Transcription factor bHLH121 regulates root cortical aerenchyma formation in maize

• Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 120; no. 12; p. e2219668120
• Main Authors: Schneider, Hannah M., Lor, Vai S., Zhang, Xia, Saengwilai, Patompong, Hanlon, Meredith T., Klein, Stephanie P., Davis, Jayne L., Borkar, Aditi N., Depew, Cody L., Bennett, Malcolm J., Kaeppler, Shawn M., Brown, Kathleen M., Bhosale, Rahul, Lynch, Jonathan P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States National Academy of Sciences 21.03.2023
• Subjects: abiotic stress; aerenchyma; anatomy; BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES; Biological Sciences; climate; Climate adaptation; Corn; cortex; CRISPR; CRISPR-Cas systems; Crop resilience; Exploration; Gene mapping; genes; Genome-wide association studies; Genome-Wide Association Study; Genomes; Laser ablation; loss-of-function mutation; maize; Mutants; nitrogen; Nucleotides; Nutrient uptake; phenotype; Phenotypes; Phenotyping; Plant Roots - metabolism; Plant tissues; Polymorphism; root; root anatomy; Science & Technology - Other Topics; Single-nucleotide polymorphism; Soil; Soil environment; Soil improvement; Soils; tomography; Transcription factors; Transcription Factors - metabolism; transposons; Water - metabolism; Zea mays - metabolism; cortex; aerenchyma; anatomy; maize; root

Root anatomical phenotypes present a promising yet underexploited avenue to deliver major improvements in yield and climate resilience of crops by improving water and nutrient uptake. For instance, the formation of root cortical aerenchyma (RCA) significantly increases soil exploration and resource...