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RESEARCH PAPER
Elucidating the immunity-pathogenesis nexus in rice and Helminthosporium oryzae: Insights from gene expression profiling and phytohormone analysis
1
Department of Botany, Government College University, Faisalabad, Pakistan, Pakistan
2
State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems (SKLHIGA), College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000. Gansu, P.R. China, China
3
Biodiversity Application and Research Centre, Ataturk University, Turkey
4
Department of Environmental science, Government College University Faislabad, Pakistan
5
Department of Biology, College of Science, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia
Final revision date: 2026-01-06
Acceptance date: 2026-02-10
Publication date: 2026-04-27
Corresponding author
Int. Agrophys. 2026, 40(3): 277-289
HIGHLIGHTS
- Our findings provide evidence of SA's role in plant-pathogen interactions
- Expression of defense marker genes was upregulated following infection
- SA signaling is proposed as a potential target for manipulation in O. sativa
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a major global staple food and a key crop in Pakistan, however, it is increasingly being threatened by climate change and biotic stresses such as brown leaf spot (BLS). We investigated the role of plant growth regulators in enhancing rice resistance to H. oryzae in four newly developed rice lines and one local variety for resistance to Helminthosporium oryzae by analyzing plant growth regulators and gene expression in young plants after pathogen attack. Salicylic acid (SA) levels in infected plants increased significantly, with the highest levels recorded at 48 hpi in V3, followed by V1. Abscisic acid (ABA) and jasmonic acid (JA) levels also increased post-infection, with V3 showing the highest increase for both hormones. Additionally, the expression of defense marker genes OsWRKY24, -30, -45, and -53 was upregulated following infection. OsPR1, OsSIPK, OsPLDα1, and PPO, demonstrated heightened expression, with notable peaks in V1, V3, and V4. ET biosynthetic gene ACS2 alongside elevated SA corresponded with increased expression of PR1 and LOX3. Furthermore, OsERF3 levels significantly increased across all infected rice lines, particularly in V3, suggesting a coordinated defensive response. These results revealed that SA, along with specific defense-related genes, crucially mediates rice response to H. oryzae infection, with line V3 showing the most robust resistance among the tested rice lines. Our findings support the fact that pathogens manipulate hormone signaling pathways and relative expression of genes to disrupt and evade plant defenses.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Authors are grateful to Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University Researchers supporting Project number (PNURSP2026R101), Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
FUNDING
This work was supported by Princess Nourah bint Abdurrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Project No. PNURSP2026R101.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
Authors declare no conflict of interest.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Authors contributions. MUA: experimentation, analysis, first draft preparation; MA: design, graphics; MQ: analysis, first draft preparation; MKI: analysis, revision; MOA: statistical analysis; NMA: analysis, revision; AN: conceived idea: supervision. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
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| eISSN: | 2300-8725 |
| ISSN: | 0236-8722 |
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