Overexpression of two OsHDAC6 alternative transcripts in rice

• Grant number: 22/07343-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2022
• End date: June 13, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Botany - Pant Physiology
• Principal Investigator: Cristiane Paula Gomes Calixto
• Grantee: Denzel dos Santos e Silva
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Global warming is threatening the productivity of many agricultural crops. Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a major staple food in dozens of countries and its production may be reduced with the increase in global average temperatures resulting from global warming. While transcriptional regulation during heat stress is widely studied, the involvement of epigenetic and post-transcriptional processes has often been overlooked. With the help of molecular studies performed by our research group, the HISTONE DEACETYLASE 6 gene (OsHDAC6, LOC_Os06g37420) was pointed out as one of the genes that undergo differential alternative splicing in response to heat stress in O. sativa. Little is known about the function of this gene and its alternative transcripts. To investigate its role, the project will develop two overexpression vectors, each containing an alternative isoform of OsHDAC6, via the Gateway technique. With these constructs, we will initiate the process of rice transformation and subsequent analysis of the expression levels of each transgene in the transformed plants. The material generated in this project will allow functional studies of the OsHDAC6 gene, for example, investigating its role in the heat tolerance of O. sativa.