyme activities triggered PCD. Genetic mapping identified a 306-kb deletion in spl39, encompassing 33 genes, including 12 from the diterpenoid biosynthesis gene cluster. Transcriptomic analysis revealed upregulation of hormone signaling and defense-related pathways, consistent with elevated levels of SA, JA, auxins, and cytokinins. The spl39 mutant exhibited enhanced resistance to bacterial blight with reduced lesion lengths and increased expression of defense-related genes. These findings highlight the role of large genomic deletions in reprogramming plant metabolism and immunity, providing new insights into the mechanisms underlying lesion mimic phenotypes and disease resistance in rice.
Keywords: rice, spl39, Lesion-mimic mutant, Reactive Oxygen Species, Genomic deletion, Disease Resistance
Received: 02 Jun 2025; Accepted: 10 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Fang, Ma, Zhu, Peng, Tao, Zhao, Wang, Yafeng, Ma, Yuejin, Yuan, Liu, Chen and Cheng. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Jie Yuan, Institute of Crop Sciences, Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Urumqi, Urumqi, China
Binmei Liu, Key Laboratory of High Magnetic Field and Ion Beam Physical Biology, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230031, China, Hefei, China
Xifeng Chen, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
Weimin Cheng, Key Laboratory of High Magnetic Field and Ion Beam Physical Biology, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230031, China, Hefei, China
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