Raffinose catabolism enhances maize waterlogging tolerance by stimulating adventitious root growth and development

Dong Yan, Yu Gao, Yumin Zhang, Dan Li, Lynnette M.A. Dirk, A. Bruce Downie, Tianyong Zhao

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Raffinose mitigates plant heat, drought, and cold stresses; however, whether raffinose contributes to plant waterlogging tolerance is unknown. The maize raffinose synthase mutant zmrafs-1 had seedlings that lack raffinose, generated fewer and shorter adventitious roots, and were more sensitive to waterlogging stress, while overexpression of the raffinose synthase gene, ZmRAFS, increased raffinose content, stimulated adventitious root formation, and enhanced waterlogging tolerance of maize seedlings. Transcriptome analysis of null segregant seedlings compared with zmrafs-1, particularly when waterlogged, revealed that the expression of genes related to galactose metabolism and the auxin biosynthetic pathway were up-regulated by raffinose. Additionally, indole-3-acetic acid content was significantly decreased in zmrafs-1 seedlings and increased in ZmRAFS-overexpressing seedlings. Inhibition of the hydrolysis of raffinose by 1-deoxygalactonojirimycin decreased the waterlogging tolerance of maize seedlings, the expression of genes encoding proteins related to auxin transport-related genes, and the indole-3-acetic acid level in the seedlings, indicating that the hydrolysis of raffinose is necessary for maize waterlogging tolerance. These data demonstrate that raffinose catabolism stimulates adventitious root formation via the auxin signaling pathway to enhance maize waterlogging tolerance.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)5955-5970
Number of pages16
JournalJournal of Experimental Botany
Volume75
Issue number18
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 27 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology. All rights reserved.

Keywords

  • Adventitious root
  • auxin
  • galactosidase
  • maize (Zea mays)
  • raffinose
  • waterlogging stress

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Physiology
  • Plant Science

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