Plant Defensin-Dissimilar Thionin OsThi9 Alleviates Cadmium Toxicity in Rice Plants and Reduces Cadmium Accumulation in Rice Grains

• DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.3c01032
• Publication Date: 2023-05-23T05:40:25Z
• Authors: Xiulian Liu; Xiaomei Gong; Danman Zhou; Qing Jiang; Ying Liang; Rong Ye; Shuchang Zhang; Yiting Wang; Xiaoling Tang; Fangbai Li; Jicai Yi
• Keywords: Defensins; Soil; Soil Pollutants; Oryza; Thionins; Cadmium

Thionins are important antibacterial peptides in plants. However, the roles of plant thionins, especially defensin-dissimilar alleviating heavy-metal toxicity and accumulation remain unclear. Here, cadmium (Cd)-related functions mechanisms rice thionin OsThi9 were investigated. was significantly upregulated response to Cd exposure. localized cell wall shown bind Cd; these characters help increase tolerance. In Cd-exposed plants, overexpression increased binding, decreasing upward translocation subsequent shoots straw, while knockout had inverse effects. Importantly, plants grown Cd-contaminated soils, reduced brown (decrease ≥ 51.8%) without negatively impairing crop yield essential elements. Thus, plays an role alleviation has significant potential for developing low-Cd rice.