Towards Establishment of a Rice Stress Response Interactome

Rice (Oryza sativa) is a staple food for more than half the world and a model for studies of monocotyledonous species, which include cereal crops and candidate bioenergy grasses. A major limitation of crop production is imposed by a suite of abiotic and biotic stresses resulting in 30%–60% yield losses globally each year. To elucidate stress response signaling networks, we constructed an interactome of 100 proteins by yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) assays around key regulators of the rice biotic and abiotic stress responses. We validated the interactome using protein–protein interaction (PPI) assays, co-expression of transcripts, and phenotypic analyses. Using this interactome-guided prediction and phenotype validation, we identified ten novel regulators of stress tolerance, including two from protein classes not previously known to function in stress responses. Several lines of evidence support cross-talk between biotic and abiotic stress responses. The combination of focused interactome and systems analyses described here represents significant progress toward elucidating the molecular basis of traits of agronomic importance.水稻（Oryza sativa）是全球逾半数人口的主食，同时也是单子叶植物研究的模式物种，该类群涵盖谷类作物与潜在能源草类。农作物生产面临的主要限制因素之一是一系列非生物胁迫与生物胁迫，这类胁迫每年在全球范围内造成30%~60%的产量损失。为阐明水稻胁迫应答信号通路网络，本研究围绕水稻生物与非生物胁迫应答的关键调控因子，通过酵母双杂交（yeast two-hybrid, Y2H）实验构建了包含100种蛋白质的互作组（interactome）。本研究通过蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用（protein–protein interaction, PPI）实验、转录本共表达分析与表型分析对该互作组进行了验证。借助该互作组引导的预测与表型验证策略，本研究鉴定出10个全新的胁迫耐受性调控因子，其中2个来自此前未被报道参与胁迫应答的蛋白质家族。多项实验证据证实，生物与非生物胁迫应答之间存在信号串扰。本研究采用的靶向互作组与系统分析相结合的研究策略，为阐明农艺重要性状的分子基础迈出了重要一步。