Abstract:
The BRASSINAZOLE-RESISTANT (BZR) family is one of the plant-specific transcription factor families and a key component of the brassinosteroid (BR) signaling pathway. It plays crucial regulatory roles in plant growth and development, phytohormone signal transduction, and stress responses. To date, five members of the BZR family have been identified in rice, which exhibit diverse biological functions in regulating leaf angle, plant height, seed development, and stress tolerance. In addition to mediating BR signaling, rice BZR family members are also involved in the regulation of other phytohormones including auxin, gibberellin, and jasmonic acid. This review systematically summarizes the protein structural characteristics of rice BZRs, their regulatory roles in phytohormone networks, as well as their biological functions in rice growth, development and stress adaptation. It provides novel insights and theoretical support for accelerating the breeding of new high-quality and high-yield rice varieties by using BZR family genes as molecular breeding targets.