Yu Ziyan, Su Anqi, Zhang Yuqi, Chai Wenbo, Wei Xiao, Yang Yuxian, Rao Wenhui, Zou Yan, Qin Youyang, Liang Zeyuan, Zhao Yang, Wang Jun, Sun Rongrong, Peng Xiaojian
Anhui Agricultural University, College of Life Sciences, Hefei, 230036, China.
Lianyungang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lianyungang, 222006, China.
Phytochemistry. 2025 Dec;240:114652. doi: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2025.114652. Epub 2025 Aug 21.
The growth and production of maize (Zea mays L.) are severely impaired by drought stress. Strigolactones (SLs), a novel class of phytohormones, play key roles in regulating plant development and adaptation to drought stress. However, little is known regarding how GR24 (a synthetic SL analog) modulates the growth and gene expression of maize seedlings to drought stress (DS). In this study, we conducted physiological analysis and transcriptome sequencing to investigate the mechanisms by which GR24 alleviates DS-induced effects on maize seedlings. Our results revealed that compared to seedlings subjected to DS alone, GR24 application significantly increased leaf fresh weight, leaf dry weight, root fresh weight, root dry weight, and leaf relative water content. Furthermore, chlorophyll a, b, and total chlorophyll content increased. Conversely, malondialdehyde (MDA), hydrogen peroxide (HO), and proline (Pro) content decreased. Following 10 days of rewatering, GR24-treated seedlings exhibited 100 % survival; leaf and root fresh weight increased by 223 % and 203 %, respectively, and leaf relative water content increased by 53 %. Meanwhile, MDA and proline content decreased by 87 % and 96 %, respectively. Transcriptome analysis indicated that exogenous GR24 enhanced maize drought tolerance by modulating plant hormone signal transduction and MAPK signaling pathway. Thus, exogenous GR24 effectively improves the drought tolerance and post-stress recovery capacity in maize seedlings.
干旱胁迫严重损害玉米（Zea mays L.）的生长和产量。独脚金内酯（SLs）作为一类新型植物激素，在调节植物发育和适应干旱胁迫方面发挥着关键作用。然而，关于GR24（一种合成的SL类似物）如何调节玉米幼苗对干旱胁迫（DS）的生长和基因表达，我们知之甚少。在本研究中，我们进行了生理分析和转录组测序，以探究GR24减轻DS对玉米幼苗影响的机制。我们的结果表明，与仅遭受DS的幼苗相比，施用GR24显著增加了叶片鲜重、叶片干重、根鲜重、根干重和叶片相对含水量。此外，叶绿素a、b和总叶绿素含量增加。相反，丙二醛（MDA）、过氧化氢（HO）和脯氨酸（Pro）含量降低。复水10天后，经GR24处理的幼苗存活率达100%；叶片和根鲜重分别增加了223%和203%，叶片相对含水量增加了53%。同时，MDA和脯氨酸含量分别降低了87%和96%。转录组分析表明，外源GR24通过调节植物激素信号转导和MAPK信号通路增强了玉米的耐旱性。因此，外源GR24有效提高了玉米幼苗的耐旱性和胁迫后恢复能力。
