Transcriptomic Profiling of Rice Reveals Positive Role of OsNCED3 in Rice Resistance Against Brown Planthopper

Abstract Background: Exogenous abscisic acid (ABA) could improve rice resistance to brown planthopper (BPH) Nilaparvata lugens. The 9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase (NCED) is the rate-limiting enzyme for ABA biosynthesis in higher plants. In rice, OsNCED3 gene promoted ABA synthesis and improved abiotic stress tolerance, but the function of OsNCED3 in regulating rice defense against BPH remains unclear. Results: In this study, the average injury level, functional plant loss index and EPG results of rice conferred that insect-resistance of OE rice lines was significantly higher than that of WT. Then transcriptome analysis of overexpression (OE), RNA interference (RNAi) and wild type (WT) of OsNCED3 in Zhonghua11 rice lines after BPH infestation were performed. Seventeen RNA libraries were obtained from OE, RNAi and WT rice lines at 12 h post BPH infestation. The number of all differential expression genes (DEGs) between OE and WT or RNAi and WT were mostly up-regulated. These accounted for more than 75% of the total number of DEGs for each other. The number of DEGs between RNAi and WT rice lines fed by BPH increased significantly, higher than that between OE and WT, and most of these DEGs were related to the adversity stress and the biosynthesis of JA (jasmonic acid).Conclusions: overexpression of OsNCED3 gene could improve rice resistance to BPH.