Bao Liangliang, Sun Wen, Wang Jiaxin, Zhou Yuyang, Wang Jiahao, Wang Qi, Sun Dequan, Lin Hong, Fan Jinsheng, Zhou Yu, Zhang Lin, Wang Zhenhua, Li Chunxiang, Di Hong
College of Agriculture, Northeast Agricultural University/Key Laboratory of Germplasm Enhancement, Physiology and Ecology of Food Crops in Cold Region, Ministry of Education/Engineering Technology Research Center of Maize Germplasm Resources Innovation on Cold Land of Heilongjiang Province, Harbin 150030, China.
Institute of Forage and Grassland Sciences, Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin 150086, China.
Plants (Basel). 2025 Jul 4;14(13):2054. doi: 10.3390/plants14132054.
MYB transcription factors constitute a diverse and functionally versatile family, playing central roles in regulating plant responses to a range of abiotic stressors. Based on previous research, we identified and characterized a maize MYB transcription factor gene, , which is involved in responses to salt, alkali, and low-temperature stress. This study aimed to investigate the function and mechanism of in response to salt, alkali, and low-temperature stresses. We hypothesized that regulates biosynthetic pathways to influence maize resistance to multiple abiotic stresses. The results indicate that expression was markedly upregulated ( < 0.01) and the fold-change in gene expression ranged from 1.54 to 25.69 when plants were exposed to these combined stresses. Phenotypically, the mutant line exhibited more pronounced inhibition of seedling and root growth under stress compared to the wild-type B73 line. Based on a correlation expression pattern analysis and mutant line evaluation, was confirmed to be a positive regulatory transcription factor for multiple types of abiotic stress resistance. An RNA-seq analysis of both lines revealed differentially expressed genes (DEGs), with gene ontology (GO) and KEGG enrichment analyses indicating that may mediate stress responses by modulating the expression of genes involved in flavonoid biosynthesis. Notable differences were observed in the expression of pathway-associated genes between the mutant and wild-type plants. A haplotype analysis across 80 inbred maize lines revealed 16 coding region haplotypes-comprising 25 SNPs and 17 InDels-with HAP12 emerging as a superior haplotype. These results demonstrate that enhances maize yields by regulating the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway in response to adverse climatic conditions including salt, alkaline conditions, and low temperatures. Collectively, these findings offer novel insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying maize adaptation to combined abiotic stresses and lay the groundwork for breeding programs targeting multi-stress resistance.
MYB转录因子构成了一个多样且功能多样的家族，在调节植物对一系列非生物胁迫的反应中发挥着核心作用。基于先前的研究，我们鉴定并表征了一个玉米MYB转录因子基因，其参与对盐、碱和低温胁迫的反应。本研究旨在探究该基因在响应盐、碱和低温胁迫时的功能及机制。我们假设该基因调控生物合成途径以影响玉米对多种非生物胁迫的抗性。结果表明，当植物受到这些复合胁迫时，该基因的表达显著上调（P<0.01），基因表达的倍数变化范围为1.54至25.69。在表型上，与野生型B73品系相比，该基因突变体品系在胁迫下表现出对幼苗和根系生长更明显的抑制。基于相关表达模式分析和突变体品系评估，该基因被确认为多种非生物胁迫抗性的正调控转录因子。对两个品系的RNA测序分析揭示了差异表达基因（DEGs），基因本体（GO）和KEGG富集分析表明，该基因可能通过调节参与类黄酮生物合成的基因表达来介导胁迫反应。在突变体和野生型植物之间观察到途径相关基因表达的显著差异。对80个玉米自交系的单倍型分析揭示了16个编码区单倍型，包括25个单核苷酸多态性（SNPs）和17个插入缺失（InDels），其中HAP12是一个优良单倍型。这些结果表明，该基因通过响应包括盐、碱性条件和低温在内的不利气候条件调节类黄酮生物合成途径来提高玉米产量。总的来说，这些发现为玉米适应复合非生物胁迫的分子机制提供了新的见解，并为针对多胁迫抗性的育种计划奠定了基础。
