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Updated: Jun 13, 2025
Lignin Down-regulation of Zea mays via dsRNAi and Klason Lignin Analysis
Published on: July 23, 2014
The maize ZmCPK39-ZmKnox2 module regulates plant height
Mang Zhu1,2,3, Chenyu Guo1,2,3, Xiaohui Zhang1,2,3
1State Key Laboratory of Plant Environmental Resilience, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193 China.
Abstract:
Plant height is an important agronomic trait that affects high-density tolerance and lodging resistance. However, the regulators and their underlying molecular mechanisms controlling plant height in maize remain understudied. Here, we report that knockout mutants of the calcium-dependent protein kinase gene ZmCPK39 (ZmCPK39-KO) exhibit dramatically reduced plant height, characterized by shorter internodes and a slight decrease in node numbers. Furthermore, we identified a ZmCPK39-interacting protein, the knotted-related homeobox (ZmKnox2), and observed that plant height was also significantly reduced in a mutator transposon-inserted mutant of ZmKnox2 (ZmKnox2-Mu). Combined analysis of transcriptomic and metabonomic data indicates that multiple phytohormone signaling and photosynthesis pathways are disrupted in both ZmCPK39-KO and ZmKnox2-Mu mutants. Taken together, these results provide new insights into the function of ZmCPK39 and identify potential targets for breeding lodging-resistant and high-density tolerant maize cultivars.
Supplementary Information:
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42994-024-00150-y.
