{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,1]],"date-time":"2026-10-01T15:00:00Z","timestamp":1790866800698,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":78,"publisher":"Wiley","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,1]],"date-time":"2026-10-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790812800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/termsAndConditions#vor"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,1]],"date-time":"2026-10-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790812800000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/doi.wiley.com\/10.1002\/tdm_license_1.1"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Plant Cell &amp; Environment"],"abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>\n                    Mutation breeding provides a powerful route to generate novel genetic variation and to uncover genes underlying stress tolerance. Identifying mechanisms that sustain rice productivity under water\u2010limited conditions is a central challenge in plant biology. We developed a gamma\u2010ray\u2013mutagenised population of\n                    <jats:italic>Oryza sativa<\/jats:italic>\n                    L. cv. IR64 and systematically screened the M\n                    <jats:sub>2<\/jats:sub>\n                    , M\n                    <jats:sub>3<\/jats:sub>\n                    and M\n                    <jats:sub>4<\/jats:sub>\n                    generations for drought tolerance at the seedling, pre\u2010flowering and post\u2010flowering stages. Through this multi\u2010stage, multi\u2010generational, and multi\u2010environment phenotypic selection, we identified a drought\u2010defying (DD) mutant line that displayed pronounced drought tolerance with an approximately threefold yield advantage under drought over the wild type (WT). Physiological analyses revealed that, under drought stress, the DD mutant consistently showed enhanced physiological performance, accumulated higher levels of osmolytes, and maintained a more robust antioxidant defence system than the WT. Metabolomic and targeted gene expression analyses showed enhanced accumulation of drought\u2010responsive metabolites (with 46% of the significant metabolites in the DD mutant displaying a response similar to N22) associated with coordinated upregulation of stress\u2010responsive pathways, including\n                    <jats:italic>DREB<\/jats:italic>\n                    (\n                    <jats:italic>OsDREB2A, OsDREB2B<\/jats:italic>\n                    ), glyoxalases (\n                    <jats:italic>OsGLYI\u201011.2, OsGLYII.2, OsGLYIII<\/jats:italic>\n                    ) and trehalose\u20106\u2010phosphate synthase (\n                    <jats:italic>OsTPS<\/jats:italic>\n                    ), in the DD mutant relative to the WT. Notably, MutMap\n                    <jats:sup>+<\/jats:sup>\n                    analysis, supported by improved IR64 genome assembly, pinpointed the aldo\u2010keto reductase\n                    <jats:italic>OsAKR<\/jats:italic>\n                    candidate gene on chromosome 4 as a major contributor to the drought\u2010tolerant phenotype. Elevated expression of\n                    <jats:italic>OsAKR<\/jats:italic>\n                    in the DD mutant was associated with enhanced detoxification of reactive carbonyl species, including methylglyoxal (MG) and malondialdehyde (MDA), under drought stress. Together, these findings provide mechanistic insight into redox and carbonyl homeostasis in drought tolerance and establish this mutant as a valuable genetic resource for dissecting and improving stress resilience in rice.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1111\/pce.70929","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,1]],"date-time":"2026-10-01T14:39:35Z","timestamp":1790865575000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Metabolic and Gene Expression Profile Reveal Genetic Basis of Reproductive Stage Drought Tolerance in a Drought\u2010Defying Rice Mutant"],"prefix":"10.1111","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6047-1854","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jayram","family":"Bagri","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Stress Physiology and Molecular Biology Laboratory, School of Life Sciences Jawaharlal Nehru University  New Delhi India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6249-5833","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rajeev Nayan","family":"Bahuguna","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"BRIC\u2010National Agri\u2010Food and Biomanufacturing Institute (NABI) Mohali Punjab India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-6862-5605","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yajnaseni","family":"Chatterjee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Plant Stress Biology International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology New Delhi India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Niteen N.","family":"Kadam","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"BRIC\u2010National Agri\u2010Food and Biomanufacturing Institute (NABI) Mohali Punjab 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Austria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-7630-3560","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Shoba","family":"Sivasankar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Plant Breeding and Genetics Section at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Vienna Austria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sneh Lata","family":"Singla\u2010Pareek","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Plant Stress Biology International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology New Delhi India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2923-0681","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ashwani","family":"Pareek","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Stress Physiology and Molecular Biology Laboratory, School of Life Sciences Jawaharlal Nehru University  New Delhi India"},{"name":"BRIC\u2010National Agri\u2010Food and Biomanufacturing Institute 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