Please wait a minute...
Journal of Integrative Agriculture  2026, Vol. 25 Issue (9): 3917-3920    DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2026.04.038
Letter Advanced Online Publication | Current Issue | Archive | Adv Search |
Comprehensive phenotypic, physiological, and genetic analyses reveal stronger seedling-stage drought tolerance in xian/indica than geng/japonica rice

La Geng1, Wei Yang1, Mengxi Li1, Yaozhou Long1, Wu Feng1, Jing Wang, Yi Zhang1, Fan Zhang2#, Liyu Huang1#

1 School of Agriculture, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China

2 State Key Laboratory of Crop Gene Resources and Breeding/Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China

 Highlights 
Xian/Indica (XI) exhibits stronger seedling-stage drought tolerance (DT) than geng/japonica (GJ), as shown by delayed leaf rolling, higher survival rates, and improved physiological performance under drought stress.
A total of 37 genes display haplotype-dependent effects on drought survival, revealing the genetic basis of DT divergence and informing subspecies-targeted breeding.
Download:  PDF in ScienceDirect  
Export:  BibTeX | EndNote (RIS)      
摘要  

干旱是限制水稻生产的主要非生物胁迫之一,严重威胁全球粮食安全。籼稻和粳稻作为亚洲栽培稻的两个亚种,在长期驯化过程中形成了对不同生态环境的适应性分化。籼稻主要分布于低纬度热带和亚热带地区,具有较强的高温适应能力,因而在耐旱性方面较粳稻可能具有潜在优势。然而,目前针对籼粳亚种间耐旱性差异的研究仍较为匮乏,其遗传基础尚不清晰。本研究基于292份水稻种质资源材料(籼稻144份、粳稻148份),通过系统评价其在干旱胁迫下的表型和生理响应,证明了籼稻苗期耐旱性显著强于粳稻,具体表现为较晚的叶片卷曲和较高的存活率,并且多项生理指标优于粳稻。基于253个已报道抗旱相关基因群体分化与单倍型分析,发现74个基因在籼粳亚种间存在显著遗传分化,其中37个基因具有耐旱优势单倍型,并且多数耐旱优异等位基因通过在籼稻中较高的表达水平贡献了较强的耐旱性。本研究从表型、生理及遗传层面揭示了籼稻与粳稻苗期耐旱性差异的遗传和分子基础,为深入解析水稻亚种间抗旱性分化机制提供了新证据,并为水稻抗旱和耐高温协同遗传改良提供了理论参考。



Received: 06 January 2026   Accepted: 01 April 2026 Online: 28 April 2026  
Fund: 

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32272079), the Central Public-interest Scientific Institution Basal Research Fund, China (S2026QZ23 and Y2025YC13), the Yunnan Fundamental Research Projects, China (202601BC070003 and 202601CI070132), the Yunnan Provincial Education Department, China (2026J0001), and the Yunnan University Undergraduate Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program, China (National level, 202510673003).

About author:  #Correspondence Liyu Huang, E-mail: lyhuang@ynu.edu.cn; Fan Zhang, E-mail: zhangfan03@caas.cn

Cite this article: 

La Geng, Wei Yang, Mengxi Li, Yaozhou Long, Wu Feng, Jing Wang, Yi Zhang, Fan Zhang, Liyu Huang. 2026. Comprehensive phenotypic, physiological, and genetic analyses reveal stronger seedling-stage drought tolerance in xian/indica than geng/japonica rice. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 25(9): 3917-3920.

Campbell M T, Du Q, Liu K, Sharma S, Zhang C, Walia H. 2020. Characterization of the transcriptional divergence between the subspecies of cultivated rice (Oryza sativa). BMC Genomics21, 394.

El-Esawi M A, Alayafi A A. 2019. Overexpression of rice Rab7 gene improves drought and heat tolerance and increases grain yield in rice (Oryza sativa L.). Genes10, 56.

Fang Y J, Liao K F, Du H, Xu Y, Song H Z, Li X H, Xiong L Z. 2015. A stress-responsive NAC transcription factor SNAC3 confers heat and drought tolerance through modulation of reactive oxygen species in rice. Journal of Experimental Botany66, 6803–6817.

Fang Y J, Xiong L Z. 2015. General mechanisms of drought response and their application in drought resistance improvement in plants. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences72, 673–689.

Huang C W, Ji Z J, Huang Q Q, Peng L L, Li W W, Wang D D, Wu Z P, Zhao J, He Y Q, Wang Z F. 2024. Natural variation in the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 5B OsCOX5B regulates seed vigor by altering energy production in rice. Journal of Integrative Agriculture23, 2898–2910.

Huang L Y, Bao Y C, Qin S W, Ning M, Li Q Y, Li Q M, Zhang S L, Huang G F, Zhang J, Wang W S, Fu B Y, Hu F Y. 2024. The aba synthesis enzyme allele OsNCED2T promotes dryland adaptation in upland rice. The Crop Journal12, 68–78.

Huang L Y, Wang Y X, Wang W S, Zhao X Q, Qin Q, Sun F, Hu F Y, Zhao Y, Li Z C, Fu B Y, Li Z K. 2018. Characterization of transcription factor gene OsDRAP1 conferring drought tolerance in rice. Frontiers in Plant Science9, 94.

Jiao S L, Li Q Y, Zhang F, Tao Y H, Yu Y Z, Yao F, Li Q M, Hu F Y, Huang L Y. 2024. Artificial selection of the Green Revolution gene Semidwarf 1 is implicated in upland rice breeding. Journal of Integrative Agriculture23, 769–780.

Kong X, Xu B L, Orr J A, Meidl P, Rillig M C, Yang G W. 2025. Ecosystems have multiple interacting processes that buffer against co-occurring stressors. Trends in Ecology & Evolution40, 479–488.

Lipiec J, Doussan C, Nosalewicz A, Kondracka K. 2013. Effect of drought and heat stresses on plant growth and yield: A review. International Agrophysics27, 463–477.

Liu C T, Ou S J, Mao B G, Tang J Y, Wang W, Wang H R, Cao S Y, Schläppi M R, Zhao B R, Xiao G Y, Wang X P, Chu C C . 2018. Early selection of bZIP73 facilitated adaptation of japonica rice to cold climates. Nature Communications9, 3302.

Ma Y, Dai X Y, Xu Y Y, Luo W, Zheng X M, Zeng D L, Pan Y J, Lin X L, Liu H H, Zhang D J, Xiao J, Guo X Y, Xu S J, Niu Y D, Jin J B, Zhang H, Xu X, Li L G, Wang W, Qian Q, Ge S, Chong K. 2015. COLD1 confers chilling tolerance in rice. Cell160, 1209–1221.

Mackill D J, Lei X M. 1997. Genetic variation for traits related to temperate adaptation of rice cultivars. Crop Science, 37, 1340–1346.

Ning M, Li Q Y, Wang Y, Li Q M, Tao Y H, Zhang F, Hu F Y, Huang L Y. 2025. Alternative splicing drives the functional diversification of a bHLH transcription factor in the control of growth and drought tolerance in rice. Science Bulletin70, 153–156.

Tang Y H, Bao X X, Zhi Y L, Wu Q, Guo Y R, Yin X H, Zeng L Q, Li J, Zhang J, He W L, Lin W H, Wang Q W, Jia C K, Li Z K, Liu K. 2019. Overexpression of a MYB family gene, OsMYB6, increases drought and salinity stress tolerance in transgenic rice. Frontiers in Plant Science10, 168.

Wu X L, Shiroto Y, Kishitani S, Ito Y, Toriyama K. 2009. Enhanced heat and drought tolerance in transgenic rice seedlings overexpressing OsWRKY11 under the control of HSP101 promoter. Plant Cell Reports28, 21–30.

Xu Y F, Zhang L, Ou S J, Wang R C, Wang Y M, Chu C C, Yao S G. 2020. Natural variations of SLG1 confer high-temperature tolerance in indica rice. Nature Communications11, 5441.

Zong W, Yang J, Fu J, Xiong L. 2020. Synergistic regulation of drought-responsive genes by transcription factor OsbZIP23 and histone modification in rice. Journal of Integrative Plant Biology62, 723–729.

No related articles found!
No Suggested Reading articles found!