RBL1 Shapes Phyllosphere Microbial Structure to Enhance Disease Resistance in Rice

Rice blast is caused by the fungus Magnaporthe oryzae and seriously threatens rice production worldwide. Harnessing microbe-mediated resistance is a key strategy in disease control. The RBL1 gene of rice encodes a cytidine diphosphate diacylglycerol synthase, and editing of RBL1 resulted in a new allele named RBL1^Δ12, which confers multipathogen resistance and maintains yield. This study demonstrated that enhanced blast resistance of rbl1^Δ12 partially stemmed from differences in phyllosphere microbiota. The rbl1^Δ12 line exhibited enrichment of beneficial microorganisms in the phyllosphere, such as those from the genera Pantoea, Pseudomonas, Acidobacteria, and Sphingomonas, which inhibited the growth of several rice pathogens in dual culture plates. Moreover, phyllosphere microbial interactions were strengthened in rbl1^Δ12, contributing toward resistance to M. oryzae. Synthetic microbial communities that mimic rbl1^Δ12 microbial communities induced rice immunity and enhanced the resistance to M. oryzae in two rice varieties, achieving environmentally friendly control of rice blast. This study revealed that host genetic modification contributed to shaping microbiome composition, providing a strategy based on beneficial microbes for sustainable disease control. [Formula: see text] Copyright © 2025 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.