The rice annexin gene OsAnn5 is a positive regulator of cold stress tolerance at the seedling stage

Abstract

Abstract Annexins exist widely in plants as multigene families and play critical roles in stress responses and a range of cellular processes. In this study, we report on the cloning and functional characterization of the rice annexin gene OsAnn5 . We found that the expression of OsAnn5 was induced by cold stress treatment at the seedling stage of rice. GUS staining assay indicated that the expression of OsAnn5 was non tissue-specific and was detected in almost all rice tissues. Subcellular localization indicated that OsAnn5- GFP (green fluorescent protein) signals were found in the endoplasmic reticulum apparatus. Compared with wild type rice, overexpression of OsAnn5 significantly increased survival rates at the seedling stage under cold stress, while knocking out OsAnn5 using the CRISPR/Cas9 (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR associated proteins) mediated genome editing resulted in sensitivity to cold treatments. These results indicate that OsAnn5 is a positive regulator of cold stress tolerance at the seedling stage.