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Summary: The control of flowering time in maize is crucial for reproductive success and yield, and it can be influenced by environmental stresses. Using the approaches of Ac/Ds transposon and transposable element amplicon sequencing techniques, we identified a Ds insertion mutant in the ZmPRR37 gene. The Ds insertion showed a significant correlation with days to anthesis. Further research indicated that ZmPRR37‐CR knockout mutants exhibited early flowering, whereas ZmPRR37‐overexpression lines displayed delayed flowering compared to WT under long‐day (LD) conditions. We demonstrated that ZmPRR37 repressed the expression of ZmNF‐YC2 and ZmNF‐YA3 to delay flowering. Association analysis revealed a significant correlation between flowering time and a SNP2071‐C/T located upstream of ZmPRR37. The SNP2071‐C/T impacted the binding capacity of ZmELF6 to the promoter of ZmPRR37. ZmELF6 also acted as a flowering suppressor in maize under LD conditions. Notably, our study unveiled that ZmPRR37 can enhance salt stress tolerance in maize by directly regulating the expression of ABA‐responsive gene ZmDhn1. ZmDhn1 negatively regulated maize salt stress resistance. In summary, our findings proposed a novel pathway for regulating photoperiodic flowering and responding to salt stress based on ZmPRR37 in maize, providing novel insights into the integration of abiotic stress signals into floral pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salt stress is a major environmental factor limiting plant growth and productivity. We recently discovered an important new salt tolerance pathway, where the cell wall leucine-rich repeat extensins LRX3/4/5, the RAPID ALKALINIZATION FACTOR (RALF) peptides RALF22/23 and receptor-like kinase FERONIA (FER) function as a module to simultaneously regulate plant growth and salt stress tolerance. However, the intracellular signaling pathways that are regulated by the extracellular LRX3/4/5-RALF22/23-FER module to coordinate growth, cell wall integrity and salt stress responses are still unknown. Here, we report that the LRX3/4/5-RALF22/23-FER module negatively regulates the levels of jasmonic acid (JA), salicylic acid (SA) and abscisic acid (ABA). Blocking JA pathway rescues the dwarf phenotype of the lrx345 and fer-4 mutants, while disruption of ABA biosynthesis suppresses the salt-hypersensitivity of these mutants. Many salt stress-responsive genes display abnormal expression patterns in the lrx345 and fer-4 mutants, as well as in the wild type plants treated with epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), an inhibitor of pectin methylesterases, suggesting cell wall integrity as a critical factor that determines the expression pattern of stress-responsive genes. Production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is constitutively increased in the lrx345 and fer-4 mutants, and inhibition of ROS accumulation suppresses the salt-hypersensitivity of these mutants. Together, our work provides strong evidence that the LRX3/4/5-RALF22/23-FER module controls plant growth and salt stress responses by regulating hormonal homeostasis and ROS accumulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Domestication has resulted in reduced salt tolerance in tomato. To identify the genetic components causing this deficiency, we performed a genome‐wide association study (GWAS) for root Na+/K+ ratio in a population consisting of 369 tomato accessions with large natural variations. The most significant variations associated with root Na+/K+ ratio were identified within the gene SlHAK20 encoding a member of the clade IV HAK/KUP/KT transporters. We further found that SlHAK20 transports Na+ and K+ and regulates Na+ and K+ homeostasis under salt stress conditions. A variation in the coding sequence of SlHAK20 was found to be the causative variant associated with Na+/K+ ratio and confer salt tolerance in tomato. Knockout mutations in tomato SlHAK20 and the rice homologous genes resulted in hypersensitivity to salt stress. Together, our study uncovered a previously unknown molecular mechanism of salt tolerance responsible for the deficiency in salt tolerance in cultivated tomato varieties. Our findings provide critical information for molecular breeding to improve salt tolerance in tomato and other crops. Synopsis: Selection of large fruits in domesticated tomato is linked to a reduction in salt tolerance. This study links domestication‐associated variation in the Na+/K+ transporter‐coding gene SlHAK20 to reduced salt tolerance in cultivated plants. Root Na+/K+ ratios show a strong positive correlation with fruit weight during tomato domestication.A variation in SlHAK20 is associated with Na+/K+ ratio modulation in tomato roots under salt stress conditions.The SlHAK20Hap1 haplotype is more effective than SlHAK20Hap2 in conferring Na+ homeostasis and salt tolerance.The role of SlHAK20 in regulation of salt tolerance is conserved in rice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several nucleoporins in the nuclear pore complex (NPC) have been reported to be involved in abiotic stress responses in plants. However, the molecular mechanism of how NPC regulates abiotic stress responses, especially the expression of stress responsive genes remains poorly understood. From a forward genetics screen using an abiotic stress-responsive luciferase reporter (RD29A-LUC) in the sickle-1 (sic-1) mutant background, we identified a suppressor caused by a mutation in NUCLEOPORIN 85 (NUP85), which exhibited reduced expression of RD29A-LUC in response to ABA and salt stress. Consistently, the ABA and salinity induced expression of several stress responsive genes such as RD29A, COR15A and COR47 was significantly compromised in nup85 mutants and other nucleoporin mutants such as nup160 and hos1. Subsequently, Immunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry analysis revealed that NUP85 is potentially associated with HOS1 and other nucleoporins within the nup107-160 complex, along with several mediator subunits. We further showed that there is a direct physical interaction between MED18 and NUP85. Similar to NUP85 mutations, MED18 mutation was also found to attenuate expression of stress responsive genes. Taken together, we not only revealed the involvement of NUP85 and other nucleoporins in regulating ABA and salt stress responses, but also uncovered a potential relation between NPC and mediator complex in modulating the gene expression in plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]