Targeted deletion of the OsCSLC3 5'UTR improves disease resistance and agronomic traits in rice

HaoShi、JunXiong、YuchenLiu、JunjieYin、KaiweiHe、KaiyueZhou、XiaoboZhu、QingXiong、QingqingHou、LongWang、YongyanTang、MinHe、XueweiChen、WeitaoLi

The Crop Journa,Volume 13,Issue5,01 October 2025（IF=5.6）

Abstract
The plant cell wall serves as a barrier in defense against pathogen invasion.However,the specific contri-bution of cell walls in vascular tissues to plant immunity remains largely unexplored.In this study,we demonstrate that OsCSLC3,a member of the rice cellulose synthase-like(CSL)gene family,is predominantly expressed in vascular tissues and that its overexpression promotes hemicellulose biosynthesis.This enhancement of hemicellulose accumulation is associated with improved disease resistance.Targeted editing of conserved cis-regulatory elements in the OsCSLC3 5'untranslated region(UTR)showed that deletion of the specific fragment(-575 to-824 bp)elevated OsCSLC3 transcript levels,promoted hemi-cellulose accumulation,enhanced disease resistance,and improved agronomic traits.Our findings high-light a previously underappreciated role for hemicellulose in plant immunity and demonstrate that precise 5'UTR editing is a promising strategy for improving disease resistance and agronomic traits.