Drought stress limits plant growth and productivity. It triggers many responses by inducing changes in plant morphology and physiology. KDML105 rice is a key rice variety in Thailand and is normally grown in the northeastern part of the country. The chromosome segment substitution lines (CSSLs) were developed by transferring putative drought tolerance loci (QTLs) on chromosome 1, 3, 4, 8, or 9 into the KDML105 rice genome. CSSL104 is a drought-tolerant line with higher net photosynthesis and leaf water potential than KDML105 rice. The analysis of CSSL104 gene regulation identified the loci associated with these traits via gene co-expression network analysis. Most of the predicted genes are involved in the photosynthesis process. These genes are also conserved in Arabidopsis thaliana. Seven genes encoding chloroplast proteins were selected for further analysis through characterization of Arabidopsis tagged mutants. The response of these mutants to drought stress was analyzed daily for seven days after treatment by scoring green tissue areas via the PlantScreen™ XYZ system. Mutation of these genes affected green areas of the plant and stability index under drought stress, suggesting their involvement in drought tolerance.

Center of Excellence in Environment and Plant Physiology Department of Botany Faculty of Science Chulalongkorn University Bangkok 10300 Thailand

Department of Chemical Biology and Genetics Centre of the Region Haná for Biotechnological and Agricultural Research Faculty of Science Palacký University Šlechtitelů 27 CZ 783 71 Olomouc Czech Republic

Department of Mathematics and Computer Science Faculty of Science Chulalongkorn University Bangkok 10300 Thailand

Genome Center and Department of Plant Biology UC Davis Genome Center UC Davis Davis CA 95616 USA

Molecular Crop Research Unit Department of Biochemistry Faculty of Science Chulalongkorn University Bangkok 10300 Thailand

National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology National Science and Technology Development Agency 113 Phahonyothin Rd Khlong Nueng Khlong Luang Pathumthani 12120 Thailand

Omics Science and Bioinformatics Center Faculty of Science Chulalongkorn University Bangkok 10300 Thailand

Program in Biotechnology Faculty of Science Chulalongkorn University Bangkok 10300 Thailand

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