Knocking out a wound-induced vascular plant one-zinc finger gene enhances plant defense against phloem-feeding herbivores.

Vascular plant one-zinc finger (VOZ) transcription factors play a crucial role in plant growth, development, and response to abiotic stresses and pathogen infection. Yet, their roles in resistance to plant herbivores remain largely unknown. We cloned a rice VOZ gene, OsVOZ2, and found that its expression was induced by mechanical wounding; infestation by gravid females of both the brown planthopper (BPH, Nilaparvata lugens) and the white-backed planthopper (Sogatella furcifera); and treatment with methyl jasmonate. OsVOZ2 is localized to the plant cytoplasm under normal growth conditions and to the nucleus upon treatment with abscisic acid (ABA). Knocking out OsVOZ2 in rice enhanced BPH-induced levels of 12-oxo-phytodienoic acid, jasmonic acid, jasmonoyl-L-isoleucine, and abscisic acid. Moreover, knocking out OsVOZ2 promoted the basal level of flavonoids and BPH-induced levels of volatiles, which subsequently enhanced rice defenses against planthoppers in the greenhouse and field. In addition, knocking out OsVOZ2 decreased plant shoot height. Our results demonstrate that the wound-induced gene OsVOZ2 regulates plant growth and defense. Knocking out OsVOZ2 can effectively enhance the resistance of rice to planthoppers in the field, providing a potential new approach for controlling rice planthoppers. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.