Roles of the MYB94/FUSED LEAVES1 (ZmFDL1) and GLOSSY2 (ZmGL2) genes in cuticle biosynthesis and potential impacts on Fusarium verticillioides growth on maize silks
Articolo
Data di Pubblicazione:
2023
Citazione:
Roles of the MYB94/FUSED LEAVES1 (ZmFDL1) and GLOSSY2 (ZmGL2) genes in cuticle biosynthesis and potential impacts on Fusarium verticillioides growth on maize silks / G. Castorina, M. Bigelow, T. Hattery, M. Zilio, S. Sangiorgio, E. Caporali, G. Venturini, M. Iriti, M.D. Yandeau-Nelson, G. Consonni. - In: FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE. - ISSN 1664-462X. - 14:(2023 Jul 20), pp. 1228394.1-1228394.13. [10.3389/fpls.2023.1228394]
Abstract:
Maize silks, the stigmatic portions of the female flowers, have an important role in
reproductive development. Silks also provide entry points for pathogens into
host tissues since fungal hyphae move along the surface of the silks to reach the
site of infection, i.e., the developing kernel. The outer extracellular surface of the
silk is covered by a protective hydrophobic cuticle, comprised of a complex array
of long-chain hydrocarbons and small amounts of very long chain fatty acids and
fatty alcohols. This work illustrates that two previously characterized cuticle-
related genes separately exert roles on maize silk cuticle deposition and function.
ZmMYB94/FUSED LEAVES 1 (ZmFDL1) MYB transcription factor is a key regulator
of cuticle deposition in maize seedlings. The ZmGLOSSY2 (ZmGL2) gene, a
putative member of the BAHD superfamily of acyltransferases with close
sequence similarity to the Arabidopsis AtCER2 gene, is involved in the
elongation of the fatty acid chains that serve as precursors of the waxes on
young leaves. In silks, lack of ZmFDL1 action generates a decrease in the
accumulation of a wide number of compounds, including alkanes and alkenes
of 20 carbons or greater and affects the expression of cuticle-related genes.
These results suggest that ZmFDL1 retains a regulatory role in silks, which might
be exerted across the entire wax biosynthesis pathway. Separately, a comparison
between gl2-ref and wild-type silks reveals differences in the abundance of
specific cuticular wax constituents, particularly those of longer unsaturated
carbon chain lengths. The inferred role of ZmGL2 is to control the chain
lengths of unsaturated hydrocarbons. The treatment of maize silks with
Fusarium verticillioides conidia suspension results in altered transcript levels of
ZmFDL1 and ZmGL2 genes. In addition, an increase in fungal growth was
observed on gl2-ref mutant silks 72 hours after Fusarium infection. These
findings suggest that the silk cuticle plays an active role in the response to F.
verticillioides infection.
Tipologia IRIS:
01 - Articolo su periodico
Keywords:
silk; maize; cuticle; cuticular wax; biotic stress; Fusarium verticillioides; Fusarium resistance; Fusarium ear rot
Elenco autori:
G. Castorina, M. Bigelow, T. Hattery, M. Zilio, S. Sangiorgio, E. Caporali, G. Venturini, M. Iriti, M.D. Yandeau-Nelson, G. Consonni
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