Identification, characterization, and expression of Oryza sativa betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase genes associated with the metabolism of oxyfluorfen

Betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase (BADH), a member of family 10 of the aldehyde dehydrogenase superfamily, catalyzes the second oxidation step in the biosynthesis of glycine betaine (GB), which participates in a variety of critical processes that help plants tolerate abiotic stress. Nevertheless, it is still unclear how BADH functions in rice under pesticide stress. To look at the roles that the rice BADH family plays when under pesticide stress, three BADH genes were identified in transcriptome datasets of GB + oxyfluorfen (OFF)-treated rice. Using sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis, the two subfamilies of the BADH gene family (ALDH10 and ALDH22) among rice, Arabidopsis, soybean, wheat, maize, barley, and sorghum were found. An examination of chromosomal position revealed that segmental duplication had a role in the expansion of OsBADH genes, and that the rice BADH genes were irregularly distributed on 3 of the 12 rice chromosomes. In collinearity analyses, rice BADH genes exhibited collinearity with those of wheat, maize, barley, and sorghum. The genes also showed a variety of conserved domains, cis-elements, motif compositions, and gene architectures that made it possible for them to encode different biotic and abiotic stress response proteins. Compared to the effects of OFF alone, BADH activity in rice roots and shoots increased 1.50-fold and 1.81-fold, respectively, following treatment with GB and 0.15 mg/L OFF. Analysis of protein–protein interaction networks provided more evidence for the involvement of OsBADH proteins in OFF metabolism. Overall, these findings demonstrate that BADH genes respond effectively to OFF-induced stress by producing GB, highlighting their potential roles in regulating pesticide degradation.