Zhang Xiaotian, Chen Huili, Tian Wei, Gao Zihui, Du Hewei, Ding Shuangcheng, Wang Hongwei
MARA Key Laboratory of Sustainable Crop Production in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River (Co-construction by Ministry and Province), College of Agriculture, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, 434025, China.
College of Life Science, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, 434025, China.
BMC Plant Biol. 2025 May 22;25(1):678. doi: 10.1186/s12870-025-06683-8.
RING-type E3 ligases are critical regulators of diverse plant processes, yet their roles in maize remain poorly defined, particularly in drought responses. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted an integrative analysis of maize RING genes, combining evolutionary profiling, and candidate-gene association studies to identify drought-associated candidates. Key genes were further characterized via quantitative expression profiling, subcellular localization, in vitro ubiquitination assay, and functional validation in transgenic Arabidopsis. This study aimed to provide new insights into the maize RING gene family's role in drought stress adaptation.
We employed three distinct methods and identified a total of 590 proteins. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that these proteins could be grouped into 11 separate clusters. Our findings suggested that the expansion of the RING family in maize was likely due to gene duplication events. Notably, genetic variations in ZmRING-93 were significantly associated with drought tolerance, and its expression was up-regulated under various abiotic stress conditions and hormone treatments. We further discovered that ZmRING-93 was a functional ubiquitin E3 ligase that localized to the nucleus, cytoplasm, and parts of the endoplasmic reticulum. Transgenic Arabidopsis plants overexpressing ZmRING-93 exhibited enhanced drought tolerance, with a lower water loss rate, further supporting the importance of ZmRING-93 in drought tolerance.
These findings revealed that ZmRING-93 contributed to drought tolerance in maize and provided a basis for further investigation of the role of RING domain-containing proteins.
环状E3连接酶是多种植物过程的关键调节因子，但其在玉米中的作用仍不清楚，尤其是在干旱响应方面。为了填补这一知识空白，我们对玉米环状基因进行了综合分析，结合进化分析和候选基因关联研究来鉴定与干旱相关的候选基因。通过定量表达分析、亚细胞定位、体外泛素化测定以及在转基因拟南芥中的功能验证，对关键基因进行了进一步表征。本研究旨在为玉米环状基因家族在干旱胁迫适应中的作用提供新的见解。
我们采用了三种不同的方法，共鉴定出590种蛋白质。系统发育分析表明，这些蛋白质可分为11个独立的簇。我们的研究结果表明，玉米中环状家族的扩展可能是由于基因复制事件。值得注意的是，ZmRING-93的遗传变异与耐旱性显著相关，其表达在各种非生物胁迫条件和激素处理下均上调。我们进一步发现，ZmRING-93是一种功能性泛素E3连接酶，定位于细胞核、细胞质和部分内质网。过表达ZmRING-93的转基因拟南芥植株表现出增强的耐旱性，水分流失率较低，进一步支持了ZmRING-93在耐旱性中的重要性。
这些发现表明ZmRING-93有助于玉米的耐旱性，并为进一步研究含环状结构域的蛋白质的作用提供了基础。
