| Summary: | The morphogenesis of crops is critical to their yield performance. COP1 (constitutively photomorphogenic1) is one of the core regulators in plant morphogenesis and has been deeply studied in <i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i>. However, the function of COP1 in maize is still unclear. Here, we found that the mesocotyl lengths of <i>zmcop1</i> loss-of-function mutants were shorter than those of wild-type B73 in darkness, while the mesocotyl lengths of lines with <i>ZmCOP1</i> overexpression were longer than those of wild-type B104. The plant height with <i>zmcop1</i> was shorter than that of B73 in both short- and long-day photoperiods. Using transcriptome RNA sequencing technology, we identified 33 DEGs (differentially expressed genes) between B73′s etiolated seedlings and those featuring <i>zmcop1</i>, both in darkness. The DEGs were mainly enriched in the plant phytohormone pathways. Our results provide direct evidence that <i>ZmCOP1</i> functions in the elongation of etiolated seedlings in darkness and affects plant height in light. Our data can be applied in the improvement of maize plant architecture.
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