Besides playing a crucial role in plant immunity, increasing evidence shows that salicylic acid (SA) is also involved in regulating plant root architecture. However, the transcriptional regulatory network and core regulators controlling SA-mediated plant root development, and whether these regulators are functionally conserved in angiosperms, are still unclear. Here, we found that, like in Arabidopsis, exogenous SA attenuates root growth in rice via a parallel pathway of immune response. We further reconstructed the regulatory network of SA regulating rice root development and identified new regulators by blocking immune signaling using relevant mutants. Loss-of-function of these regulators altered the response of rice roots to SA treatment and reshaped the root-associated microbiome colonization, which is basically conserved in the eudicot Arabidopsis. Our results provide new insights and novel breeding targets for mitigating plant defense-growth tradeoffs to enhance crop performance.
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