Arachis hypogaea resveratrol synthase 3 alters the expression pattern of UDP-glycosyltransferase genes in developing rice seeds

The resveratrol-producing rice (Oryza sativa L.) inbred lines, Iksan 515 (I.515) and Iksan 526 (I.526), developed by the expression of the groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) resveratrol synthase 3 (AhRS3) gene in the japonica rice cultivar Dongjin, accumulated both resveratrol and its glucoside, piceid, in seeds. Here, we investigated the effect of the AhRS3 transgene on the expression of endogenous piceid biosynthesis genes (UGTs) in the developing seeds of the resveratrol-producing rice inbred lines. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) analysis revealed that I.526 accumulates significantly higher resveratrol and piceid in seeds than those in I.515 seeds and, in I.526 seeds, the biosynthesis of resveratrol and piceid reached peak levels at 41 days after heading (DAH) and 20 DAH, respectively. Furthermore, RNA-seq analysis showed that the expression patterns of UGT genes differed significantly between the 20 DAH seeds of I.526 and those of Dongjin. Quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) analyses confirmed the data from RNA-seq analysis in seeds of Dongjin, I.515 and I.526, respectively, at 9 DAH, and in seeds of Dongjin and I.526, respectively, at 20 DAH. A total of 245 UGTs, classified into 31 UGT families, showed differential expression between Dongjin and I.526 seeds at 20 DAH. Of these, 43 UGTs showed more than 2-fold higher expression in I.526 seeds than in Dongjin seeds. In addition, the expression of resveratrol biosynthesis genes (PAL, C4H and 4CL) was also differentially expressed between Dongjin and I.526 developing seeds. Collectively, these data suggest that AhRS3 altered the expression pattern of UGT genes, and PAL, C4H and 4CL in developing rice seeds.