Increasing drought resistance without sacrificing grain yield remains an ongoing challenge in crop improvement. In this study, we report that Oryza sativa CCCH‐tandem zinc finger protein 5 (OsTZF5 ) can confer drought resistance and increase grain yield in transgenic rice plants. Expression of OsTZF5 was induced by abscisic acid, dehydration and cold stress. Upon stress, OsTZF5‐GFP localized to the cytoplasm and cytoplasmic foci. Transgenic rice plants overexpressing OsTZF5 under the constitutive maize ubiquitin promoter exhibited improved survival under drought but also growth retardation. By introducing OsTZF5 behind the stress‐responsive OsNAC6 promoter in two commercial upland cultivars, Curinga and NERICA4, we obtained transgenic plants that showed no growth retardation. Moreover, these plants exhibited significantly increased grain yield compared to non‐transgenic cultivars in different confined field drought environments. Physiological analysis indicated that OsTZF5 promoted both drought tolerance and drought avoidance. Collectively, our results provide strong evidence that OsTZF5 is a useful biotechnological tool to minimize yield losses in rice grown under drought conditions.

中文翻译：

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CCCH串联锌指蛋白基因OsTZF5在胁迫诱导型启动子下的表达减轻了田间条件下干旱胁迫对水稻籽粒产量的影响。

在不牺牲粮食产量的情况下提高抗旱性仍然是作物改良的持续挑战。在这项研究中，我们报道了Oryza s ativa CCCH- t andem z inc Finger Protein 5 ( OsTZF5 )可以赋予转基因水稻植物抗旱性并增加谷物产量。OsTZF5的表达由脱落酸、脱水和冷应激诱导。应激后，OsTZF5 ‐GFP 定位于细胞质和细胞质灶。在组成型玉米泛素启动子的作用下过表达OsTZF5 的转基因水稻植物在干旱条件下表现出提高的存活率，但也表现出生长迟缓。通过在两个商业陆地品种 Curinga 和 NERICA4的胁迫响应OsNAC6启动子后面引入OsTZF5，我们获得了没有表现出生长迟缓的转基因植物。此外，在不同的封闭田间干旱环境中，与非转基因品种相比，这些植物表现出显着增加的谷物产量。生理分析表明OsTZF5具有促进耐旱和避免干旱的作用。总的来说，我们的结果提供了强有力的证据，证明OsTZF5是一种有用的生物技术工具，可以最大限度地减少干旱条件下水稻的产量损失。