PagHB7/PagABF4-PagEPFL9 Module Regulates Stomatal Density and Drought Tolerance in Poplar.

ABSTRACT: Epidermal patterning factor-like 9 (EPFL9) influences stomatal density and growth in poplar. There have been no reports on homeobox 7 (HB7) and ABRE binding factor 4 (ABF4) regulating stomatal density or drought tolerance by targeting EPFL9 in poplar. This study revealed that EPFL9 was specifically localised in guard cells in leaves and responded to drought stress. By constructing CRISPR/Cas9-mediated PagEPFL9 gene-edited lines, we found that epfl9 mutant plants showed significantly reduced stomatal density, inhibited growth and enhanced drought resistance. However, PagEPFL9 overexpression increased its drought stress sensitivity by increasing the stomatal density. PagHB7 was demonstrated to be an upstream regulator of PagEPFL9 by yeast one-hybrid screening library experiments, yeast one-h

SUBMITTER: Xia Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12576465 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature