The present invention discloses an
RNA aptamer and its application in improving the salt tolerance of rice. The present invention utilizes the systematic evolution screening technology of
nucleic acid aptamers to enrich and obtain an
aptamer sequence eApt‑2 with high affinity for eIF4A, which can inhibit the
RNA helicase activity of eIF4A and selectively block the 5' cap-dependent translation
initiation process. After the eApt‑2 coding sequence is introduced into rice cells, the transgenic rice shows significantly enhanced salt tolerance under salt
stress conditions: the growth condition is improved, and the
biomass and
photosynthetic efficiency are higher than those of the control plants. Compared with the traditional strategy of improving salt tolerance by
gene overexpression or knockout, the method of the present invention does not require permanent modification of the
plant genome, and utilizes aptamers to perform precise and reversible regulation of translation
initiation factors, thereby achieving optimization of stress-responsive
protein synthesis, and has higher specificity and safety. The present invention provides a novel and efficient technical approach for cultivating salt-tolerant crops, and has broad application prospects.