State Key Laboratory of Crop Gene Resources and Breeding, Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing, China.
Beijing Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genetic Resources and Biotechnology, Institute of Biotechnology, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, China.
Plant Biotechnol J. 2024 Aug;22(8):2333-2347. doi: 10.1111/pbi.14349. Epub 2024 Apr 10.
Sterols have long been associated with diverse fields, such as cancer treatment, drug development, and plant growth; however, their underlying mechanisms and functions remain enigmatic. Here, we unveil a critical role played by a GmNF-YC9-mediated CCAAT-box transcription complex in modulating the steroid metabolism pathway within soybeans. Specifically, this complex directly activates squalene monooxygenase (GmSQE1), which is a rate-limiting enzyme in steroid synthesis. Our findings demonstrate that overexpression of either GmNF-YC9 or GmSQE1 significantly enhances soybean stress tolerance, while the inhibition of SQE weakens this tolerance. Field experiments conducted over two seasons further reveal increased yields per plant in both GmNF-YC9 and GmSQE1 overexpressing plants under drought stress conditions. This enhanced stress tolerance is attributed to the reduction of abiotic stress-induced cell oxidative damage. Transcriptome and metabolome analyses shed light on the upregulation of multiple sterol compounds, including fucosterol and soyasaponin II, in GmNF-YC9 and GmSQE1 overexpressing soybean plants under stress conditions. Intriguingly, the application of soybean steroids, including fucosterol and soyasaponin II, significantly improves drought tolerance in soybean, wheat, foxtail millet, and maize. These findings underscore the pivotal role of soybean steroids in countering oxidative stress in plants and offer a new research strategy for enhancing crop stress tolerance and quality from gene regulation to chemical intervention.
甾醇长期以来一直与多个领域相关，如癌症治疗、药物开发和植物生长；然而，它们的潜在机制和功能仍然是个谜。在这里，我们揭示了一个由 GmNF-YC9 介导的 CCAAT 盒转录复合物在调节大豆中类固醇代谢途径中的关键作用。具体来说，这个复合物直接激活角鲨烯单加氧酶（GmSQE1），这是类固醇合成中的限速酶。我们的研究结果表明，GmNF-YC9 或 GmSQE1 的过表达显著增强了大豆的胁迫耐受性，而 SQE 的抑制则削弱了这种耐受性。在两个季节进行的田间实验进一步表明，在干旱胁迫条件下，GmNF-YC9 和 GmSQE1 过表达植物的每株植物产量都有所增加。这种增强的胁迫耐受性归因于减少了非生物胁迫诱导的细胞氧化损伤。转录组和代谢组分析揭示了在胁迫条件下，GmNF-YC9 和 GmSQE1 过表达大豆植物中多种固醇化合物的上调，包括岩藻甾醇和大豆皂甙 II。有趣的是，大豆类固醇，包括岩藻甾醇和大豆皂甙 II 的应用，显著提高了大豆、小麦、谷子和玉米的耐旱性。这些发现强调了大豆类固醇在植物中对抗氧化应激的关键作用，并为从基因调控到化学干预增强作物胁迫耐受性和品质提供了一个新的研究策略。
