comparative rice panicle transcriptome under drought stress

Reproductive drought stress (RDS) represents major threat to rice production globally. However, drought stress tolerance in reproductive tissues at molecular level is very limited. In the present study, gamma-irradiation given to drought-susceptible MTU1010 (WT) produced a high yielding mutant MM11 (MT) based on physiological and biochemical traits. Comparative analysis of panicle transcriptomes of WT and MT was performed to understand molecular mechanisms of drought and yield responses during early panicle development. The study extends our understanding on the role of panicle in sustaining yield under drought stress and provides candidate genes to improve reproductive drought stress tolerance of MTU1010 genotype.