耐辐射异常球菌drfE基因提高玉米的耐旱性OA

Drought stress is a major factor restricting maize growth.The drfE gene,encodes a ferritin-like protein from Dei-nococcus radiodurans and plays an important role in response to abiotic stresses such as drought,oxidation,high salinity,ra-diation,and extreme temperatures.In this study,a plant expression vector p3301-drfE was constructed and transgenic maize lines overexpressing the drfE gene were obtained and screened for homozygosity.The drought tolerance of the drfE-overexpressing maize was evaluated at both the seedling and adult stages.The seedling stage drought tolerance results showed that under drought stress,the survival rate of drfE-overexpressing lines was significantly higher than that of wild type and the relative water content,POD activity,and CAT activity were significantly increased,while electrical conductivity,MDA content,and H2O2 content were significantly reduced.The adult-stage drought tolerance evaluation showed that drfE-overexpressing lines significantly increased ear length,ear weight per spike,100-kernel weight,and grain yield.DrfE responds to drought stress by regulating peroxidases,drought stress-related kinases,and transcription factors such as WRKY and MYB.In conclusion,the drfE gene can significantly enhance drought tolerance in maize and serves as a promising candi-date gene for breeding drought-tolerant maize varieties.