scholarly journals Genetic dissection of maize drought tolerance for trait improvement

2021 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shengxue Liu ◽  
Feng Qin
Keyword(s):  
Drought Stress ◽  
Drought Tolerance ◽  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Breeding Systems ◽  
Genetic Dissection ◽  
Maize Breeding ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Trait Improvement ◽  
Maize Yields

AbstractMaize is one of the most important crops, but its production is threatened by drought stress worldwide. Thus, increased drought tolerance has been a major goal of maize breeding. Conventional breeding strategies have led to significantly increase of maize yields; however, these strategies often fail to meet the need for drought stress tolerance enhancement. Here, we focus on progress related to the genetic dissection of drought tolerance in maize at different developmental stages achieved through linkage mapping and association mapping. Moreover, recent molecular breeding systems, including transgenic, genome-wide marker-assisted selection, and genome editing technologies, have provided a more direct, efficient, and accurate approach for trait improvement. We also provide perspectives on future directions regarding multi-omics studies and maize improvement. Overall, the application of acquired knowledge will facilitate maize breeding to meet the challenges.

scholarly journals Comprehensive analysis and identification of drought-responsive candidate NAC genes in three semi-arid tropics (SAT) legume crops

BMC Genomics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sadhana Singh ◽  
Himabindu Kudapa ◽  
Vanika Garg ◽  
Rajeev K. Varshney
Keyword(s):  
Drought Stress ◽  
Candidate Genes ◽  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Biological Activities ◽  
Expression Patterns ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Legume Crops ◽  
Root Tissues ◽  
Semi Arid ◽  
Comprehensive Study

Abstract Background Chickpea, pigeonpea, and groundnut are the primary legume crops of semi-arid tropics (SAT) and their global productivity is severely affected by drought stress. The plant-specific NAC (NAM - no apical meristem, ATAF - Arabidopsis transcription activation factor, and CUC - cup-shaped cotyledon) transcription factor family is known to be involved in majority of abiotic stresses, especially in the drought stress tolerance mechanism. Despite the knowledge available regarding NAC function, not much information is available on NAC genes in SAT legume crops. Results In this study, genome-wide NAC proteins – 72, 96, and 166 have been identified from the genomes of chickpea, pigeonpea, and groundnut, respectively, and later grouped into 10 clusters in chickpea and pigeonpea, while 12 clusters in groundnut. Phylogeny with well-known stress-responsive NACs in Arabidopsis thaliana, Oryza sativa (rice), Medicago truncatula, and Glycine max (soybean) enabled prediction of putative stress-responsive NACs in chickpea (22), pigeonpea (31), and groundnut (33). Transcriptome data revealed putative stress-responsive NACs at various developmental stages that showed differential expression patterns in the different tissues studied. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was performed to validate the expression patterns of selected stress-responsive, Ca_NAC (Cicer arietinum - 14), Cc_NAC (Cajanus cajan - 15), and Ah_NAC (Arachis hypogaea - 14) genes using drought-stressed and well-watered root tissues from two contrasting drought-responsive genotypes of each of the three legumes. Based on expression analysis, Ca_06899, Ca_18090, Ca_22941, Ca_04337, Ca_04069, Ca_04233, Ca_12660, Ca_16379, Ca_16946, and Ca_21186; Cc_26125, Cc_43030, Cc_43785, Cc_43786, Cc_22429, and Cc_22430; Ah_ann1.G1V3KR.2, Ah_ann1.MI72XM.2, Ah_ann1.V0X4SV.1, Ah_ann1.FU1JML.2, and Ah_ann1.8AKD3R.1 were identified as potential drought stress-responsive candidate genes. Conclusion As NAC genes are known to play role in several physiological and biological activities, a more comprehensive study on genome-wide identification and expression analyses of the NAC proteins have been carried out in chickpea, pigeonpea and groundnut. We have identified a total of 21 potential drought-responsive NAC genes in these legumes. These genes displayed correlation between gene expression, transcriptional regulation, and better tolerance against drought. The identified candidate genes, after validation, may serve as a useful resource for molecular breeding for drought tolerance in the SAT legume crops.

scholarly journals Response of Tibetan Wild Barley Genotypes to Drought Stress and Identification of Quantitative Trait Loci by Genome-Wide Association Analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 791
Author(s):  
Mian Zhang ◽  
Man-Man Fu ◽  
Cheng-Wei Qiu ◽  
Fangbin Cao ◽  
Zhong-Hua Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Drought Stress ◽  
Drought Tolerance ◽  
Quantitative Trait ◽  
Wild Barley ◽  
Genome Wide Association ◽  
Dart Markers ◽  
Tibetan Wild Barley ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Barley Genotypes

Tibetan wild barley has been identified to show large genetic variation and stress tolerance. A genome-wide association (GWA) analysis was performed to detect quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for drought tolerance using 777 Diversity Array Technology (DArT) markers and morphological and physiological traits of 166 Tibetan wild barley accessions in both hydroponic and pot experiments. Large genotypic variation for these traits was found; and population structure and kinship analysis identified three subpopulations among these barley genotypes. The average LD (linkage disequilibrium) decay distance was 5.16 cM, with the minimum on 6H (0.03 cM) and the maximum on 4H (23.48 cM). A total of 91 DArT markers were identified to be associated with drought tolerance-related traits, with 33, 26, 16, 1, 3, and 12 associations for morphological traits, H+K+-ATPase activity, antioxidant enzyme activities, malondialdehyde (MDA) content, soluble protein content, and potassium concentration, respectively. Furthermore, 7 and 24 putative candidate genes were identified based on the reference Meta-QTL map and by searching the Barleymap. The present study implicated that Tibetan annual wild barley from Qinghai–Tibet Plateau is rich in genetic variation for drought stress. The QTLs detected by genome-wide association analysis could be used in marker-assisting breeding for drought-tolerant barley genotypes and provide useful information for discovery and functional analysis of key genes in the future.

scholarly journals Biotechnology and Drought Stress Tolerance in Plants

2020 ◽  
pp. 34-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gali Adamu Ishaku ◽  
Daniel Thakuma Tizhe ◽  
Raji Arabi Bamanga ◽  
Elizabeth Toyin Afolabi
Keyword(s):  
Drought Stress ◽  
Drought Tolerance ◽  
Stress Tolerance ◽  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Genetic Manipulation ◽  
Resurrection Plants ◽  
Tolerance Mechanisms ◽  
Drought Stress Tolerance ◽  
Effects Of Drought ◽  
Stress Gene

Drought stress in plants has become one of the major abiotic stress that limits the growth and development of plants which also contributes to low yields. Biotechnology which has new and emerging techniques can be use to solve the problem of drought stress in plants. This review aimed at identifying drought stress tolerance in plants at different stages, how plants respond to drought stress using different methods and the application of different biotechnology methods to improve drought tolerance in plants. Some important parameters about drought stress in plants such as drought tolerance mechanisms, plants responses to drought stress, gene regulation for drought stress tolerance in plants, effects of drought stress at different stages of plant growth and biotechnology methods in developing drought tolerance in plants was reviewed. The use of biotechnology methods such as classical breeding, use of genetic manipulation, genes from resurrection plants and Protoplast fusion was discussed. Drought stress affects our plants seriously and it leads to wilts, reduction of yields and death of plants at different developmental stages. Plants have developed different mechanisms to respond to drought stress but these mechanisms are not sufficient enough without the application of biotechnology to greatly improve the growth, development and increase yield in pants. The use of biotechnology greatly improves plants ability to tolerate drought stress depending on the plant species and period of exposure. The use of biotechnology methods has become very vital in improving plants drought stress so as to overcome the major problems of plants which includes increase in population and climatic change.

scholarly journals Genome-Wide Analysis of TCP Family Genes in Zea mays L. Identified a Role for ZmTCP42 in Drought Tolerance

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (11) ◽  
pp. 2762 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuangcheng Ding ◽  
Zhenzhen Cai ◽  
Hewei Du ◽  
Hongwei Wang
Keyword(s):  
Drought Stress ◽  
Drought Tolerance ◽  
Zea Mays L ◽  
Maize Genome ◽  
Positive Role ◽  
Maize Production ◽  
Major Constraint ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Genes Expression ◽  
Maize Response

The Teosinte-branched 1/Cycloidea/Proliferating (TCP) plant-specific transcription factors (TFs) have been demonstrated to play a fundamental role in plant development and organ patterning. However, it remains unknown whether or not the TCP gene family plays a role in conferring a tolerance to drought stress in maize, which is a major constraint to maize production. In this study, we identified 46 ZmTCP genes in the maize genome and systematically analyzed their phylogenetic relationships and synteny with rice, sorghum, and Arabidopsis TCP genes. Expression analysis of the 46 ZmTCP genes in different tissues and under drought conditions, suggests their involvement in maize response to drought stress. Importantly, genetic variations in ZmTCP32 and ZmTCP42 are significantly associated with drought tolerance at the seedling stage. RT-qPCR results suggest that ZmTCP32 and ZmTCP42 RNA levels are both induced by ABA, drought, and polyethylene glycol treatments. Based on the significant association between the genetic variation of ZmTCP42 and drought tolerance, and the inducible expression of ZmTCP42 by drought stress, we selected ZmTCP42, to investigate its function in drought response. We found that overexpression of ZmTCP42 in Arabidopsis led to a hypersensitivity to ABA in seed germination and enhanced drought tolerance, validating its function in drought tolerance. These results suggested that ZmTCP42 functions as an important TCP TF in maize, which plays a positive role in drought tolerance.

scholarly journals Genome-wide analysis of maize OSCA family members and their involvement in drought stress

PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e6765 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuangcheng Ding ◽  
Xin Feng ◽  
Hewei Du ◽  
Hongwei Wang
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Drought Stress ◽  
Drought Tolerance ◽  
Gene Family ◽  
Association Analysis ◽  
Expression Profiles ◽  
Protein Domain ◽  
Maize Genome ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
A Genome

Background Worldwide cultivation of maize is often impacted negatively by drought stress. Hyperosmolality-gated calcium-permeable channels (OSCA) have been characterized as osmosensors in Arabidopsis. However, the involvement of members of the maize OSCA (ZmOSCA) gene family in response to drought stress is unknown. It is furthermore unclear which ZmOSCA gene plays a major role in genetic improvement of drought tolerance in Maize. Methods We predicted the protein domain structure and transmembrane regions by using the NCBI Conserved Domain Database database and TMHMM server separately. The phylogeny tree was built by Mega7. We used the mixed linear model in TASSEL to perform the family-based association analysis. Results In this report, 12 ZmOSCA genes were uncovered in the maize genome by a genome-wide survey and analyzed systematically to reveal their synteny and phylogenetic relationship with the genomes of rice, maize, and sorghum. These analyses indicated a relatively conserved evolutionary history of the ZmOSCA gene family. Protein domain and transmembrane analysis indicated that most of the 12 ZmOSCAs shared similar structures with their homologs. The result of differential expression analysis under drought at various stages, as well as the expression profiles in 15 tissues, revealed a functional divergence of ZmOSCA genes. Notably, the expression level of ZmOSCA4.1 being up-regulated in both seedlings and adult leaves. Notably, the association analysis between genetic variations in these genes and drought tolerance was detected. Significant associations between genetic variation in ZmOSCA4.1 and drought tolerance were found at the seedling stage. Our report provides a detailed analysis of the ZmOSCAs in the maize genome. These findings will contribute to future studies on the functional characterization of ZmOSCA proteins in response to water deficit stress, as well as understanding the mechanism of genetic variation in drought tolerance in maize.

scholarly journals Genome-Wide Identification and Characterization of Drought Stress Responsive microRNAs in Tibetan Wild Barley

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (8) ◽  
pp. 2795
Author(s):  
Cheng-Wei Qiu ◽  
Li Liu ◽  
Xue Feng ◽  
Peng-Fei Hao ◽  
Xiaoyan He ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drought Stress ◽  
Drought Tolerance ◽  
Target Genes ◽  
Wild Barley ◽  
Expression Profiles ◽  
Tibetan Wild Barley ◽  
Drought Tolerant ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Barley Genotypes

Drought stress is a major obstacle to agricultural production. Tibetan wild barley with rich genetic diversity is useful for drought-tolerant improvement of cereals. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play critical roles in controlling gene expression in response to various environment perturbations in plants. However, the genome-wide expression profiles of miRNAs and their targets in response to drought stress are largely unknown in wild barley. In this study, a polyethylene glycol (PEG) induced drought stress hydroponic experiment was performed, and the expression profiles of miRNAs from the roots of two contrasting Tibetan wild barley genotypes XZ5 (drought-tolerant) and XZ54 (drought-sensitive), and one cultivated barley Tadmor (drought-tolerant) generated by high-throughput sequencing were compared. There were 69 conserved miRNAs and 1574 novel miRNAs in the dataset of three genotypes under control and drought conditions. Among them, seven conserved miRNAs and 36 novel miRNAs showed significantly genotype-specific expression patterns in response to drought stress. And 12 miRNAs were further regarded as drought tolerant associated miRNAs in XZ5, which mostly participate in gene expression, metabolism, signaling and transportation, suggesting that they and their target genes play important roles in plant drought tolerance. This is the first comparation study on the miRNA transcriptome in the roots of two Tibetan wild barley genotypes differing in drought tolerance and one drought tolerant cultivar in response to PEG treatment. Further results revealed the candidate drought tolerant miRNAs and target genes in the miRNA regulation mechanism in wild barley under drought stress. Our findings provide valuable understandings for the functional characterization of miRNAs in drought tolerance.

scholarly journals Comprehensive analysis and identification of drought-responsive candidate NAC genes in three semi-arid tropics (SAT) legume crops

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sadhana Singh ◽  
Himabindu Kudapa ◽  
Vanika Garg ◽  
Rajeev Varshney
Keyword(s):  
Drought Stress ◽  
Candidate Genes ◽  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Structural Characteristics ◽  
Expression Profiles ◽  
Expression Patterns ◽  
Gene Interaction ◽  
Gene Interaction Networks ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Semi Arid

Abstract Background: Chickpea, pigeonpea, and groundnut are the primary crop legumes of semi-arid tropics (SAT) and their global productivity is severely affected by drought stress. The plant-specific NAC (NAM - no apical meristem, ATAF - Arabidopsis transcription activation factor, and CUC - cup-shaped cotyledon) transcription factor family is known to be involved in majority of abiotic stresses, especially in the drought stress tolerance mechanism. – Results: In this study, genome-wide NAC proteins – 72, 96, and 166 – have been identified from the genomes of chickpea, pigeonpea, and groundnut, respectively. Phylogeny with well-known stress-responsive NACs in Arabidopsis thaliana, Oryza sativa (rice), Medicago truncatula, and Glycine max (soybean) enabled prediction of putative stress-responsive NACs in chickpea (22), pigeonpea (31), and groundnut (33). On exploring the available transcriptome data of each of these legumes, putative stress-responsive NACs at various developmental stages revealed differential expression patterns in the different tissues studied. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was performed to validate the expression patterns of selected stress-responsive, Ca_NAC (Cicer arietinum - 14), Cc_NAC (Cajanus cajan - 15), and Ah_NAC (Arachis hypogaea - 14) genes using drought-stressed and well-watered root tissues from two contrasting drought-responsive genotypes of each of the three legumes. Based on expression analysis, 10/14 Ca_NACs (Ca_06899, Ca_18090, Ca_22941, Ca_04337, Ca_04069, Ca_04233, Ca_12660, Ca_16379, Ca_16946, and Ca_21186); 6/15 Cc_NACs (Cc_26125, Cc_43030, Cc_43785, Cc_43786, Cc_22429, and Cc_22430); 5/14 Ah_NACs (Ah_ann1.G1V3KR.2, Ah_ann1.MI72XM.2, Ah_ann1.V0X4SV.1, Ah_ann1.FU1JML.2, and Ah_ann1.8AKD3R.1) were identified as potential drought stress-responsive candidate genes. Conclusion: In the present study, comprehensive genome-wide identification and expression analyses of the NAC proteins have been carried out in chickpea, pigeonpea and groundnut. Based on the genome sequence, we analyzed phylogenetic association, structural characteristics, promoter analysis, gene interaction networks, and expression profiles of NAC genes among these three legumes. We have identified a total of 21 potential drought-responsive NAC genes in these legumes. The identified candidate genes would serve as a useful resource for molecular breeding for developing drought-tolerant legume varieties with improved productivity.

scholarly journals Genome-Wide Identification and Analysis of NAC Transcription Factor Family in Two Diploid Wild Relatives of Cultivated Sweet Potato Uncovers Potential NAC Genes Related to Drought Tolerance

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haifeng Yan ◽  
Guohua Ma ◽  
Jaime A. Teixeira da Silva ◽  
Lihang Qiu ◽  
Juan Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drought Stress ◽  
Drought Tolerance ◽  
Sweet Potato ◽  
Abiotic Stresses ◽  
Tandem Duplication ◽  
Wild Relatives ◽  
Potential Candidate ◽  
Rna Seq ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Nac Family

NAC (NAM, ATAF1/2, and CUC2) proteins play a pivotal role in modulating plant development and offer protection against biotic and abiotic stresses. Until now, no systematic knowledge of NAC family genes is available for the food security crop, sweet potato. Here, a comprehensive genome-wide survey of NAC domain-containing proteins identified 130 ItbNAC and 144 ItfNAC genes with full length sequences in the genomes of two diploid wild relatives of cultivated sweet potato, Ipomoea triloba and Ipomoea trifida, respectively. These genes were physically mapped onto 15 I. triloba and 16 I. trifida chromosomes, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis divided all 274 NAC proteins into 20 subgroups together with NAC transcription factors (TFs) from Arabidopsis. There were 9 and 15 tandem duplication events in the I. triloba and I. trifida genomes, respectively, indicating an important role of tandem duplication in sweet potato gene expansion and evolution. Moreover, synteny analysis suggested that most NAC genes in the two diploid sweet potato species had a similar origin and evolutionary process. Gene expression patterns based on RNA-Seq data in different tissues and in response to various hormone, biotic or abiotic treatments revealed their possible involvement in organ development and response to various biotic/abiotic stresses. The expression of 36 NAC TFs, which were upregulated in the five tissues and in response to mannitol treatment, was also determined by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) in hexaploid cultivated sweet potato exposed to drought stress. Those results largely corroborated the expression profile of mannitol treatment uncovered by the RNA-Seq data. Some significantly up-regulated genes related to drought stress, such as ItbNAC110, ItbNAC114, ItfNAC15, ItfNAC28, and especially ItfNAC62, which had a conservative spatial conformation with a closely related paralogous gene, ANAC019, may be potential candidate genes for a sweet potato drought tolerance breeding program. This analysis provides comprehensive and systematic information about NAC family genes in two diploid wild relatives of cultivated sweet potato, and will provide a blueprint for their functional characterization and exploitation to improve the tolerance of sweet potato to abiotic stresses.

The Effects of Drought on Leaf Gas Exchange and Growth of Three Species of Herbaceous Perennials

HortScience ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 540a-540
Author(s):  
K.J. Prevete ◽  
R.T. Fernandez
Keyword(s):  
Drought Stress ◽  
Stomatal Conductance ◽  
Gas Exchange ◽  
Drought Tolerance ◽  
Transpiration Rate ◽  
Leaf Gas Exchange ◽  
Gas Analysis ◽  
Herbaceous Perennials ◽  
Effects Of Drought ◽  
Analysis System

Three species of herbaceous perennials were tested on their ability to withstand and recover from drought stress periods of 2, 4, and 6 days. Eupatorium rugosum and Boltonia asteroides `Snowbank' were chosen because of their reported drought intolerance, while Rudbeckia triloba was chosen based on its reported drought tolerance. Drought stress began on 19 Sept. 1997. Plants were transplanted into the field the day following the end of each stress period. The effects of drought on transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, and net photosynthetic rate were measured during the stress and throughout recovery using an infrared gas analysis system. Leaf gas exchange measurements were taken through recovery until there were no differences between the stressed plants and the control plants. Transpiration, stomatal conductance, and photosynthesis of Rudbeckia and Boltonia were not affected until 4 days after the start of stress. Transpiration of Eupatorium decreased after 3 days of stress. After rewatering, leaf gas exchange of Boltonia and Rudbeckia returned to non-stressed levels quicker than Eupatorium. Growth measurements were taken every other day during stress, and then weekly following transplanting. Measurements were taken until a killing frost that occurred on 3 Nov. There were no differences in the growth between the stressed and non-stressed plants in any of the species. Plants will be monitored throughout the winter, spring, and summer to determine the effects of drought on overwintering capability and regrowth.

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