Zolkiewicz Karolina, Gruszka Damian
Faculty of Natural Sciences, Institute of Biology, Biotechnology and Environmental Protection, University of Silesia, 40-032 Katowice, Poland.
Plant Physiol. 2024 Dec 23;197(1). doi: 10.1093/plphys/kiaf003.
Global climate change leads to the increased occurrence of environmental stress (including drought and heat stress) during the vegetative and reproductive stages of cereal crop development. Thus, more attention should be given to developing new cereal cultivars with improved tolerance to environmental stress. However, during the development of new stress-tolerant cereal cultivars, the balance between improved stress responses (which occur at the expense of growth) and plant yield needs to be maintained. Thus, the urgent need for developing new cereal germplasm with improved stress tolerance could be fulfilled using semidwarf cereal mutants defective in brassinosteroid (BR) biosynthesis or signaling. BRs are steroid phytohormones that regulate various developmental and physiological processes throughout the plant life cycle. Mutants defective in BR biosynthesis or responses show reduced plant height (dwarfism or semi-dwarfism). Importantly, numerous reports indicate that genetic modification or biotechnological manipulation of BR biosynthesis or signaling genes in cereals such as rice (Oryza sativa), maize (Zea mays), wheat (Triticum aestivum), and barley (Hordeum vulgare), which are of crucial importance for global agriculture, may facilitate the development of cereal germplasm with improved stress tolerance. This review presents a comprehensive overview of the genetic manipulation of BR homeostasis in the above-mentioned cereal crops aimed at improving plant responses to various environmental stresses, such as drought, salinity, oxidative stress, thermal stress, and biotic stresses. We highlight target BR-related genes and the effects of genetic manipulation (gene editing, overexpression, and silencing or microRNA-mediated regulation) on plant adaptability to various stresses and provide future perspectives.
全球气候变化导致谷类作物生长和生殖阶段环境胁迫（包括干旱和热胁迫）的发生频率增加。因此，应更加重视培育对环境胁迫耐受性更强的新型谷类品种。然而，在培育新型耐胁迫谷类品种的过程中，需要维持胁迫响应增强（以生长为代价）与作物产量之间的平衡。因此，利用油菜素甾醇（BR）生物合成或信号传导存在缺陷的半矮秆谷类突变体，有望满足培育新型耐胁迫谷类种质的迫切需求。BR是一类甾体植物激素，在植物整个生命周期中调节各种发育和生理过程。BR生物合成或响应存在缺陷的突变体表现出株高降低（矮化或半矮化）。重要的是，大量报道表明，对水稻（Oryza sativa）、玉米（Zea mays）、小麦（Triticum aestivum）和大麦（Hordeum vulgare）等对全球农业至关重要的谷类作物中的BR生物合成或信号传导基因进行遗传修饰或生物技术操作，可能有助于培育耐胁迫性更强的谷类种质。本综述全面概述了上述谷类作物中BR稳态的遗传操作，旨在改善植物对干旱、盐胁迫、氧化胁迫、热胁迫和生物胁迫等各种环境胁迫的响应。我们重点介绍了与BR相关的目标基因，以及遗传操作（基因编辑、过表达、沉默或microRNA介导的调控）对植物适应各种胁迫的影响，并展望了未来发展方向。
