Knock-down of OsLOX by RNA interference leads to improved seed viability in rice

Previous work found that lipoxygenases were key enzymes in lipid peroxidation, which causes grain deterioration during storage. In order to obtain better seed viability in rice, 10 marker-free knock-down lines were obtained in the progeny of endogenous OsLOX knock-down mutations caused by the RNAi technology. After artificial accelerated aging, there were four types of knock-down lines with higher seed viability than wild type (receptor parent). OsLOX3 knock-down line NPF1 was of special interest. In a series of experiments, including Southern blots, analysis of OsLOX3 expression, and enzymatic activity, NPF1 had better seed viability than wild-type. We also investigated the main agronomic characters of both knock-down lines and non-transgenetic wild type families. Knock-down lines were identified with generally excellent agronomic characteristics similar to the wild-type.