Effects of exogenous GR24 on the growth and gene expression of maize seedlings under drought stress

IF 3.4 2区生物学 Q2 BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

Phytochemistry Pub Date : 2025-08-21 DOI:10.1016/j.phytochem.2025.114652

Ziyan Yu , Anqi Su , Yuqi Zhang , Wenbo Chai , Xiao Wei , Yuxian Yang , Wenhui Rao , Yan Zou , Youyang Qin , Zeyuan Liang , Yang Zhao , Jun Wang , Rongrong Sun , Xiaojian Peng

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

The growth and production of maize (Zea mays L.) are severely impaired by drought stress. Strigolactones (SLs), a novel class of phytohormones, play key roles in regulating plant development and adaptation to drought stress. However, little is known regarding how GR24 (a synthetic SL analog) modulates the growth and gene expression of maize seedlings to drought stress (DS). In this study, we conducted physiological analysis and transcriptome sequencing to investigate the mechanisms by which GR24 alleviates DS-induced effects on maize seedlings. Our results revealed that compared to seedlings subjected to DS alone, GR24 application significantly increased leaf fresh weight, leaf dry weight, root fresh weight, root dry weight, and leaf relative water content. Furthermore, chlorophyll a, b, and total chlorophyll content increased. Conversely, malondialdehyde (MDA), hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), and proline (Pro) content decreased. Following 10 days of rewatering, GR24-treated seedlings exhibited 100 % survival; leaf and root fresh weight increased by 223 % and 203 %, respectively, and leaf relative water content increased by 53 %. Meanwhile, MDA and proline content decreased by 87 % and 96 %, respectively. Transcriptome analysis indicated that exogenous GR24 enhanced maize drought tolerance by modulating plant hormone signal transduction and MAPK signaling pathway. Thus, exogenous GR24 effectively improves the drought tolerance and post-stress recovery capacity in maize seedlings.

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外源GR24对干旱胁迫下玉米幼苗生长及基因表达的影响

干旱胁迫严重损害了玉米的生长和生产。独igolactones （SLs）是一类新的植物激素，在调节植物发育和适应干旱胁迫中起着关键作用。然而，关于GR24（一种合成的SL类似物）如何调节玉米幼苗对干旱胁迫（DS）的生长和基因表达，人们知之甚少。在本研究中，我们通过生理分析和转录组测序来研究GR24缓解ds诱导玉米幼苗效应的机制。结果表明，与单独处理相比，施用GR24显著提高了叶片鲜重、叶片干重、根系鲜重、根系干重和叶片相对含水量。叶绿素a、b和总叶绿素含量增加。相反，丙二醛（MDA）、过氧化氢（H2O2）和脯氨酸（Pro）含量降低。再浇水10天后，gr24处理的幼苗成活率为100%；叶片鲜重和根系鲜重分别增加了223%和203%，叶片相对含水量增加了53%。MDA和脯氨酸含量分别降低87%和96%。转录组分析表明，外源GR24通过调控植物激素信号转导和MAPK信号通路增强玉米抗旱性。因此，外源GR24能有效提高玉米幼苗的抗旱性和胁迫后恢复能力。

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来源期刊

Phytochemistry 生物-植物科学

CiteScore

6.40

自引率

7.90%

发文量

443

审稿时长

39 days

期刊介绍： Phytochemistry is a leading international journal publishing studies of plant chemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology and genetics, structure and bioactivities of phytochemicals, including ''-omics'' and bioinformatics/computational biology approaches. Phytochemistry is a primary source for papers dealing with phytochemicals, especially reports concerning their biosynthesis, regulation, and biological properties both in planta and as bioactive principles. Articles are published online as soon as possible as Articles-in-Press and in 12 volumes per year. Occasional topic-focussed special issues are published composed of papers from invited authors.