Plant nuclear factor Y (NF-Y) B subunits confer drought tolerance and lead to improved corn yields on water-limited acres

Commercially improved crop performance under drought conditions has been challenging because of the complexity of the trait and the multitude of factors that influence yield. Here we report the results of a functional genomics approach that identified a transcription factor from the nuclear factor Y...

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Published in:	Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 104; no. 42; pp. 16450 - 16455
Main Authors:	Nelson, Donald E, Repetti, Peter P, Adams, Tom R, Creelman, Robert A, Wu, Jingrui, Warner, David C, Anstrom, Don C, Bensen, Robert J, Castiglioni, Paolo P, Donnarummo, Meghan G, Hinchey, Brendan S, Kumimoto, Roderick W, Maszle, Don R, Canales, Roger D, Krolikowski, Katherine A, Dotson, Stanton B, Gutterson, Neal, Ratcliffe, Oliver J, Heard, Jacqueline E
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	United States National Academy of Sciences 16-10-2007 National Acad Sciences
Subjects:	Agricultural biotechnology Agronomy Arabidopsis Arabidopsis - genetics Arabidopsis Proteins - genetics Arabidopsis Proteins - physiology Arabidopsis thaliana AtNF-YB1 gene Biological Sciences CCAAT-Binding Factor - genetics CCAAT-Binding Factor - physiology chlorophyll Corn Crop production Crop yield Dehydration Disasters Drought Drought resistance Drought tolerance gene expression Genes Genomics Geometric lines grain yield leaves messenger RNA Molecular Sequence Data Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis Photosynthesis Plant Proteins - genetics Plant Proteins - physiology Plants Plants, Genetically Modified - genetics Plants, Genetically Modified - growth & development Protein Subunits - genetics Protein Subunits - physiology Stomatal conductance temperature Transcription factors Transcription Factors - genetics Transcription Factors - physiology Transgenic plants Water water stress Wilting Zea mays Zea mays - genetics Zea mays - growth & development
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Summary:	Commercially improved crop performance under drought conditions has been challenging because of the complexity of the trait and the multitude of factors that influence yield. Here we report the results of a functional genomics approach that identified a transcription factor from the nuclear factor Y (NF-Y) family, AtNF-YB1, which acts through a previously undescribed mechanism to confer improved performance in Arabidopsis under drought conditions. An orthologous maize transcription factor, ZmNF-YB2, is shown to have an equivalent activity. Under water-limited conditions, transgenic maize plants with increased ZmNF-YB2 expression show tolerance to drought based on the responses of a number of stress-related parameters, including chlorophyll content, stomatal conductance, leaf temperature, reduced wilting, and maintenance of photosynthesis. These stress adaptations contribute to a grain yield advantage to maize under water-limited environments. The application of this technology has the potential to significantly impact maize production systems that experience drought.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 Author contributions: D.E.N., P.P.R., T.R.A., R.A.C., J.W., D.C.W., D.C.A., R.J.B., P.P.C., R.W.K., D.R.M., S.B.D., N.G., O.J.R., and J.E.H. designed research; D.E.N., P.P.R., T.R.A., R.A.C., J.W., D.C.W., D.C.A., R.J.B., P.P.C., M.G.D., B.S.H., R.W.K., and K.A.K. performed research; D.E.N., P.P.R., T.R.A., R.A.C., J.W., D.C.W., D.C.A., R.W.K., D.R.M., and R.D.C. analyzed data; and D.E.N., P.P.R., N.G., and O.J.R. wrote the paper. Communicated by Maarten J. Chrispeels, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, August 29, 2007 Present address: Monsanto Company, 62 Maritime Drive, Mystic, CT 06355.
ISSN:	0027-8424 1091-6490
DOI:	10.1073/pnas.0707193104