The antioxidant protein ZmPrx5 contributes resistance to maize stalk rot

Maize(Zea mays L.)stalk rot is a devastating disease worldwide,causing severe yield losses.Although previous studies have focused on the genetic dissection of maize resistance to stalk rot,the mechanisms of resistance remain largely unknown.We used a comparative proteomics approach to identify candidate proteins associated with stalk rot resistance.Statistical analyses revealed 763 proteins differentially accumulated between Fusarium graminearum and mock-inoculated plants.Among them,the antioxidant protein ZmPrx5,which was up-accumulated in diseased plants,was selected for further study.ZmPrx5 transcripts were present in root,stalk,leaf,ear,and reproductive tissues.The expression of ZmPrx5 in three inbred lines increased significantly upon F.graminearum infection.ZmPrx5 was localized in the cytoplasm.Compared to control plants,maize plants overexpressing ZmPrx5 showed increased resistance to F.graminearum infection,and ZmPrx5 mutant plants were more susceptible than wild-type plants.Defense-associated pathways including plant–pathogen interactions,phenylalanine metabolism,and benzoxazinoid and flavonoid biosynthesis were suppressed in ZmPrx5 homozygous mutant plants compared with wild-type plants.We suggest that ZmPrx5 positively regulates resistance against stalk rot in maize,likely through defense-oriented transcriptome reprogramming.These results lay a foundation for further research on the roles of Prx5 subfamily proteins in resistance to plant fungal diseases,and provide a potential genetic resource for breeding disease-resistance maize lines.

Large-Scale Discovery of Non-conventional Peptides in Maize and Arabidopsis through an Integrated Peptidogenomic Pipeline

Non-conventional peptides(NCPs),which include small open reading frame-encoded peptides,play critical roles in fundamental biological processes.In this study,we developed an integrated peptidogenomic pipeline using high-throughput mass spectra to probe a customized six-frame translation database and applied it to large-scale identification of NCPs in plants.A total of 1993 and 1860 NCPs were unambiguously identified in maize and Arabidopsis,respectively.These NCPs showed distinct characteristics compared with conventional peptides and were derived from introns,3′UTRs,5′UTRs,junctions,and intergenic regions.Furthermore,our results showed that translation events in unannotated transcripts occur more broadly than previously thought.In addition,we found that dozens of maize NCPs are enriched within regions associated with phenotypic variations and domestication selection,indicating that they potentially are involved in genetic regulation of complex traits and domestication in maize.Taken together,our study developed an integrated peptidogenomic pipeline for large-scale identification of NCPs in plants,which would facilitate global characterization of NCPs from other plants.The identification of large-scale NCPs in both monocot(maize)and dicot(Arabidopsis)plants indicates that a large portion of plant genome can be translated into biologically functional molecules,which has important implications for functional genomic studies.

Ascorbate peroxidase 1 confers resistance to southern corn leaf blight in maize

Southern corn leaf blight (SCLB), caused by Bipolarismaydis, is one of the most devastatingdiseases affecting maize production. However,only one SLCB resistance gene, conferring partialresistance, is currently known, underscoring theimportance of isolating new SCLB resistancerelatedgenes. Here, we performed a comparativeproteomic analysis and identified 258 proteinsshowing differential abundance during the maizeresponse to B. maydis. These proteins included anascorbate peroxidase (Zea mays ascorbate peroxidase1 (ZmAPX1)) encoded by a gene locatedwithin the mapping interval of a previously identifiedquantitative trait locus associated with SCLBresistance. ZmAPX1 overexpression resulted inlower H_(2)O_(2) accumulation and enhanced resistanceagainst B. maydis. Jasmonic acid (JA)contents and transcript levels for JA biosynthesisand responsive genes increased in ZmAPX1-overexpressing plants infected with B. maydis,whereas Zmapx1 mutants showed the oppositeeffects. We further determined that low levels of H_(2)O_(2) are accompanied by an accumulation of JAthat enhances SCLB resistance. These resultsdemonstrate that ZmAPX1 positively regulatesSCLB resistance by decreasing H_(2)O_(2) accumulationand activating the JA-mediated defensesignaling pathway. This study identified ZmAPX1as a potentially useful gene for increasing SCLBresistance. Furthermore, the generated datamay be relevant for clarifying the functions ofplant APXs.