Natural variation of an EF-hand Ca²⁺-binding-protein coding gene confers saline-alkaline tolerance in maize.

ABSTRACT: Sodium (Na⁺) toxicity is one of the major damages imposed on crops by saline-alkaline stress. Here we show that natural maize inbred lines display substantial variations in shoot Na⁺ contents and saline-alkaline (NaHCO₃) tolerance, and reveal that ZmNSA1 (Na⁺ Content under Saline-Alkaline Condition) confers shoot Na⁺ variations under NaHCO₃ condition by a genome-wide association study. Lacking of ZmNSA1 promotes shoot Na⁺ homeostasis by increasing root Na⁺ efflux. A naturally occurred 4-bp deletion decreases the translation efficiency of ZmNSA1 mRNA, thus promotes Na⁺ homeostasis. We further show that, under saline-alkaline condition, Ca²⁺ binds to the EF-hand domain of ZmNSA1 then

SUBMITTER: Cao Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6954252 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature