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Journal of Integrative Agriculture  2025, Vol. 24 Issue (7): 2876-2880    DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2024.12.020
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ZmMYC2, selected during modern breeding, orchestrates growth and defense gene expression in maize

Shuai Ma1, Xiangyu Lu2, Bo Zhou3, Jiameng Zhu2, 4, Qianhe Zhang2, 5, Suzhen Li2, Xiaoqing Liu2, Wenzhu Yang2, Chunhui Li1, Yongxiang Li1, Yu Li1, Rumei Chen2#, Xiaojin Zhou2#, Tianyu Wang1#

1 Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China

2 Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China

3 Institute of Cereal Crops, Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhengzhou 450002, China

4 Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Biodiversity and Biotechnology/College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China

5 Department of Environmental Systems Science, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETHZ), Zurich 8092, Switzerland

 Highlights 
● ZmMYC2 promoter contains favorable haplotypes selected during domestication, enhancing its expression level in modern maize.
● ZmMYC2 may balance the trade-off between growth and defense via jasmonate and auxin signaling pathways.
● ZmMYC2 regulates drought-response genes (CER2 and TIP3c) to optimize drought stress resilience.
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摘要  

玉米是我国第一大作物,稳定其生长和抗逆的平衡是保障高产稳产的重要基础。茉莉素在植物发育和应对逆境胁迫中发挥重要功能,该信号通路中的核心转录因子MYC2调控多种发育及逆境相关基因表达。虽然MYC2在拟南芥中的功能已经得到广泛研究,但其在玉米中的表达调控网络解析尚不够全面。本研究以玉米为研究对象,首先明确了ZmMYC2在玉米育种进程中受到选择,其启动子区的优异单倍型有利于基因的高表达。借助PER-seq技术和差异表达基因分析筛选得到多个ZmMYC2的候选下游基因;根据功能注释可将这些基因分为:抗逆相关基因(ZmCYP709H1、ZmBX5、ZmBX6)和生长发育相关基因(ZmBRD1、ZmTIP3c、ZmARF3、ZmCER2);进而利用eQTL分析、EMSA和双荧光素酶报告基因等实验,验证了ZmMYC2能够直接激活上述靶基因的表达,拓展了ZmMYC2调控玉米逆境响应和生长发育相关基因表达的网络,为玉米高产和抗逆的协同改良提供理论依据和基因资源。



Received: 29 July 2024   Accepted: 12 November 2024 Online: 19 December 2024  
Fund: 

This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2023YFD1200503 to Shuai Ma and 2021YFD1200700 to Tianyu Wang).


About author:  #Correspondence Rumei Chen, E-mail: chenrumei@caas.cn; Xiaojin Zhou, E-mail: zhouxiaojin@caas.cn; Tianyu Wang, E-mail: wangtianyu@caas.cn

Cite this article: 

Shuai Ma, Xiangyu Lu, Bo Zhou, Jiameng Zhu, Qianhe Zhang, Suzhen Li, Xiaoqing Liu, Wenzhu Yang, Chunhui Li, Yongxiang Li, Yu Li, Rumei Chen, Xiaojin Zhou, Tianyu Wang. 2025. ZmMYC2, selected during modern breeding, orchestrates growth and defense gene expression in maize. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 24(7): 2876-2880.

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