Identification of rice genes induced in a rice blast-resistant mutant

To clarify mechanisms of rice blast resistance in rice plants we used suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) to isolate genes induced upon rice blast inoculation in a rice blast-resistant mutant. A total of 26 rice cDNAs were isolated and found to have elevated expression upon rice blast infection in a rice blast-resistant derivative, SHM-11, of the rice cultivar, Sanghaehyanghyella. Sequencing of the cDNAs revealed that many of the proteins they encoded had been previously described as involved in plant responses against pathogen attack. Two interesting groups of the defense-related proteins consisted of three different PR5 homologues and four different protease inhibitors, all highly expressed in the rice blast mutant. Genes encoding proteins involved in signal transduction and regulation were also identified, including translation initiation factor eIF5A, C2 domain DNA binding protein, putative rice EDS and putative receptor like kinase. Most of the identified cDNAs were highly expressed 24 h after blast inoculation. Our results suggest that a pathway regulating defense gene expression may be altered in the mutant, resulting in early induction of the defense genes upon fungal infection.