Transcriptome Analysis of Tolerant and Susceptible Maize Genotypes Reveals Novel Insights about the Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Drought Responses in Leaves.

ABSTRACT: Maize (Zea mays L.) is the most essential food crop in the world. However, maize is highly susceptible to drought stress, especially at the seedling stage, and the molecular mechanisms underlying drought tolerance remain elusive. In this study, we conducted comparative transcriptome and physiological analyses of drought-tolerant (CML69) and susceptible (LX9801) inbred lines subjected to drought treatment at the seedling stage for three and five days. The tolerant line had significantly higher relative water content in the leaves, as well as lower electrolyte leakage and malondialdehyde levels, than the susceptible line. Using an RNA-seq-based approach, we identified 10,084 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) with 6906 and 3178 DEGs been annotated and unannotated, respectively. Two critic

SUBMITTER: Waititu JK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8268334 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature