Genome-Wide Identification and Functional Analysis of the Genes of the ATL Family in Maize during High-Temperature Stress in Maize.

Maize is a significant food and feed product, and abiotic stress significantly impacts its growth and development. (), a member of the RING-H2 E3 subfamily, modulates various physiological processes and stress responses in . However, the role of in maize remains unexplored. In this study, we systematically identified the genes encoding in the maize genome. The results showed that the maize family consists of 77 members, all predicted to be located in the cell membrane and cytoplasm, with a highly conserved RING domain. Tissue-specific expression analysis revealed that the expression levels of family genes were significantly different in different tissues. Examination of the abiotic stress data revealed that the expression levels of genes fluctuated significantly under different stress conditions. To further understand the biological functions of maize ATL family genes under high-temperature stress, we studied the high-temperature phenotypes of the maize ZmATL family gene and its homologous gene in . The results showed that overexpression of the and genes enhanced resistance to high-temperature stress.