Increased hormone activity promotes silk development and heat tolerance during the floret differentiation stage in maize

Heat stress, a major challenge in modern agriculture due to global warming, significantly reduces crop productivity. To mitigate its adverse effects on maize yield, it is crucial to understand the mechanisms by which heat stress impacts reproductive development. This study investigated the impact of...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Huiqin Wang, Jing Sun, Hao Ren, Bin Zhao, Yuting Li, Zishan Zhang, Baizhao Ren, Aziz Khan, Jiwang Zhang, Yinglong Chen, Peng Liu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. 2025-04-01
Series:Crop Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214514125000121
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849732093726162944
author Huiqin Wang
Jing Sun
Hao Ren
Bin Zhao
Yuting Li
Zishan Zhang
Baizhao Ren
Aziz Khan
Jiwang Zhang
Yinglong Chen
Peng Liu
author_facet Huiqin Wang
Jing Sun
Hao Ren
Bin Zhao
Yuting Li
Zishan Zhang
Baizhao Ren
Aziz Khan
Jiwang Zhang
Yinglong Chen
Peng Liu
author_sort Huiqin Wang
collection DOAJ
description Heat stress, a major challenge in modern agriculture due to global warming, significantly reduces crop productivity. To mitigate its adverse effects on maize yield, it is crucial to understand the mechanisms by which heat stress impacts reproductive development. This study investigated the impact of heat stress during the 12th leaf (V12) stage, where silk development begins on grain yield formation, using heat-sensitive and heat-tolerant cultivars. Compared to pollen, silks were found to be more vulnerable to heat stress. Heat stress disrupted hormone balance and inhibited hormone signaling transduction pathways in silks, delaying silk emergence from bracts and reducing fertilization and grain yield. The heat-tolerant cultivar maintained silk growth by activating more response pathways, displaying faster hormone responses, and up-regulating hormones. Taken together, we propose that hormones play an essential role in silk development and later fertilization process.
format Article
id doaj-art-9a8cd9e56dd04052b6027357f067f755
institution DOAJ
issn 2214-5141
language English
publishDate 2025-04-01
publisher KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.
record_format Article
series Crop Journal
spelling doaj-art-9a8cd9e56dd04052b6027357f067f7552025-08-20T03:08:20ZengKeAi Communications Co., Ltd.Crop Journal2214-51412025-04-0113254555510.1016/j.cj.2024.12.019Increased hormone activity promotes silk development and heat tolerance during the floret differentiation stage in maizeHuiqin Wang0Jing Sun1Hao Ren2Bin Zhao3Yuting Li4Zishan Zhang5Baizhao Ren6Aziz Khan7Jiwang Zhang8Yinglong Chen9Peng Liu10College of Agronomy, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an 271018, Shandong, ChinaCollege of Agronomy, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an 271018, Shandong, ChinaCollege of Agronomy, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an 271018, Shandong, ChinaCollege of Agronomy, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an 271018, Shandong, ChinaCollege of Agronomy, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an 271018, Shandong, ChinaCollege of Life Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an 271018, Shandong, ChinaCollege of Agronomy, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an 271018, Shandong, ChinaCollege of Agronomy, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an 271018, Shandong, ChinaCollege of Agronomy, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an 271018, Shandong, ChinaCollege of Agronomy, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an 271018, Shandong, China; UWA School of Agriculture and Environment, and UWA Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, AustraliaCollege of Agronomy, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an 271018, Shandong, China; Corresponding author.Heat stress, a major challenge in modern agriculture due to global warming, significantly reduces crop productivity. To mitigate its adverse effects on maize yield, it is crucial to understand the mechanisms by which heat stress impacts reproductive development. This study investigated the impact of heat stress during the 12th leaf (V12) stage, where silk development begins on grain yield formation, using heat-sensitive and heat-tolerant cultivars. Compared to pollen, silks were found to be more vulnerable to heat stress. Heat stress disrupted hormone balance and inhibited hormone signaling transduction pathways in silks, delaying silk emergence from bracts and reducing fertilization and grain yield. The heat-tolerant cultivar maintained silk growth by activating more response pathways, displaying faster hormone responses, and up-regulating hormones. Taken together, we propose that hormones play an essential role in silk development and later fertilization process.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214514125000121Zea mays L.Heat stressTranscriptomicsHormonesSilk
spellingShingle Huiqin Wang
Jing Sun
Hao Ren
Bin Zhao
Yuting Li
Zishan Zhang
Baizhao Ren
Aziz Khan
Jiwang Zhang
Yinglong Chen
Peng Liu
Increased hormone activity promotes silk development and heat tolerance during the floret differentiation stage in maize
Crop Journal
Zea mays L.
Heat stress
Transcriptomics
Hormones
Silk
title Increased hormone activity promotes silk development and heat tolerance during the floret differentiation stage in maize
title_full Increased hormone activity promotes silk development and heat tolerance during the floret differentiation stage in maize
title_fullStr Increased hormone activity promotes silk development and heat tolerance during the floret differentiation stage in maize
title_full_unstemmed Increased hormone activity promotes silk development and heat tolerance during the floret differentiation stage in maize
title_short Increased hormone activity promotes silk development and heat tolerance during the floret differentiation stage in maize
title_sort increased hormone activity promotes silk development and heat tolerance during the floret differentiation stage in maize
topic Zea mays L.
Heat stress
Transcriptomics
Hormones
Silk
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214514125000121
work_keys_str_mv AT huiqinwang increasedhormoneactivitypromotessilkdevelopmentandheattoleranceduringthefloretdifferentiationstageinmaize
AT jingsun increasedhormoneactivitypromotessilkdevelopmentandheattoleranceduringthefloretdifferentiationstageinmaize
AT haoren increasedhormoneactivitypromotessilkdevelopmentandheattoleranceduringthefloretdifferentiationstageinmaize
AT binzhao increasedhormoneactivitypromotessilkdevelopmentandheattoleranceduringthefloretdifferentiationstageinmaize
AT yutingli increasedhormoneactivitypromotessilkdevelopmentandheattoleranceduringthefloretdifferentiationstageinmaize
AT zishanzhang increasedhormoneactivitypromotessilkdevelopmentandheattoleranceduringthefloretdifferentiationstageinmaize
AT baizhaoren increasedhormoneactivitypromotessilkdevelopmentandheattoleranceduringthefloretdifferentiationstageinmaize
AT azizkhan increasedhormoneactivitypromotessilkdevelopmentandheattoleranceduringthefloretdifferentiationstageinmaize
AT jiwangzhang increasedhormoneactivitypromotessilkdevelopmentandheattoleranceduringthefloretdifferentiationstageinmaize
AT yinglongchen increasedhormoneactivitypromotessilkdevelopmentandheattoleranceduringthefloretdifferentiationstageinmaize
AT pengliu increasedhormoneactivitypromotessilkdevelopmentandheattoleranceduringthefloretdifferentiationstageinmaize