Maize gene that senses drought hormone could yield tougher, thirstier-proof corn
Wu H, Zhang Z, Yang S, Huang Q, Ye S
Crop Improvement
The corn stalks in a summer garden wilt and stall when rain stops, and the gene switches found here point toward varieties that keep making ears through dry spells.
Plants make a hormone called abscisic acid when water runs short, and it tells them to conserve moisture. Researchers found a protein on the surface of maize cells that catches this hormone signal and relays it inside, and it works by clearing away another protein that would otherwise dampen the response. Some maize lines have a big piece of jumping DNA that turns this protein's gene down, which makes them weaker in drought; corn with more of the protein, or without its partner, handled dry conditions better and produced more grain in field tests.
Key Findings
A 4,052-bp hAT transposon insertion upstream of the receptor kinase gene ZmRLK9 suppresses its expression and reduces drought resilience in maize, identified through a genome-wide association study.
ZmRLK9 is a plasma membrane receptor kinase that phosphorylates the F-box protein ZmFBP1 and promotes its degradation, which stabilizes the core ABA kinases ZmSnRK2.9 and ZmSnRK2.10.
Boosting ZmRLK9 expression or knocking out ZmFBP1 improved drought resistance at seedling and flowering stages and increased grain yield under field drought conditions.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists found a gene in maize that helps the plant sense a drought stress hormone at its cell surface and pass the alarm inward. Some maize lines carry a chunk of jumping DNA that switches this gene down, and boosting the gene or removing its partner protein improved drought tolerance and field yield.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Receptor-Like Kinase ZmRLK9 Functions as an Upstream ABA Signaling Factor Conferring Drought Resilience in Maize.
The phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) plays a pivotal role in plant drought responses. Although a substantial amount of research has concentrated on intracellular ABA receptors and SnRK2 protein kin...
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Maize, also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. The leafy stalk of the plant gives rise to male inflorescences or tassels which produce pollen, and female inflorescences called ears. The ears yield grain, known as kernels or seeds. In modern ...