biostudies-literatureUnknown13Ding NNational Natural Science Foundation of ChinaDrought substantially influences crop growth and development. NAC (NAM, ATAF1/2, and CUC2) transcription factors (TFs) have received much attention for their critical roles in drought stress responses. To explore the maize NAC genes in response to drought stress, the transcriptome sequencing data of NAC TFs in two maize inbred lines, the drought tolerance line H082183 and the sensitive line Lv28, were used to screen the differentially expressed genes (DEGs). There were 129 maize NAC protein-coding genes identified, of which 15 and 20 NAC genes were differentially expressed between the two genotypes under MD and SD treatments, respectively. Meanwhile, the phylogenetic relationship of 152 non-redundant NAC family TFs in maize was generated. The maize NAC family proteins were grouped into 13 Frontiers in plant science1097719https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC9892906biostudies-literatureTranscriptome analysis in contrasting maize inbred lines and functional analysis of five maize NAC genes under drought stress treatment.PMC9892906Liu XLu MZhang DMa SChen JSun QWang TDing NShi WWang WZhao YfalseTranscriptome analysis in contrasting maize inbred lines and functional analysis of five maize NAC genes under drought stress treatment.Drought substantially influences crop growth and development. NAC (NAM, ATAF1/2, and CUC2) transcription factors (TFs) have received much attention for their critical roles in drought stress responses. To explore the maize NAC genes in response to drought stress, the transcriptome sequencing data of NAC TFs in two maize inbred lines, the drought tolerance line H082183 and the sensitive line Lv28, were used to screen the differentially expressed genes (DEGs). There were 129 maize NAC protein-coding genes identified, of which 15 and 20 NAC genes were differentially expressed between the two genotypes under MD and SD treatments, respectively. Meanwhile, the phylogenetic relationship of 152 non-redundant NAC family TFs in maize was generated. The maize NAC family proteins were grouped into 13 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z20222026-07-14T22:30:56.36Z2025-02-19T00:13:54.003ZS-EPMC98929063674354710.3389/fpls.2022.1097719