A C2H2 zinc finger protein, OsZOS2-19, modulates ABA sensitivity and cold response in rice
Di Zhang, Xiaoping Ding, Zhijun Wang, Wenyu Li, Lingling Li, Ling Liu, Huang Zhou, Jianghui Yu, Cheng Zheng, Hao Wu, Dingyang Yuan, Meijuan Duan, Citao Liu
Abstract
Cold stress is a major factor limiting rice (Oryza sativa L.) productivity, making it crucial to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying stress responses to develop resilient crops. In this study, we characterized OsZOS2-19, a cold- and abscisic acid (ABA)-responsive C2H2 zinc finger protein, which functions as a transcriptional repressor. Overexpression of OsZOS2-19 in rice lines increases sensitivity to both cold and ABA, reducing cold tolerance, disrupting osmotic balance, and impairing reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging. RNA sequencing revealed that OsZOS2-19 overexpression interfered with key stress-response pathways, including those associated with sugar metabolism and glutathione biosynthesis. These findings suggest that OsZOS2-19 negatively regulates cold tolerance and ABA sensitivity by modulating ROS accumulation and osmotic balance, offering new insights into cold adaptation in rice.