Evaluation of drought tolerance in ZmVPP1-overexpressing transgenic inbred maize lines and their hybrids

摘要

The vacuolar proton-pumping pyrophosphatase gene(VPP)is often used to enhance plant drought tolerance via genetic engineering.In this study,the drought tolerance of four transgenic inbred maize lines overexpressing ZmVPP1(PH4CV-T,PH6WC-T,Chang7-2-T,and Zheng58-T)and their transgenic hybrids was evaluated at various stages.Under normal and drought conditions,the height and fresh weight were greater for the four transgenic inbred maize lines than for the wild-type(WT)controls at the germination and seedling stages.Additionally,the transgenic plants exhibited enhanced photosynthetic efficiency at the seedling stage.In irrigated and non-irrigated fields,the four transgenic lines grew normally,but with increased ear weight and yield compared with the WT plants.Moreover,the ear weight and yield of the transgenic hybrids resulting from the PH4CV-T×PH6WC-W and Chang7-2-T×Zheng58-W crosses increased in the non-irrigated field.Our results demonstrated that the growth and drought tolerance of four transgenic inbred maize lines with improved photosynthesis were enhanced by the overexpression of ZmVPP1.Moreover,the Chang7-2 and PH4CV transgenic lines may be useful for future genetic improvements of maize hybrids to increase drought tolerance.