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Expression of AtGA2ox1 enhances drought tolerance in maize

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Abstract

Drought is a major limiting factor to maize (Zea mays L.) yield. Plant hormones, including gibberellins (GAs), play important roles in plant response to drought stress. In previous studies, significant reductions in GAs levels have been reported under drought stress. In maize, GA content is correlated to drought tolerance, but the molecular mechanism remains unclear. In the present study, AtG2ox1, a member of the GA2ox family with a clear function, was used to create GA deficiency maize. The transgenic maize had a higher chlorophyll content and faster growth rate, when compared to the wild type (WT) plants, under drought stress in a greenhouse. The physiological and biochemical test results revealed that transgenic maize had decreased levels of GA1 and malondialdehyde (MDA), and increased content of proline and soluble sugars, and antioxidant enzyme activities, when compared to the WT. Furthermore, the transcriptomic analysis revealed that some differentially expressed genes involved in transcription factors correlated to drought stress and abiotic stress responses, and that signaling was enriched. All these results reveal the possible molecular mechanism of GA regulation in drought tolerance, in which the overexpression of AtGA2ox1 altered the expression of multiple genes correlated to the internal antioxidant system and maintenance of cell osmotic potential. The present study demonstrates that the overexpression of AtGA2ox1 could control GA content and improve drought tolerance in transgenic maize. Furthermore, this strategy represents a novel approach to address drought tolerance in maize breeding.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Program of Jilin Province (CXGC2017ZY026) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31771879).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Molecular Cytogenetics and Genetic Breeding of Heilongjiang Province, College of Life Science and Technology, Harbin Normal University, Harbin, 150025, Heilongjiang, China

    Ziqi Chen, Dongyun Hao & Changhong Guo

  2. Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Agricultural Biotechnology, Agro-Biotechnology Institute, Jilin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun, 130124, China

    Yang Liu, Yuejia Yin, Qing Liu, Nan Li, Dongyun Hao & Xiangguo Liu

  3. Changchun Academy of Agricultural Science, Changchun, 130111, China

    Xia Li

  4. Crop Research Institute of Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Chengdu, 610066, China

    Wenzhu He

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  1. Ziqi Chen
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  2. Yang Liu
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  3. Yuejia Yin
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  4. Qing Liu
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  5. Nan Li
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  6. Xia Li
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  9. Xiangguo Liu
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  10. Changhong Guo
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Contributions

ZC and YL contributed equally to the study. CG and XL designed the experiments. ZC, YY, YL, QL, NL, WH and DH performed the experiments. ZC and XL analyzed the data. ZC and XL wrote the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Xiangguo Liu or Changhong Guo.

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Chen, Z., Liu, Y., Yin, Y. et al. Expression of AtGA2ox1 enhances drought tolerance in maize. Plant Growth Regul 89, 203–215 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10725-019-00526-x

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