Heat stress responses mediated by N6-methyladenine DNA methylation in maize
Summary: N6-methyladenine (6mA) plays an important role in eukaryotic development and stress responses, yet its function under heat stress (HS) in crops remains unclear. Here, we show that 6mA dynamics in two maize inbred lines, B73 and Mo17, correlate with their responses to HS. Genome-wide 6mA pro...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Cell Reports |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211124725008290 |
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| author | Weijun Guo Liang Le Daolei Zhang Ziwei Wei Yifan Wang Yue Wu Hada Wuriyanghan Xiaofeng Gu Li Pu |
| author_facet | Weijun Guo Liang Le Daolei Zhang Ziwei Wei Yifan Wang Yue Wu Hada Wuriyanghan Xiaofeng Gu Li Pu |
| author_sort | Weijun Guo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Summary: N6-methyladenine (6mA) plays an important role in eukaryotic development and stress responses, yet its function under heat stress (HS) in crops remains unclear. Here, we show that 6mA dynamics in two maize inbred lines, B73 and Mo17, correlate with their responses to HS. Genome-wide 6mA profiling reveals enrichment in promoters, intergenic regions, and transposable elements (TEs), with inverse correlation with gene/TE expression. Upon HS, heat-tolerant plants show elevated 6mA levels, with differential 6mA patterning on key HS-related genes underlying thermotolerance variation between B73 and Mo17. We identified ZmALKBH1 as a 6mA demethylase, and its mutation enhances HS tolerance. A deep learning model based on 6mA methylomes of B73 and Mo17 accurately predicts and experimentally validates 6mA distribution and HS response in additional W22 and B104 lines. These findings uncover the role of 6mA in transcriptional regulation of crop stress adaptation and offer potential targets for improving thermotolerance in maize. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-806498b4ea39490db19d2c04b870e9da |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2211-1247 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cell Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-806498b4ea39490db19d2c04b870e9da2025-08-20T03:31:49ZengElsevierCell Reports2211-12472025-08-0144811605810.1016/j.celrep.2025.116058Heat stress responses mediated by N6-methyladenine DNA methylation in maizeWeijun Guo0Liang Le1Daolei Zhang2Ziwei Wei3Yifan Wang4Yue Wu5Hada Wuriyanghan6Xiaofeng Gu7Li Pu8Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, ChinaBiotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, ChinaBiotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China; School of Life Science, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010021, ChinaBiotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China; School of Life Sciences, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, ChinaBiotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, ChinaBiotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, ChinaSchool of Life Science, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010021, ChinaBiotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, ChinaBiotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China; Corresponding authorSummary: N6-methyladenine (6mA) plays an important role in eukaryotic development and stress responses, yet its function under heat stress (HS) in crops remains unclear. Here, we show that 6mA dynamics in two maize inbred lines, B73 and Mo17, correlate with their responses to HS. Genome-wide 6mA profiling reveals enrichment in promoters, intergenic regions, and transposable elements (TEs), with inverse correlation with gene/TE expression. Upon HS, heat-tolerant plants show elevated 6mA levels, with differential 6mA patterning on key HS-related genes underlying thermotolerance variation between B73 and Mo17. We identified ZmALKBH1 as a 6mA demethylase, and its mutation enhances HS tolerance. A deep learning model based on 6mA methylomes of B73 and Mo17 accurately predicts and experimentally validates 6mA distribution and HS response in additional W22 and B104 lines. These findings uncover the role of 6mA in transcriptional regulation of crop stress adaptation and offer potential targets for improving thermotolerance in maize.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211124725008290CP: Plants |
| spellingShingle | Weijun Guo Liang Le Daolei Zhang Ziwei Wei Yifan Wang Yue Wu Hada Wuriyanghan Xiaofeng Gu Li Pu Heat stress responses mediated by N6-methyladenine DNA methylation in maize Cell Reports CP: Plants |
| title | Heat stress responses mediated by N6-methyladenine DNA methylation in maize |
| title_full | Heat stress responses mediated by N6-methyladenine DNA methylation in maize |
| title_fullStr | Heat stress responses mediated by N6-methyladenine DNA methylation in maize |
| title_full_unstemmed | Heat stress responses mediated by N6-methyladenine DNA methylation in maize |
| title_short | Heat stress responses mediated by N6-methyladenine DNA methylation in maize |
| title_sort | heat stress responses mediated by n6 methyladenine dna methylation in maize |
| topic | CP: Plants |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211124725008290 |
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