Zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs) have been used for targeted mutagenesis in eukaryotic cells. Custom-designed ZFNs can induce double-strand breaks (DSBs) at a specific locus. Our custom ZFN dimer was designed 3-finger of left and 4-finger of right with 2 kb size using 2A. A Ti-plasmid vector, pTA7002 containing the target site of SSS4A gene for a ZFN pair, that was shown to be active in yeast, was integrated in the rice genome. This promising technique for genome engineering was induced into 4 exon region of SSS4A gene in rice genome using Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. The SSS4A full-length cDNA was 5,070 bp consisting of a 318 bp 5′-untranslated region (UTR), a complete ORF of 2,928 bp encoding a polypeptide of 975 amino acids and a 3′-UTR of 1,824 bp. The vector is based on glucocorticoid receptor inducible gene expression system. Thus, SSS4A::ZFN expression was tightly controlled and the phenotype in low concentrations 10uM of the glucocorticoid hormone dexamethasone (DEX). In plant cells, transient ZFN expression is achieved by direct gene transfer into the target cells. For an alternative, ZFN delivery and production of mutant plants using a tobacco transient expression system for indirect transient delivery of ZFNs into a variety of tissues and cells of plants. ZFN activity was determined by PCR and sequence analysis of the target site. ZFN induced plants were obtained in up to 2% of the PCR products, consisting of deletions ranging between 1and 100 bp and insertions ranging between 1 and 10 bp. Our results describe an alternative to direct gene transfer for ZFN delivery and for the production of mutated rice.

An increasing preference for good eating quality of rice among consumers has become one of the important considerations in rice breeding. Amylose content is a leading factor affecting eating quality of rice. Amylose composition is determined by the relative activity of soluble starch synthase (SSS) and granule-bound starch synthase (GBSS). This study focused on modifying the expression of SSSI gene which is responsible for amylopectin and amylose synthesis in rice by using RNA interference (RNAi) technology. The transgenic rice plants showed various amylose content in rice grains. Favorable rice lines were selected according to genomic PCR, transgene expression and amylose contents analysis. A semi-quantitative RT-PCR was carried out to determine the expression level of SSSI gene after flowering of transgenic rice and wild type. Down-regulation of SSSI gene in transgenic plants was evident in the decreasing expression in rice grains. Accordingly, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis revealed uniform size with smooth curves starch granules in down-regulation rice lines, in contrast with the non-uniform granules in wild type. Results indicated that RNAi-SSSI transgenic lines produced low amylose contents that fell between glutinous and non-glutinous rice. This study showed that down-regulation of endogenous SSSI may improve the eating quality in rice.

An increasing preference for good eating quality of rice among consumers has become one of the important considerations in rice breeding. Amylose content of starch is one of the important factors of rice eating quality. Amylose composition is determined by the relative activity of soluble starch synthase (SSS) and granule-bound starch synthase (GBSS). This study focuses on modifying the expression of SSS1 gene which is responsible for amylopectin and amylose synthesis in rice by using RNA interference (RNAi) and antisense technology. The transgenic rice plants showed various amylose content (9-17%) in rice seed. Candidate rice lines were selected according to PCR, RNA expression and amylose contents analyses. A semi-quantitative RT-PCR was carried out to determine the expression level of SSS1 gene at several time points after the flowering of transgenic plants. Downregulation of SSS1 gene in transgenic rices was evident in the decreasing expression in rice grains over time. Accordingly, SEM micrographs analysis revealed uniform size with smooth curves starch granules in downregulation rice lines, in contrast with the non-uniform granules in wild type.

Amylopectin composition is determined by the relative activity of soluble starch synthase (SSS) and granule-bound starch synthase (GBSS). Soluble starch synthase and starch branching enzymes are major determinants for the synthesis of amylopectin while GBSS1 is responsible for amylose synthesis in vivo. The formers are made of linear and branched molecules and the latter is composed of highly branched molecules. To increase the palatability of rice, down-regulation of amylose synthesis by antisense and RNA interference (RNAi) could be excellent and powerful tools for controlling the starch composition which is responsible for grain eating quality. The goal of this study is to generate breeding lines with lower amylose content relative to its wild type. This study also reports the results of the two down-regulating technology in lowering the amylose content of rice grain. Furthermore, this study elucidates the effect of using antisense and RNAi for SSS1 and GBSS1.