Abstract
Temperature stresses (TS), including cold and heat stress, adversely affect the growth, development, and yield of maize (Zea mays L.). To clarify the molecular mechanisms of the tolerance of maize seedling leaves to TS, we applied transcriptomic sequencing of an inbred maize line, B73, with seedlings exposed to various temperature conditions, including normal temperature (NT, 25 °C), cold (4, 10, and 16 °C), and heat (37, 42, and 48 °C) stresses. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were detected in different comparison between the NT sample and each temperature-stressed sample, with 5358, 5485, 5312, 1095, 2006, and 4760 DEGs responding to TS of 4, 10, 16, 37, 42, and 48 °C, respectively. For cold and heat stresses, 189 DEGs enriched in the hydrogen peroxidase metabolic process, cellular modified amino acid metabolic process, and sulfur compound metabolic process were common. The DEGs encoding calcium signaling and reactive oxygen species scavenging enzymes demonstrated similar expression characterizations, whereas the DEGs encoding transcription factors, such as ERF, ARF, and HSF, hormone signaling, and heat shock proteins, displayed divergent expression models, implying both common and divergent responses to cold and heat stresses in maize seedling leaves. Co-expression network analysis showed that functional DEGs associated with the core regulators in response to cold and heat stresses were significantly correlated with TS, indicating their vital roles in cold and heat adaptation, respectively. Our investigation focused on the response to gradient TS, and the results presented a relatively comprehensive category of genes involved in differential TS responses. These will contribute a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of maize seedling leaf responses to TS and provide valuable genetic resources for breeding TS tolerant varieties of maize.
Highlights
Maize, as a critical source of food, fuel, feed, and fibers, is one of the leading crops worldwide, originating from the Mexican highlands center and having diffused to low temperature regions of temperate climates [1]
150 GB of clean data were totally generated from all 21 samples with the average Q30 value at approximately 96% (Table S2), which have been deposited into SRA with the accession number of PRJNA645274
The frequency of extreme temperatures, such as low and high temperatures is increasing worldwide due to climate change, which are becoming the major limitations for maize growth, 4
Summary
As a critical source of food, fuel, feed, and fibers, is one of the leading crops worldwide, originating from the Mexican highlands center and having diffused to low temperature regions of temperate climates [1]. Cold stresses of maize could damage the photosynthetic system, reduce the enzyme activity of photosynthesis, affect the carbohydrate status of the leaves, modify the cell wall, and cause water deficits [5,6,7,8,9,10]. These changes of phenotype when experiencing temperature stresses (TS) occurred through accurate regulation of the gene expression and are genetically controlled. Dissection of the stress response genes that are associated with TS could help identify vital regulators and pathways as potential targets for breeding tolerant varieties adaptable to fluctuating temperature environments
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