Zhou Wenqi, Yin Jun, Zhou Yuqian, Li Yongsheng, He Haijun, Yang Yanzhong, Wang Xiaojuan, Lian Xiaorong, Dong Xiaoyun, Ma Zengke, Chen Liang, Hou Suiwen
Maize Research Center of Gansu Province, Crop Research Institute, Gansu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou, 730070, China.
Key Laboratory of Cell Activities and Stress Adaptations, Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Gene Editing for Breeding, Gansu Province, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China.
J Integr Plant Biol. 2025 Jun;67(6):1487-1500. doi: 10.1111/jipb.13890. Epub 2025 Mar 19.
Maize (Zea mays L.) growth and yield are severely limited by drought stress worldwide. Stomata play crucial roles in transpiration and gas exchange and are thus essential for improving plant water-use efficiency (WUE) to help plants deal with the threat of drought. In this study, we characterized the maize dsd1 (decreased stomatal density 1) mutant, which showed defects in stomatal development, including guard mother cell differentiation, subsidiary cell formation and guard cell maturation. DSD1 encodes the basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor INDUCER OF CBF EXPRESSION b (ZmICEb) and is a homolog of ICE1 in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). DSD1/ZmICEb is expressed in stomatal file cells throughout stomatal development and plays a conserved role in stomatal development across maize and Arabidopsis. Mutations in DSD1/ZmICEb dramatically improved drought tolerance and WUE in maize and reduced yield losses under drought conditions. Therefore, DSD1/ZmICEb represents a promising candidate target gene for the genetic improvement of drought tolerance in maize by manipulating stomatal density.
在全球范围内,干旱胁迫严重限制了玉米(Zea mays L.)的生长和产量。气孔在蒸腾作用和气体交换中起着关键作用,因此对于提高植物水分利用效率(WUE)以帮助植物应对干旱威胁至关重要。在本研究中,我们对玉米dsd1(气孔密度降低1)突变体进行了表征,该突变体在气孔发育方面存在缺陷,包括保卫母细胞分化、副卫细胞形成和保卫细胞成熟。DSD1编码基本螺旋-环-螺旋转录因子CBF表达诱导因子b(ZmICEb),是拟南芥(Arabidopsis thaliana)中ICE1的同源物。DSD1/ZmICEb在整个气孔发育过程中在气孔列细胞中表达,并且在玉米和拟南芥的气孔发育中发挥保守作用。DSD1/ZmICEb的突变显著提高了玉米的耐旱性和水分利用效率,并减少了干旱条件下的产量损失。因此,DSD1/ZmICEb是通过操纵气孔密度对玉米进行耐旱性遗传改良的一个有前景的候选靶基因。