Transcription factors involved in abiotic stress responses in Maize (Zea mays L.) and their roles in enhanced productivity in the post genomics era

Background Maize (Zea mays L.) is a principal cereal crop cultivated worldwide for human food, animal feed, and more recently as a source of biofuel. However, as a direct consequence of water insufficiency and climate change, frequent occurrences of both biotic and abiotic stresses have been reporte...

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Main Authors: Roy Njoroge Kimotho, Elamin Hafiz Baillo, Zhengbin Zhang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: PeerJ Inc. 2019-07-01
Series:PeerJ
Subjects:
Online Access:https://peerj.com/articles/7211.pdf
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author Roy Njoroge Kimotho
Elamin Hafiz Baillo
Zhengbin Zhang
author_facet Roy Njoroge Kimotho
Elamin Hafiz Baillo
Zhengbin Zhang
author_sort Roy Njoroge Kimotho
collection DOAJ
description Background Maize (Zea mays L.) is a principal cereal crop cultivated worldwide for human food, animal feed, and more recently as a source of biofuel. However, as a direct consequence of water insufficiency and climate change, frequent occurrences of both biotic and abiotic stresses have been reported in various regions around the world, and recently, this has become a constant threat in increasing global maize yields. Plants respond to abiotic stresses by utilizing the activities of transcription factors (TFs), which are families of genes coding for specific TF proteins. TF target genes form a regulon that is involved in the repression/activation of genes associated with abiotic stress responses. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to have a systematic study on each TF family, the downstream target genes they regulate, and the specific TF genes involved in multiple abiotic stress responses in maize and other staple crops. Method In this review, the main TF families, the specific TF genes and their regulons that are involved in abiotic stress regulation will be briefly discussed. Great emphasis will be given on maize abiotic stress improvement throughout this review, although other examples from different plants like rice, Arabidopsis, wheat, and barley will be used. Results We have described in detail the main TF families in maize that take part in abiotic stress responses together with their regulons. Furthermore, we have also briefly described the utilization of high-efficiency technologies in the study and characterization of TFs involved in the abiotic stress regulatory networks in plants with an emphasis on increasing maize production. Examples of these technologies include next-generation sequencing, microarray analysis, machine learning, and RNA-Seq. Conclusion In conclusion, it is expected that all the information provided in this review will in time contribute to the use of TF genes in the research, breeding, and development of new abiotic stress tolerant maize cultivars.
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spelling doaj.art-3474532fd30b4133b3cc152fa895878d2023-12-03T00:47:10ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592019-07-017e721110.7717/peerj.7211Transcription factors involved in abiotic stress responses in Maize (Zea mays L.) and their roles in enhanced productivity in the post genomics eraRoy Njoroge Kimotho0Elamin Hafiz Baillo1Zhengbin Zhang2Key Laboratory of Agricultural Water Resources, Hebei Laboratory of Agricultural Water Saving, Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, ChinaKey Laboratory of Agricultural Water Resources, Hebei Laboratory of Agricultural Water Saving, Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, ChinaKey Laboratory of Agricultural Water Resources, Hebei Laboratory of Agricultural Water Saving, Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, ChinaBackground Maize (Zea mays L.) is a principal cereal crop cultivated worldwide for human food, animal feed, and more recently as a source of biofuel. However, as a direct consequence of water insufficiency and climate change, frequent occurrences of both biotic and abiotic stresses have been reported in various regions around the world, and recently, this has become a constant threat in increasing global maize yields. Plants respond to abiotic stresses by utilizing the activities of transcription factors (TFs), which are families of genes coding for specific TF proteins. TF target genes form a regulon that is involved in the repression/activation of genes associated with abiotic stress responses. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to have a systematic study on each TF family, the downstream target genes they regulate, and the specific TF genes involved in multiple abiotic stress responses in maize and other staple crops. Method In this review, the main TF families, the specific TF genes and their regulons that are involved in abiotic stress regulation will be briefly discussed. Great emphasis will be given on maize abiotic stress improvement throughout this review, although other examples from different plants like rice, Arabidopsis, wheat, and barley will be used. Results We have described in detail the main TF families in maize that take part in abiotic stress responses together with their regulons. Furthermore, we have also briefly described the utilization of high-efficiency technologies in the study and characterization of TFs involved in the abiotic stress regulatory networks in plants with an emphasis on increasing maize production. Examples of these technologies include next-generation sequencing, microarray analysis, machine learning, and RNA-Seq. Conclusion In conclusion, it is expected that all the information provided in this review will in time contribute to the use of TF genes in the research, breeding, and development of new abiotic stress tolerant maize cultivars.https://peerj.com/articles/7211.pdfAbiotic stressTranscription factorsRegulonsMaizeResponse
spellingShingle Roy Njoroge Kimotho
Elamin Hafiz Baillo
Zhengbin Zhang
Transcription factors involved in abiotic stress responses in Maize (Zea mays L.) and their roles in enhanced productivity in the post genomics era
PeerJ
Abiotic stress
Transcription factors
Regulons
Maize
Response
title Transcription factors involved in abiotic stress responses in Maize (Zea mays L.) and their roles in enhanced productivity in the post genomics era
title_full Transcription factors involved in abiotic stress responses in Maize (Zea mays L.) and their roles in enhanced productivity in the post genomics era
title_fullStr Transcription factors involved in abiotic stress responses in Maize (Zea mays L.) and their roles in enhanced productivity in the post genomics era
title_full_unstemmed Transcription factors involved in abiotic stress responses in Maize (Zea mays L.) and their roles in enhanced productivity in the post genomics era
title_short Transcription factors involved in abiotic stress responses in Maize (Zea mays L.) and their roles in enhanced productivity in the post genomics era
title_sort transcription factors involved in abiotic stress responses in maize zea mays l and their roles in enhanced productivity in the post genomics era
topic Abiotic stress
Transcription factors
Regulons
Maize
Response
url https://peerj.com/articles/7211.pdf
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