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Updated: May 27, 2026

Breeding by Design for Functional Rice with Genome Editing Technologies
Published on: January 3, 2025
Induced over-expression of the transcription factor OsDREB2A improves drought tolerance in rice
Meng Cui1, Wenjiao Zhang, Qian Zhang
1Hebei Key Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Biology, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050016, China.
Abstract:
The DREB and CBF transcription factors play a critical role in plant development and abiotic stress responses and, therefore, represent attractive targets for a molecular plant breeding approach. In this study, the rice OsDREB2A gene was isolated and expressed under the control of a stress-inducible promoter (4ABRC) to improve the abiotic stress tolerance of japonica rice variety TNG67. T₂ and T₃ transgenic lines over-expressing OsDREB2A were found to have improved survival rates under severe drought and salt stress conditions relative to non-transgenic rice plants or rice plants transformed with the empty vector control. OsDREB2A expression was found to be markedly induced by drought and ABA treatment. The results indicate that the induced over-expression of OsDREB2A driven by the 4ABRC promoter in engineered rice plants may protect cells during stress.
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