State Key Laboratory of Wheat & Maize Crop Science, College of Life Sciences, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China.
Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Jan 24;24(3):2325. doi: 10.3390/ijms24032325.
The calcium ion (Ca), as a well-known second messenger, plays an important role in multiple processes of growth, development, and stress adaptation in plants. As central Ca sensor proteins and a multifunctional kinase family, calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs) are widely present in plants. In maize, the signal transduction processes involved in ZmCDPKs' responses to abiotic stresses have also been well elucidated. In addition to Ca signaling, maize ZmCDPKs are also regulated by a variety of abiotic stresses, and they transmit signals to downstream target molecules, such as transport proteins, transcription factors, molecular chaperones, and other protein kinases, through protein interaction or phosphorylation, etc., thus changing their activity, triggering a series of cascade reactions, and being involved in hormone and reactive oxygen signaling regulation. As such, ZmCDPKs play an indispensable role in regulating maize growth, development, and stress responses. In this review, we summarize the roles of ZmCDPKs as a convergence point of different signaling pathways in regulating maize response to abiotic stress, which will promote an understanding of the molecular mechanisms of ZmCDPKs in maize tolerance to abiotic stress and open new opportunities for agricultural applications.
钙离子（Ca）作为一种众所周知的第二信使，在植物的生长、发育和应激适应的多个过程中发挥着重要作用。钙依赖蛋白激酶（CDPKs）作为中央 Ca 传感器蛋白和多功能激酶家族，广泛存在于植物中。在玉米中，ZmCDPKs 对非生物胁迫反应的信号转导过程也得到了很好的阐明。除了 Ca 信号外，玉米 ZmCDPKs 还受到各种非生物胁迫的调节，它们通过蛋白质相互作用或磷酸化等方式将信号传递给下游靶分子，如转运蛋白、转录因子、分子伴侣和其他蛋白激酶，从而改变其活性，引发一系列级联反应，并参与激素和活性氧信号的调节。因此，ZmCDPKs 在调节玉米的生长、发育和应激反应中起着不可或缺的作用。在这篇综述中，我们总结了 ZmCDPKs 作为不同信号通路的汇聚点在调节玉米对非生物胁迫反应中的作用，这将促进对 ZmCDPKs 在玉米耐受非生物胁迫中的分子机制的理解，并为农业应用开辟新的机会。
