Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 21, 2025

Lignin Down-regulation of Zea mays via dsRNAi and Klason Lignin Analysis
Published on: July 23, 2014
The transcription factor ZmNAC126 accelerates leaf senescence downstream of the ethylene signalling pathway in maize
Zhen Yang1, Chaoqi Wang2, Kai Qiu1
1State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Abstract:
Leaf senescence is an integral part of plant development, during which, nutrients are remobilized from senescent leaves to fast-growing organs. The initiation and progression dynamics of leaf senescence is therefore vital not only to the maximal accumulation of assimilates but also to the efficient remobilization of nutrients. Senescence is a finely tuned process that involves the action of a large number of transcription factors (TFs). The NAC TFs play critical roles in regulating leaf senescence in Arabidopsis, wheat, rice and tomato. Here, we identified a NAC TF, ZmNAC126 that is responsive to leaf senescence in maize. Ectopic overexpression of ZmNAC126 in Arabidopsis and maize enhanced chlorophyll degradation and promoted leaf senescence. Electrophoretic mobility shift and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays revealed that ZmNAC126 could directly bind to the promoters of major chlorophyll catabolic genes in maize. Dual-luciferase assay in maize protoplasts indicated that ZmNAC126 positively regulates these chlorophyll catabolic genes in maize. Moreover, ZmNAC126 could be induced by ethylene, and ZmEIN3, a major TF of ethylene signalling, could bind to its promoter to transactivate its expression. Taken together, ZmNAC126 may play a pivotal role in regulating natural and ethylene-triggered leaf senescence in maize.
More Related Videos
10:08Experimental Design for Laser Microdissection RNA-Seq: Lessons from an Analysis of Maize Leaf Development
Published on: March 5, 2017
08:31Kinematic Analysis of Cell Division and Expansion: Quantifying the Cellular Basis of Growth and Sampling Developmental Zones in Zea mays Leaves
Published on: December 2, 2016
Related Concept Videos
Cell Signaling in Plants
Master Transcription Regulators
Gene Regulation During Sporulation
Light Acquisition
Adaptations that Reduce Water Loss
Cell Specific Gene Expression