Zhao Dongbo, Wei Longxue, Guo Jianjun, Guo Zhihui, Guo Lianghai, Gao Jiansheng, Cui Huini, Tai Rongjian, Guan Peiyan, Zhang Liang, Liu Peng, Jin Yirong
Food Crops Research Institute, Dezhou Academy of Agricultural Science, Dezhou, Shandong, China.
College of Energy and Machinery, Dezhou University, Dezhou, Shandong, China.
Front Plant Sci. 2026 Feb 10;17:1760884. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2026.1760884. eCollection 2026.
The Lesion Simulating Disease (LSD) genes encode a class of zinc finger proteins that play crucial roles in hypersensitive responses and programmed cell death (PCD) triggered by biotic and abiotic stresses. However, the comprehensive genome-wide identification of the LSD family in maize, comparative synteny analysis, and systematic tissue- and stress-specific expression profiling remain poorly understood. In this study, we systematically identified and characterized the LSD gene family at the genome-wide level in maize. Bioinformatics methods were employed to analyze the physical and chemical properties, chromosomal location, phylogenetic relationships, conserved motifs, and gene structure of the LSD gene family members. The expression patterns of the under the conditions of drought, high temperature, high salt, and hormone treatment with ABA, were detected by RT-qPCR. The subcellular localization of the ZmLSDs was observed by laser confocal microscopy. A total of nine LSD genes encoding 23 protein isoforms was identified from the maize genome and named to . ZmLSD family proteins have 113-898 amino acids, relative molecular weights ranging from 12.133 to 93.568 KD. The ZmLSD gene family members were distributed on five chromosomes, mainly on Chr1 and Chr3. According to phylogenetic analysis, the ZmLSD family members can be divided into four subfamilies. Motif analysis revealed that Motif1 is the conserved motif shared by these genes, which is presumably related to the conserved structural domain. There were three intra-species covariance gene pairs, and seven exhibited syntenic homologs with both sorghum and japonica rice LSD genes. , , and , were expressed at higher levels in all tissue sites, except the embryo and endosperm. Expression profiling analysis showed that can respond to drought, high temperature, high salt, and ABA hormone, especially most of the genes were down-regulated significantly after heat and drought stress treatments, which indicated that play an important role in coping with abiotic stress in maize. ZmLSD3 was mainly distributed in the cytoplasm, while ZmLSD4 was distributed in both the nucleus and cytoplasm. The above results indicate that the LSD gene family plays an important role in regulating abiotic stress and hormone ABA responses during maize growth and development.
类病变模拟病（LSD）基因编码一类锌指蛋白，这些蛋白在由生物和非生物胁迫触发的过敏反应和程序性细胞死亡（PCD）中发挥关键作用。然而，玉米中LSD家族的全基因组综合鉴定、比较共线性分析以及系统的组织和胁迫特异性表达谱分析仍知之甚少。在本研究中，我们在全基因组水平上系统地鉴定和表征了玉米中的LSD基因家族。采用生物信息学方法分析了LSD基因家族成员的理化性质、染色体定位、系统发育关系、保守基序和基因结构。通过RT-qPCR检测了在干旱、高温、高盐以及ABA激素处理条件下的表达模式。通过激光共聚焦显微镜观察了ZmLSDs的亚细胞定位。从玉米基因组中总共鉴定出9个编码23种蛋白质异构体的LSD基因，并命名为至。ZmLSD家族蛋白含有113 - 898个氨基酸，相对分子质量在12.133至93.568 KD之间。ZmLSD基因家族成员分布在5条染色体上，主要在第1号和第3号染色体上。根据系统发育分析，ZmLSD家族成员可分为4个亚家族。基序分析表明，Motif1是这些基因共有的保守基序，可能与保守结构域有关。存在3对种内共线性基因对，7个与高粱和粳稻的LSD基因表现出共线同源性。、和在除胚和胚乳外的所有组织部位表达水平较高。表达谱分析表明，能够响应干旱、高温、高盐和ABA激素，特别是大多数基因在热胁迫和干旱胁迫处理后显著下调，这表明在玉米应对非生物胁迫中起重要作用。ZmLSD3主要分布在细胞质中，而ZmLSD4分布在细胞核和细胞质中。上述结果表明，LSD基因家族在玉米生长发育过程中调节非生物胁迫和激素ABA反应方面发挥重要作用。
