Wound-induced transcriptional dynamics in rice

Area of Science:

• Plant biology
• Molecular biology
• Biochemistry

Background:

• Wound-induced transcriptional dynamics in rice are not fully understood.
• Herbivore attacks and pathogen infections initiate with plant tissue wounding.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the temporal transcriptional and metabolic responses of rice leaves to mechanical wounding.
• To identify key genes and pathways involved in rice wound response.
• To compare wound responses with those induced by leaf folder (LF) larvae feeding.

Main Methods:

• Time-series transcriptome analysis of mechanically wounded rice leaves.
• Jasmonic acid (JA) and metabolite quantification.
• Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA).
• Comparative transcriptomic analysis with LF larvae feeding data.

Main Results:

• Mechanical wounding rapidly up-regulated jasmonate-related genes and increased jasmonic acid (JA) levels within 1 hour.
• WGCNA identified early (regulatory genes) and late (metabolite biosynthesis) responsive gene modules.
• Wounded rice leaves showed accumulation of phenolamides and decreased flavonoids, linked to phenylpropanoid pathway alterations.
• Leaf folder larvae feeding induced responses in only 42% of wound-upregulated genes, indicating partial suppression of rice defense.

Conclusions:

• Rice exhibits dynamic transcriptional and metabolic reprogramming upon wounding, primarily mediated by jasmonate signaling.
• LF larvae feeding partially suppresses the native wound response in rice, suggesting a strategy to evade plant defenses.
• This study provides a comprehensive resource for understanding plant responses to mechanical wounding and herbivory in rice.