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<p>Light and water are two critical factors influencing plant growth and development. The reduction of one can be detrimental to plant growth regulation and processes. Plants under decreased light, drought, and their combined stress activate avoidance or tolerance mechanisms, enhancing their ability to capture light and water through structural and physiological modifications. Like other regions in the world, the Loess Plateau of China faced reduced solar radiation and precipitation during the maize growing season, especially at post-anthesis stage. To understand how crops respond to shade and drought, the physiological and genetic responses of maize (<i>Zea mays</i> L.) were studied in a greenhouse under controlled light and drought stress. In this study, sunlight was blocked for 4, 8, 12, and 16 days (designated as SBD4, SBD8, SBD12, and SBD16) combined with four field capacity levels: control (CK; 75–85%), moderate drought (MD; 65–75%), severe drought (SD; 55–65%), and extreme drought (ED; 45–55%). The cumulative stressors induced oxidative damage through reactive oxygen species in maize leaves, resulting in a decline in photosynthetic efficiency to a certain extent. Stomatal closure under combined ED and SBD16 stress led to a 96.07% increase in malondialdehyde accumulation. The gene expression of <i>ZmVP14</i> further highlights the abscisic acid biosynthesis under drought conditions, while <i>ZmSOD2</i> encodes superoxide dismutase, which alleviates reactive oxygen species to enhance stress tolerance in maize. The combined stress increased the plant’s secondary metabolites and enzymatic activity to mitigate oxidative damage.</p> Graphical Abstract <p></p>

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Light Duration Dictates Photomorphogenic and Adaptive Responses to Post-Anthesis Drought in Maize: Stomatal, Biochemical and Genetic Mechanisms

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年4月28日

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  • Ahmed Mukhtar,
  • Shaista Jabeen,
  • Muhammad Asad Naseer,
  • Muhammad Tauseef Jaffar,
  • Muhammad Shoaib Asad,
  • Xiaoli Chen,
  • Xiaolong Ren

摘要

Light and water are two critical factors influencing plant growth and development. The reduction of one can be detrimental to plant growth regulation and processes. Plants under decreased light, drought, and their combined stress activate avoidance or tolerance mechanisms, enhancing their ability to capture light and water through structural and physiological modifications. Like other regions in the world, the Loess Plateau of China faced reduced solar radiation and precipitation during the maize growing season, especially at post-anthesis stage. To understand how crops respond to shade and drought, the physiological and genetic responses of maize (Zea mays L.) were studied in a greenhouse under controlled light and drought stress. In this study, sunlight was blocked for 4, 8, 12, and 16 days (designated as SBD4, SBD8, SBD12, and SBD16) combined with four field capacity levels: control (CK; 75–85%), moderate drought (MD; 65–75%), severe drought (SD; 55–65%), and extreme drought (ED; 45–55%). The cumulative stressors induced oxidative damage through reactive oxygen species in maize leaves, resulting in a decline in photosynthetic efficiency to a certain extent. Stomatal closure under combined ED and SBD16 stress led to a 96.07% increase in malondialdehyde accumulation. The gene expression of ZmVP14 further highlights the abscisic acid biosynthesis under drought conditions, while ZmSOD2 encodes superoxide dismutase, which alleviates reactive oxygen species to enhance stress tolerance in maize. The combined stress increased the plant’s secondary metabolites and enzymatic activity to mitigate oxidative damage.

Graphical Abstract