A cluster of four papain-like cysteine proteases is specifically induced by commensal bacteria and modulates the bacterial load in rice (PRJCA037196)

To identify genes induced by soil microbiota, we analyzed transcriptomes of rice roots cultivated in agar medium inoculated with raw soil solution (SS), filter-sterilized soil solution (FSS), Escherichia coli DH5a (Ec), and sterile water control (SW). In the RNA-seq data analysis, we observed that cysteine proteinases, specifically the PLCP genes OsCP14, OsCP16, OsCP19, and OsCP25, were among the most significantly upregulated OsCP genes following SS and FSS inoculation.To delineate PLCP-mediated modulation of bacterial communities, we performed Cas-16S-seq analysis on root microbiomes of WT versus oscp14/19, oscp16, and oscp25 mutants, with parallel characterization of bulk soil microbiota