Physiological and Transcriptomic Characterization of Rice Genotypes under Drought Stress

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Dear Editors and Authors, I read with interest the manuscript entitled Physiological and transcriptomic characterization of rice genotypes under drought stress. In the present study, two rice lines with varying tolerance capacities to drought stress were used as plant material to analyze their transcriptomic changes under drought stress and subsequent recovery at the booting stage. It enhanced our understanding of the genetic mechanisms of drought tolerance in rice. The subject of the article is important and has great relevance for the scientific environment of the study area. Therefore, the manuscript needs some adjustments so that it can then be forwarded to the publication process. The manuscript has the potential for publication in this journal Agronomy and needs the following adjustments:

 

ABSTRACT

 

- The first sentence of the appeal was very confusing. Is drought an abiotic constraint? This needs to be reviewed. Correct sentence.

- And what was evaluated? What treatments were used? Add information about Material and Methods. Only the objective and the results were described.

- Some keywords are repeated in the title. I suggest replacing. This will help other researchers search for the article if it is published.

 

INTRODUCTION

 

- More information about rice cultivation should be added in the first paragraph. The economic importance of the crop, and other information.

 

The effects of water stress on rice plants were mentioned. These effects do not occur only in rice; they occur in all species under water deficit.

- Replace the term water stress with water deficit. Water stress can be due to water deficit or excess.

- The second paragraph mentions drought stress. Is drought a stress? This needs to be corrected.

- In the first paragraph, water stress was discussed. In the second paragraph as well. Organize the information. There is repeated information about the effect of water stress. Put it only in the second paragraph.

- It mentioned Anhui province, but no reference was mentioned. Where did this information come from? - It is better to replace drought or water stress with water deficit. Do this throughout the text.

- Insert hypotheses before mentioning the objectives.

 

MATERIAL AND METHODS

 

- Insert the geographic coordinates of the study site.

The control treatment was 405. Why? Which study confirms that 40% is a stress-free condition for rice?

- SPAD is not a measurement of photosynthesis. It determines the SPAD index, which estimates total chlorophyll content. Create another topic. - Biomass data were also included in the photosynthesis measurement topic.

- The correct topics should be:

- growth

- chlorophyll content

- relative water content

- gas exchange

- Which leaves were used for the analyses with the SPAD and LI-6800? Were the leaves located in the middle or upper third of the plant? How many leaves per plant were used? Just one? - In statistical analysis, what does @P mean? It is usually used like this (p<0.05).

 

RESULTS

 

- Figures should be inserted after their first citation in the text. This did not occur. Reorganize this.

 

- When citing any result, it should be mentioned the figure or table at the end of the sentence. This was not done.

- In Figures 4C and 4E, it is not necessary to mention the values above the bar.

- Improve the quality of Figure 6.

- Some information in the Results is Discussion. This should be reviewed throughout this section. For example, Zeaxanthin epoxidase is essential for the xanthophyll cycle and abscisic acid (ABA) production.

 

DISCUSSION

 

Some excerpts and paragraphs are not related to the results found. For example, it is not necessary to explain what photosynthesis is and its importance (see lines 548-557). This entire paragraph is a literature review. The discussion should be related to the results found. Review.

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Dear Authors,

you have presented a very interesting article entitled "Physiological and transcriptomic characterization of rice genotypes under drought stress". In my opinion, the paper is well thought out, the layout of the paper follows the IMRAD principles, it is easy to read. A great asset of the manuscript is a well-prepared discussion of the results and an interesting summary.

I would like to ask you to refer to the following comments, which are a kind of supplement to the work.

Please indicate in the format the type of work- article, review, communication.

Introduction:

What are the main genetic and physiological mechanisms that affect rice's tolerance to drought stress, which are listed as key in the scientific literature?

How do different stages of rice growth affect its response to drought stress, and how is this being addressed in current drought tolerance research?

What new discoveries about different genes with altered expression (DEGs) in response to drought stress can expand our knowledge of drought tolerance in rice and improve breeding strategies?

Metodology:

What factors determined the choice of specific experimental conditions, such as soil moisture levels (20% and 40%) and the duration of drought stress and recovery, in the context of research on drought tolerance of rice?

What is the importance of the location and specific field conditions of the mobile research station in Hefei for the proper conduct of the experiment, and how was this taken into account in the study design?

What criteria were key in selecting RNA extraction and purification methods and constructing mRNA libraries to ensure their quality and accuracy for further transcriptomic analysis?

Other

How do specifically activated and rapidly responding differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the La-163 rice line contribute to the recovery process after drought, and what implications might these findings have for future drought-tolerant rice breeding strategies?

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The suggestions were accepted. The article may be published.

The topic is Gas exchange.