The bZIP transcription factor ZmbZIP111 contributes to drought tolerance and regulates the expression of ZmEULD1b in maize

IF 4.6 2区生物学 Q2 BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

Plant Science Pub Date : 2027-01-01 Epub Date: 2026-10-17 DOI:10.1016/j.plantsci.2026.113532

Haidong Yan, Dongxu Zhao, Chen Liu, Xueru Zhu, Xueshi Zhang, Zhongxian Ma, Qing Ma, Ronghao Cai

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Drought stress severely constrains maize productivity, and elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying drought tolerance is crucial for developing drought-tolerant cultivars. In this study, we characterized the function of the drought-inducible bZIP transcription factor ZmbZIP111 and found that the bzip111 mutant exhibited increased sensitivity to drought stress. Compared with the wild type, the bzip111 mutants exhibited more pronounced inhibition of root growth under water-deficit conditions, accompanied by significantly reduced survival rates and relative water content. Physiological assays further demonstrated that the mutant accumulated higher levels of malondialdehyde and exhibited decreased superoxide dismutase activity. To elucidate the underlying molecular mechanism, we performed transcriptome analysis and identified ZmEULD1b, a gene previously reported to positively regulate root development and drought tolerance in maize, as a candidate downstream target of ZmbZIP111. Notably, the transcript level of ZmEULD1b was significantly reduced in the bzip111 mutant compared with that in the wild type. Collectively, our findings suggest that ZmbZIP111 contributes to drought tolerance in maize and is associated with the regulation of ZmEULD1b expression. This study provides a valuable candidate gene for the genetic improvement of drought tolerance in maize.

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bZIP转录因子ZmbZIP111参与玉米抗旱性调控ZmEULD1b的表达。

干旱胁迫严重制约玉米产量，阐明抗旱分子机制对培育抗旱品种具有重要意义。在这项研究中，我们对干旱诱导的bZIP转录因子ZmbZIP111的功能进行了表征，发现bzip111突变体对干旱胁迫的敏感性增加。与野生型相比，bzip111突变体在缺水条件下表现出更明显的根系生长抑制，同时显著降低了成活率和相对含水量。生理分析进一步表明，突变体积累了较高水平的丙二醛，并表现出较低的超氧化物歧化酶活性。为了阐明潜在的分子机制，研究人员进行了转录组分析，并确定了ZmEULD1b基因作为ZmbZIP111的候选下游靶标。ZmEULD1b是一个先前报道的积极调节玉米根系发育和耐旱性的基因。值得注意的是，与野生型相比，bzip111突变体中ZmEULD1b的转录物水平显著降低。总之，我们的研究结果表明，ZmbZIP111有助于玉米的抗旱性，并与ZmEULD1b的表达调控有关。该研究为玉米抗旱性遗传改良提供了有价值的候选基因。

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来源期刊

Plant Science 生物-生化与分子生物学

CiteScore

9.10

自引率

1.90%

发文量

322

审稿时长

33 days

期刊介绍： Plant Science will publish in the minimum of time, research manuscripts as well as commissioned reviews and commentaries recommended by its referees in all areas of experimental plant biology with emphasis in the broad areas of genomics, proteomics, biochemistry (including enzymology), physiology, cell biology, development, genetics, functional plant breeding, systems biology and the interaction of plants with the environment. Manuscripts for full consideration should be written concisely and essentially as a final report. The main criterion for publication is that the manuscript must contain original and significant insights that lead to a better understanding of fundamental plant biology. Papers centering on plant cell culture should be of interest to a wide audience and methods employed result in a substantial improvement over existing established techniques and approaches. Methods papers are welcome only when the technique(s) described is novel or provides a major advancement of established protocols.