Expressão de genes ortólogos relacionados à tolerância à seca em arroz

Abstract

Drought, a major problem concerning a sustainable rice production in Brazil and worldwide, is responsible for a series of plant responses, including modification in gene expression, accumulation of metabolites and protein synthesis. In order to verify the correspondence between five Arabidopsis genes (PLDα1, LEW2, GluR2, Lsi1 e EIN2), previously related to drought tolerance, and their respective orthologs in rice, the present study analyzed two contrasting rice genotypes for drought, Douradão, the tolerant genotype, and Primavera, the susceptible one. The genotypes were submitted to drought stress and subsequently evaluated for gene expression by quantitative real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR). The comparison of gene expression, between leaf and root tissues, showed a greater expression in roots, within their vegetative stage, and leaves, within their reproductive stage. Differential expression were observed mainly among the genes whose orthologs in Arabidopsis encode phospholipase Dα1 (PLDα1) and ethylene-insensitive protein (EIN2); these proteins are directly related to abscisic acid (ABA), a phytohormone that when identified in higher concentration in cells triggers the expression of drought stress-responsive genes, besides it is also responsible for the regulating the water loss (by transpiration) by controlling of stomatal movement. The results suggested that orthologs genes were in fact drought stress-responsive genes in rice, and emphasized the feasibility of PLDα1 and EIN2 overexpression in rice plants, supporting plant breeding programs in the development of drought tolerant genotypes.