OsFLZ5 enhances drought tolerance and abscisic acid sensitivity in rice via transcriptional activation by OsbZIP23.

OsFLZ5, a drought- and ABA-induced gene, enhances drought tolerance and ABA sensitivity in rice by transcriptional activation through OsbZIP23.

• Why it matters: Drought stress threatens global agriculture, and understanding the genetic mechanisms behind drought tolerance can aid in developing resilient crops. The biological roles of FLZ genes, including OsFLZ5, are not fully characterized, limiting their potential application.
• What they did: Researchers overexpressed and knocked out OsFLZ5 in rice, assessed drought tolerance and ABA sensitivity, and identified OsbZIP23 as a direct regulator binding to OsFLZ5 promoter through RNA sequencing and binding assays.
• The result: Overexpression of OsFLZ5 improved survival, seedling growth, and biomass under drought, while knockout lines performed worse; OsbZIP23 activates OsFLZ5, forming a regulatory module that enhances drought resilience and ABA response.