College of Agronomy, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, China.
College of Agronomy, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, China.
Sci Rep. 2024 Aug 28;14(1):19955. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-70427-1.
Soil salinization, a prevalent form of environmental stress, leads to significant soil desertification and impacts agricultural productivity by altering the internal soil environment, slowing cellular metabolism, and modifying cellular architecture. This results in a marked reduction in both the yield and diversity of crops. Maize, which is particularly susceptible to salt stress, serves as a critical model for studying these effects, making the elucidation of its molecular responses essential for crop improvement strategies. This study focuses on the phytochrome-interacting factor 3 (PIF3), previously known for its role in freezing tolerance, to assess its function in salt stress tolerance. Utilizing two transcript variants of maize ZmPIF3 (ZmPIF3.1 and ZmPIF3.2), we engineered Arabidopsis transgenic lines to overexpress these variants and analyzed their phenotypic, physiological, biochemical, and transcriptomic responses to salt stress. Our findings reveal that these transgenic lines displayed not only enhanced salt tolerance but also improved peroxide decomposition and reduced cellular membrane damage. Transcriptome analysis indicated significant roles of hormonal and Ca signaling pathways, along with key transcription factors, in mediating the enhanced salt stress response. This research underscores a novel role for ZmPIF3 in plant salt stress tolerance, offering potential avenues for breeding salt-resistant crop varieties.
土壤盐渍化是一种普遍的环境胁迫形式，它通过改变内部土壤环境、减缓细胞代谢和改变细胞结构，导致严重的土壤荒漠化，并影响农业生产力。这导致作物的产量和多样性明显减少。玉米对盐胁迫特别敏感，是研究这些影响的重要模式植物，因此阐明其分子反应对于作物改良策略至关重要。本研究关注的是光受体相互作用因子 3（PIF3），它先前已知在抗冻性方面发挥作用，以评估其在耐盐胁迫方面的功能。我们利用玉米 ZmPIF3 的两个转录变体（ZmPIF3.1 和 ZmPIF3.2），构建了拟南芥转基因株系来过表达这些变体，并分析了它们对盐胁迫的表型、生理、生化和转录组响应。我们的研究结果表明，这些转基因株系不仅表现出增强的耐盐性，而且还改善了过氧化物的分解和减少了细胞膜的损伤。转录组分析表明，激素和 Ca 信号通路以及关键转录因子在介导增强的盐胁迫响应中起着重要作用。这项研究强调了 ZmPIF3 在植物耐盐胁迫中的新作用，为培育耐盐作物品种提供了潜在途径。
