AUTHOR=Li Shuai , Yue Wenhao , Wang Min , Qiu Wenmin , Zhou Lian , Shou Huixia 

TITLE=Mutation of OsGIGANTEA Leads to Enhanced Tolerance to Polyethylene Glycol-Generated Osmotic Stress in Rice

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=7

YEAR=2016

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2016.00465

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2016.00465

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>Water deficit is one of the most important environmental stresses limiting plant growth and crop yield. While the identification of many key factors involved in the plant water deficit response has greatly increased our knowledge about the regulation system, the mechanisms underlying dehydration tolerance in plants are still not well understood. In our current study, we investigated the roles of the key flowering time regulator, OsGIGANTEA (OsGI), in the osmotic stress tolerance in rice. Results showed that mutation of <italic>OsGI</italic> conferred tolerance to osmotic stress generated by polyethylene glycol (PEG), increased proline and sucrose contents, and accelerated stomata movement. In addition, qRT-PCR and microarray analysis revealed that the transcript abundance of some osmotic stress response genes, such as <italic>OsDREB1E, OsAP37, OsAP59, OsLIP9, OsLEA3, OsRAB16A</italic>, and <italic>OsSalT</italic>, was significantly higher in <italic>osgi</italic> than in WT plants, suggesting that OsGI might be a negative regulator in the osmotic stress response in rice.</p>