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Journal of Integrative Agriculture
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Drought coupled with heat stress impairs maize silk vitality by disrupting sucrose metabolism and lignin biosynthesis

Yulou Tang1*, Yifei Sun1*, Yingbo Gao2, Reda M. M. Ahmed1, 4, Meiyu Chen1, Yongchao Wang1, Hao Wang1, Jiameng Guo1, Xiuli Hu3, Nasr M. Abdou4, Mahmoud A. Abdelfattah4, Qinghua Yang1#, Ruixin Shao1#

1 State Key Laboratory of High-Efficiency Production of Wheat-Maize Double Cropping/College of Agronomy, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China

2 State Key Laboratory of Nutrient Use and Management, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jinan 250100, China

3 College of Life Sciences, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China

4 Soil and Water Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Fayoum University, Fayoum 63514, Egypt

 Highlights 

Combined heat and drought stress (HD) increases floret abortion by elevating unemerged/unfertilized emerged silk proportion.

Sucrose accumulation and reactive oxygen species (ROS) overaccumulation disrupt emerged silk function under HD.

HD inhibited lignin synthesis by reducing peroxidase activity.

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摘要  

全球气候变化导致黄淮海地区夏玉米花期高温干旱复合胁迫频发,严重制约了玉米生产。尽管高温或干旱胁迫的效应已有广泛报道,但复合胁迫对玉米花丝功能的影响及其生理机制仍不明确。本研究通过为期两年的大田控温试验(处理时期为第10叶期至吐丝期),结合生理生化指标测定与转录组学分析,系统探讨了高温干旱复合胁迫对玉米花丝功能的影响。结果表明,与对照、高温及干旱处理相比,复合胁迫下玉米结实率分别显著下降了56.7%52.4%34.1%。结实率的下降主要归因于花丝未出及已出花丝活力降低导致的小花败育增加。活性氧积累降低了花丝活力。转录组分析揭示,复合胁迫影响了蔗糖代谢和木质素生物合成途径,导致葡萄糖、果糖及木质素含量降低。在高温、干旱及复合胁迫下,过氧化物酶活性分别下降了32.5%38.7%46.1%,木质素含量分别下降了24.4%34.4%44.3%。相反,苯丙氨酸解氨酶和肉桂醇脱氢酶活性在胁迫下升高,且在复合胁迫下上调最为显著。研究表明,高温干旱复合胁迫通过促进蔗糖与活性氧积累、降低木质素含量,显著降低了已出花丝的活力,从而加剧小花败育并导致产量损失。这些结果表明,干旱和高温对玉米的影响存在协同作用。



Abstract  

Under climate change, combined heat and drought stress (HD) during flowering increasingly threatens the maize production of the Huang-Huai-Hai region in China. While individual effects of heat (HS) or drought stress (DS) are well documented, their combined impacts—particularly on silk function—remain poorly understood. We conducted a two-year, temperature-controlled field experiment from the ten-leaf stage to silking to investigate the impacts of HD on silk function through physiological responses and transcriptomic pathways. The kernel setting rate under HD decreased significantly by an average of 56.7, 52.4, and 34.1% compared to non-stressed control, HS, and DS, respectively. This reduction was driven by increased floret abortion, resulting from unemerged silks and reduced vitality of emerged silks. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation impaired silk vitality. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that HD disrupted sucrose metabolism and lignin biosynthesis, leading to reduced glucose, fructose and lignin content. Peroxidase activity declined by 32.5, 38.7, and 46.1% under HS, DS, and HD conditions, respectively, while lignin content decreased by 24.4, 34.4, and 44.3%. Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase and cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase activities increased under stress, with the strongest upregulation observed under HD. HD synergistically suppressed the vitality of emerged silks by promoting sucrose and ROS accumulation while reducing lignin content, leading to increased floret abortion and kernel loss. These findings highlight a synergistic interaction between drought and heat stress in maize.

Keywords:  drought coupled with heat stress       summer maize              silk vitality              sucrose metabolism              lignin biosynthesis  
Online: 11 March 2026  
Fund: 

This research was supported by the Scientific and Technological Innovation Team in Colleges and Universities in Henan, China (24IRTSTHN032), the Major Science and Technology Project of Henan Province, China (241100110300).

About author:  #Correspondence Ruixin Shao, E-mail: shao_rui_xin@126.com; Qinghua Yang, E-mail: yangqh2000@163.com *These authors contributed equally to this work.

Cite this article: 

Yulou Tang, Yifei Sun, Yingbo Gao, Reda M. M. Ahmed, , Meiyu Chen, Yongchao Wang, Hao Wang, Jiameng Guo, Xiuli Hu, Nasr M. Abdou, Mahmoud A. Abdelfattah, Qinghua Yang, Ruixin Shao. 2026. Drought coupled with heat stress impairs maize silk vitality by disrupting sucrose metabolism and lignin biosynthesis. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, Doi:10.1016/j.jia.2026.03.024

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