A transposon insertion in the 5′ UTR of OsPT1 reprograms its expression pattern and promotes cadmium accumulation in rice grains

or OsbHLH35 via CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing significantly reduced grain Cd content, with reductions ranging from 61.7% to 80.6%. This study reveals a previously unrecognized mechanism contributing to high Cd accumulation in rice and identifies genetic targets for breeding rice varieties with reduced Cd content.