Overexpression of the BAHD Acyltransferase-Like Protein gene OsDCR Enhances Salt Tolerance in Rice

Salt stress is a major environmental challenge for global rice production because it disrupts ionic balance and induces oxidative damage. We investigated the role of the rice BAHD-acyltransferase-like protein gene OsDCR in the salt stress response and found that OsDCR-overexpressing plants showed enhanced salt tolerance. In contrast, CRISPR/Cas9-mediated-knockout rice lines were sensitive to salt stress. OsDCR-OE plants also exhibited reduced oxidative stress and high ABA accumulation under 150 mM NaCl, and quantitative RT-PCR analysis revealed that the expression of OsDCR was induced by salt stress and high temperature. Additionally, we identified a proline-rich protein, OsPRP3, as an interaction partner of OsDCR by yeast two-hybrid, LCI and Co-IP assays. Similar to OsDCR, OsPRP3 also positively regulated rice salt tolerance and acted downstream of OsDCR. Taken together, our findings suggest that OsDCR functions as a positive regulator of salt tolerance by modulating ABA biosynthesis and interacting with OsPRP3. Our results regarding the molecular role of OsDCR provide novel insights for developing salt-tolerant rice cultivars.