A maize phytochrome‐interacting factors protein ZmPIF1 enhances drought tolerance by inducing stomatal closure and improves grain yield in Oryza sativa

Abstract

SummaryPhytochrome‐interacting factors (PIFs) play major roles in regulating plant growth and development, but their roles in drought stress remain elusive. Here, we cloned and characterized a maize (Zea mays) PIF transcription factor, ZmPIF1. The expression level of ZmPIF1 was significantly induced by independent drought and abscisic acid (ABA) treatments. The ZmPIF1 transgenic rice and Arabidopsis displayed water saving and drought resistance, which were associated with reduced a stomatal aperture and transpiration rate. Moreover, the ZmPIF1 transgenic rice were hypersensitive to exogenous ABA, while the endogenous ABA level was not significantly changed, suggesting that ZmPIF1 was a positive regulator of the ABA signalling pathway. Digital gene expression (DGE) results further indicated that ZmPIF1 participated in ABA signalling pathway and regulated the stomatal aperture in rice. In addition, grain yield and agronomic traits analysis over 4 years showed that ZmPIF1 was able to increase the grain yield through an increase in tiller and panicle numbers in transgenic rice. Overall, ZmPIF1 plays an important role in the ABA‐mediated regulation of stomatal closure to control water loss. ZmPIF1 can enhance water saving and drought resistance and improve the crop yield in rice, illustrating the capacity of ZmPIF1 for crop improvement.

Regulation of Photomorphogenic Development by Plant Phytochromes

“…This explains the reduced water loss and improved drought tolerance in rice and tomato [70,71]. It is also notable that Zea mays PIF3 (ZmPIF3) and ZmPIF1 in rice and Arabidopsis have been reported to achieve increased sensitivity to ABA, resulting in more water-saving and drought resistance [72,73].…”

The basic helix‐loop‐helix transcription factor, OsPIL15, regulates grain size via directly targeting a purine permease gene OsPUP7 in rice

“…Recently, a triantagonistic bHLH system has been reported to regulate cell elongation in Arabidopsis (Ikeda et al, 2012). Maize PIF transcription factor ZmPIF1 causes an increase in grain yield via increases in tiller and panicle numbers in transgenic rice (Gao et al, 2018). In rice, the bHLH transcription factor APG (also known as OsPIL16) functions antagonistically with two atypical bHLH transcription factors, PGL1 and PGL2, to influence grain length (Heang and Sassa, 2012a,b).…”

Triadimefon increases drought tolerance through the regulation of photosynthesis and carbohydrate metabolism in rapeseed at bolting stage

“…Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of stomata were obtained from leaves detached and fixed in glutaraldehyde (2.5%); images were obtained by environmental SEM (S-3000N, HITACHI, Japan) (Gao et al 2018). Stomatal densities, lengths, and apertures were measured randomly using Image J software.…”