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ARS Home » Plains Area » Manhattan, Kansas » Center for Grain and Animal Health Research » Hard Winter Wheat Genetics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #396625
Research Project: Genetic Improvement of Biotic and Abiotic Stress Tolerance and Nutritional Quality in Hard Winter Wheat

Location: Hard Winter Wheat Genetics Research

Title: Redox-engineering enhances maize thermotolerance and grain yield in the field

Author
item SPRAGUE, STUART - Kansas State University
item TAMANG, TEJ - Kansas State University
item STEINER, TREVOR - Kansas State University
item WU, QINGYU - Kansas State University
item HU, YING - Kansas State University
item KAKESHPOUR, TAYEBEH - Kansas State University
item PARK, JUNGEUN - Kansas State University
item YANG, JIAN - Baylor College Of Medicine
item PENG, ZHAO - University Of Florida
item BERGKAMP, BLAKE - Kansas State University
item SOMAYANDA, IMPA - Kansas State University
item PETERSON, MORGAN - Kansas State University
item GARCIA, ELY - South Dakota State University
item HAO, YANGFAN - Kansas State University
item St Amand, Paul
item Bai, Guihua
item NAKATA, PAUL - Kansas State University
item RIEU, IVO - Radboud University
item JACKSON, DAVID - Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
item CHENG, NINGHUI - Baylor College Of Medicine
item VALENT, BARBARA - Kansas State University
item Hirschi, Kendal
item JAGADISH, KRISHNA - Kansas State University
item LIU, SANZHEN - Kansas State University
item WHITE, FRANK - University Of Florida
item PARK, SUNGHUN - Kansas State University

Submitted to: Plant Biotechnology Journal
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/30/2022
Publication Date: 6/12/2022
Citation: Sprague, S., Tamang, T., Steiner, T., Wu, Q., Hu, Y., Kakeshpour, T., Park, J., Yang, J., Peng, Z., Bergkamp, B., Somayanda, I., Peterson, M., Garcia, E., Hao, Y., St Amand, P.C., Bai, G., Nakata, P., Rieu, I., Jackson, D., Cheng, N., Valent, B., Hirschi, K., Jagadish, K., Liu, S., White, F., Park, S. 2022. Redox-engineering enhances maize thermotolerance and grain yield in the field. Plant Biotechnology Journal. https://doi.org/10.1111/pbi.13866.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/pbi.13866

Interpretive Summary: Development of maize lines with increased heat stress tolerance is needed to stabilize yields in a changing climate. We found that transgenic expression of a glutaredoxin gene from Arabidopsis can increase thermotolerance in maize through enhanced protein chaperone activity. The thermotolerant maize lines had increased protection against protein damage and had a 6-fold grain yield increase in comparison to the nontransgenic control under heat stress. Our results show promise for meeting rising yield demands in maize and other crop species in a warming global environment.

Technical Abstract: Increasing populations and temperatures are expected to escalate food demands beyond production capacities, and the development of maize lines with better performance under heat stress is desirable. Here, we report that constitutive ectopic expression of a heterologous glutaredoxin S17 from Arabidopsis thaliana (AtGRXS17) can provide thermotolerance in maize through enhanced chaperone activity and modulation of heat stress-associated gene expression. The thermotolerant maize lines had increased protection against protein damage and yielded a 6-fold increase in grain production in comparison to the non-transgenic counterparts under heat stress field conditions. The maize lines also displayed thermotolerance in the reproductive stages, resulting in improved pollen germination and the higher fidelity of fertilized ovules under heat stress conditions. Our results present a robust and simple strategy for meeting rising yield demands in maize and, possibly, other crop species in a warming global environment.