A Bengaluru-based team of researchers at the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) has uncovered a promising genetic key to boosting salt resistance in rice, offering new hope in the face of climate-induced soil salinity that threatens global food production.

Led by graduate student Vivek Hari-Sundar Gandhivel and Prof PV Shivaprasad, the scientists discovered a rice-specific variant of a core histone protein, H4.V, that plays a pivotal role in activating stress-response genes under saline conditions. Their findings, published in Nature Plants, center on histone H4, a protein crucial for DNA organization and gene regulation.

What sets H4.V apart is a subtle structural tweak that enhances acetylation — a chemical process that loosens DNA structure and triggers gene activation. Plants without H4.V showed stunted growth, poor seed development, and high salt sensitivity, while those with it thrived with better gene expression and tolerance.

This breakthrough was validated using genetically altered rice lines, confirming H4.V’s key role in helping plants withstand high salinity. With rising soil salinity from climate change and excessive irrigation, this discovery could guide the creation of resilient rice varieties through breeding or genetic engineering.

Contributors to this pathbreaking research included Steffi Raju, Shaileshanand Jha, Chitthavalli Y Harshith, and Kutti R Vinothkumar, along with Austrian collaborators from the Gregor Mendel Institute and University of Vienna.