A transposon insertion in the 5′ UTR of OsPT1 reprograms its expression pattern and promotes cadmium accumulation in rice grains

Cadmium (Cd) accumulation in rice grains presents a serious risk to human health; however, the mechanisms underlying this process remain incompletely understood. In this study, a genome-wide association analysis identified 29 loci associated with grain Cd content (LAGCCs). Among these, one of the most strongly associated loci, LAGCC4, contains the transporter gene OsPT1, whose haplotypes show a strong correlation with Cd content in rice grains. A transposon, H-MITE, inserts into the 5' untranslated region (UTR) of OsPT1, altering its expression pattern and leading to increased Cd accumulation. Furthermore, we identified the transcription factor OsbHLH35, which specifically binds to the OsPT1<sup>H-MITE</sup> promoter to regulate its transcription in response to Cd stress. Targeted knockout of either OsPT1<sup>H-MITE</sup> or OsbHLH35 via CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing significantly reduced grain Cd content, with reductions ranging from 61.7% to 80.6%. This study reveals a previously unrecognized mechanism contributing to high Cd accumulation in rice and identifies genetic targets for breeding rice varieties with reduced Cd content.

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Publication Details

Journal
Plant Communications
Published
2025-10-15
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xplc.2025.101566
Primary Topic
Aluminum toxicity and tolerance in plants and animals
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
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article

A transposon insertion in the 5′ UTR of OsPT1 reprograms its expression pattern and promotes cadmium accumulation in rice grains

Yufei Deng, Lianyang Bai, Jiurong Wang, Keke Yi et al.
Plant Communications
Aluminum toxicity and tolerance in plants and animals
article

A transposon insertion in the 5′ UTR of OsPT1 reprograms its expression pattern and promotes cadmium accumulation in rice grains

Yufei Deng, Lianyang Bai, Jiurong Wang, Keke Yi, Zhuo Liu, Houxiang Kang, Xiaolong Zhou, Frank B. Hu, Junliang Zhao, Hejun Ao, Yinghui Xiao, Yuchen Xu, Guo‐Liang Wang, Ye Peng, Su Jiang, Jinling Liu, Dan Wang, Shasha Peng, Bin Liu
article en

Abstract

Cadmium (Cd) accumulation in rice grains presents a serious risk to human health; however, the mechanisms underlying this process remain incompletely understood. In this study, a genome-wide association analysis identified 29 loci associated with grain Cd content (LAGCCs). Among these, one of the most strongly associated loci, LAGCC4, contains the transporter gene OsPT1, whose haplotypes show a strong correlation with Cd content in rice grains. A transposon, H-MITE, inserts into the 5' untranslated region (UTR) of OsPT1, altering its expression pattern and leading to increased Cd accumulation. Furthermore, we identified the transcription factor OsbHLH35, which specifically binds to the OsPT1<sup>H-MITE</sup> promoter to regulate its transcription in response to Cd stress. Targeted knockout of either OsPT1<sup>H-MITE</sup> or OsbHLH35 via CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing significantly reduced grain Cd content, with reductions ranging from 61.7% to 80.6%. This study reveals a previously unrecognized mechanism contributing to high Cd accumulation in rice and identifies genetic targets for breeding rice varieties with reduced Cd content.

Plant CommunicationsVol. 7(1)
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), Rice Research Institute (CN), Institute of Plant Protection (CN), Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CN), Institute of Subtropical Agriculture (CN), Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning (CN), Hunan Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CN), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CN), Hunan Agricultural University (CN), The Ohio State University (US)
Openalex Percentile: Top 78%
Aluminum toxicity and tolerance in plants and animals
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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