Zhang Yifei, Li Jiayu, Li Weiqing, Gao Xinhan, Xu Xiangru, Zhang Chunyu, Yu Song, Dou Yi, Luo Wenqi, Yu Lihe
College of Agriculture, Heilongjiang Bayi Agricultural University, Daqing 163319, China.
Heilongjiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Modern Agricultural Cultivation and Crop Germplasm Improvement, Daqing 163319, China.
Plants (Basel). 2024 May 14;13(10):1362. doi: 10.3390/plants13101362.
Low-temperature stress (TS) limits maize ( L.) seed germination and agricultural production. Exposure to TS during germination inhibits radicle growth, triggering seedling emergence disorders. Here, we aimed to analyse the changes in gene expression in the radicles of maize seeds under TS by comparing Demeiya1 (DMY1) and Zhengdan958 (ZD958) (the main Northeast China cultivars) and exposing them to two temperatures: 15 °C (control) and 5 °C (TS). TS markedly decreased radicle growth as well as fresh and dry weights while increasing proline and malondialdehyde contents in both test varieties. Under TS treatment, the expression levels of 5301 and 4894 genes were significantly different in the radicles of DMY1 and ZD958, respectively, and 3005 differentially expressed genes coexisted in the radicles of both varieties. The phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathway was implicated within the response to TS in maize radicles, and peroxidase may be an important indicator for assessing low-temperature tolerance during maize germination. Peroxidase-encoding genes could be important candidate genes for promoting low-temperature resistance in maize germinating radicles. We believe that this study enhances the knowledge of mechanisms of response and adaptation of the maize seed germination process to TS and provides a theoretical basis for efficiently assessing maize seed low-temperature tolerance and improving maize adversity germination performance.
低温胁迫（TS）限制了玉米（L.）种子的萌发和农业生产。在萌发过程中暴露于低温胁迫会抑制胚根生长，引发幼苗出土障碍。在此，我们旨在通过比较德美亚1号（DMY1）和郑单958（ZD958）（中国东北地区的主要栽培品种）并将它们置于两种温度下：15℃（对照）和5℃（低温胁迫），来分析低温胁迫下玉米种子胚根中基因表达的变化。低温胁迫显著降低了两个供试品种的胚根生长以及鲜重和干重，同时增加了脯氨酸和丙二醛含量。在低温胁迫处理下，DMY1和ZD958胚根中分别有5301个和4894个基因的表达水平存在显著差异，两个品种的胚根中共有3005个差异表达基因。苯丙烷生物合成途径参与了玉米胚根对低温胁迫的响应，过氧化物酶可能是评估玉米萌发期间耐低温性的一个重要指标。过氧化物酶编码基因可能是促进玉米萌发胚根抗低温性的重要候选基因。我们认为，本研究增进了对玉米种子萌发过程对低温胁迫的响应和适应机制的认识，并为有效评估玉米种子耐低温性和改善玉米逆境萌发性能提供了理论依据。
