背景回顾：The cuticular wax layer on leaf surfaces limits non-stomatal water loss to the atmosphere and protects against pathogen invasion. 

提出问题：Although many genes associated with wax biosynthesis and wax transport in plants have been identified, their regulatory mechanisms remain largely unknown. 

主要发现：Here, we show that the MYB transcription factor OsMYB60 positively regulates cuticular wax biosynthesis and this helps rice (Oryza sativa) plants tolerate drought stress. 

结果1-OsMYB60功能缺失表型：Compared with the wild type (japonica cultivar ‘Dongjin’), osmyb60null mutants (osmyb60-1 and osmyb60-2) exhibited increased drought sensitivity, with higher chlorophyll leaching and faster rates of water loss. 

结果2-OsMYB60下游：Quantitative reverse-transcription PCR showed that the loss-of-function of OsMYB60 led to downregulation of wax biosynthetic genes, leading to reduced amounts of total wax components on leaf surfaces under normal conditions. 

结果3-OsMYB60-OsCER1：Yeast one-hybrid, luciferase transient transcriptional activity, and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays revealed that OsMYB60 directly binds to the promoter of OsCER1 (a key gene involved in very-long-chain alkane biosynthesis) and upregulates its expression.

结论：Taken together, these results demonstrate that OsMYB60 contributes to enhancing rice resilience to drought stress by promoting cuticular wax biosynthesis on leaf surfaces.

 摘 要 

叶片表面的角质蜡层限制了非气孔性的水分丢失，并且能够保护植物免受病原菌的侵染。尽管目前已经鉴定了很多与蜡生物合成和转运相关的基因，但是其调控机制还不清楚。本文中，作者发现MYB转录因子家族的成员OsMYB60正调控角质蜡的生物合成，并且有助于水稻的干旱胁迫抗性。与野生型相比，osmyb60无义突变体的干旱敏感性增强，并且具有更高的叶绿素浸出和更快的水分丢失速率。qRT-PCR显示OsMYB60的功能缺失突变导致了蜡生物合成基因的下调表达，从而导致正常条件下叶片表面总的蜡质含量减少。酵母单杂、荧光素酶瞬时转录激活以及染色质免疫沉淀试验表明，OsMYB60能够直接结合到超长链烷烃生物合成关键基因OsCER1的启动子上并激活后者的表达。综上，本文的研究揭示了OsMYB60通过促进水稻叶片表面的角质蜡生物合成，从而作用于水稻干旱抗性的增强。

 Nam-Chon Paek