Abstract: The primary aim of the present study was to investigate the overexpression of the rice (Oryza sativa L.) programmed cell death 5 (OsPDCD5) gene in rice plant. Constitutive expression of OsPDCD5 from the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S promoter induced programmed cell death (PCD) in transgenic rice. Programmed cell death was accompanied by typical features, including inhibition of developmental growth, a reduction of fresh weight, degradation of total protein content, and fragmentation of genomic DNA. These results suggest that OsPDCD5 plays an essential role in the regulation of PCD in rice plants.

Key words: gene transformation, Oryza sativa, rice programmed cell death 5 (OsPDCD5) gene, programmed cell death.