Nitrogen Deficiency Outperforms Water Stress in Triggering Strigolactone-Dependent Responses in Maize

Strigolactones (SLs) modulate multiple aspects of plant development and stress physiology. This study investigated their role in maize response to abiotic stress by comparing an SL-biosynthesis mutant (zmccd8) with wild-type (WT) seedlings grown for 4 weeks in vermiculite under nutrient and water limitation. Plant growth, time-course pigment accumulation, targeted gene expression, and root transcriptomic profiles were analyzed. Our results showed that zmccd8 plants were largely unable to induce leaf senescence and efficient nutrient remobilization toward younger tissues under nitrogen (N) deficiency, a response previously associated with maize adaptation to low N availability. In parallel, the mutant developed a smaller root system, mainly due to limited adventitious root formation, particularly under N shortage. Root transcriptomic profiling revealed that N deficiency strongly affected WT plants, inducing extensive regulation of pathways involved in nitrogen metabolism and transport, secondary metabolism, ethylene and MAPK signaling, oxidative stress responses, and major transcription factor families. These responses were largely absent in the zmccd8 mutant, suggesting reduced transcriptional plasticity and compromised capacity to cope with stress-associated oxidative imbalance. Conversely, despite inducing substantial physiological and molecular responses, water stress elicited only modest SL-dependent regulation, with limited and heterogeneous changes between genotypes. Overall, our findings demonstrate that in maize, SLs act in a stress-specific manner, playing a predominant role in acclimatisation to nitrogen deficiency through coordinated regulation of senescence, nutrient remobilization, root architecture, and gene expression, while contributing more marginally to water-stress acclimatisation. These results provide new insights into SLs' role in shaping maize physiological plasticity under abiotic stress conditions.