Background
Signal transduction mediated by heterotrimeric G proteins, which comprise the α, β, and γ subunits, is one of the most important signaling pathways in rice plants.
RGA1
, which encodes the Gα subunit of the G protein, plays an important role in the response to various types of abiotic stress, including salt, drought, and cold stress. However, the role of
RGA1
in the response to heat stress remains unclear.
Results
The heat-resistant mutant
ett1
(
enhanced thermo-tolerance 1
) with a new allele of the
RGA1
gene was derived from an ethane methyl sulfonate-induced Zhonghua11 mutant. After 45 °C heat stress treatment for 36 h and recovery for 7 d, the survival rate of the
ett1
mutants was significantly higher than that of wild-type (WT) plants. The malondialdehyde content was lower, and the maximum fluorescence quantum yield of photosystem II, peroxidase activity, and
hsp
expression were higher in
ett1
mutants than in WT plants after 12 h of exposure to 45 °C. The RNA-sequencing results revealed that the expression of genes involved in the metabolism of carbohydrate, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, and energy was up-regulated in
ett1
under heat stress. The carbohydrate content and the relative expression of genes involved in sucrose metabolism indicated that carbohydrate metabolism was accelerated in
ett1
under heat stress. Energy parameters, including the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) content and the energy charge, were significantly higher in the
ett1
mutants than in WT plants under heat stress. Importantly, exogenous glucose can alleviate the damages on rice seedling plants caused by heat stress.
Conclusion
RGA1
negatively regulates the thermo-tolerance in rice seedling plants through affecting carbohydrate and energy metabolism.