Physiological responses related to increased grain yield under drought in the first biotechnology‐derived drought‐tolerant maize

Maize (Zea mays ssp. mays L.) is highly susceptible to drought stress. This work focused on whole‐plant physiological mechanisms by which a biotechnology‐derived maize event expressing bacterial cold shock protein B (CspB), MON 87460, increased grain yield under drought. Plants of MON 87460 and a co...

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Published in:Plant, cell and environment cell and environment, 2015-09, Vol.38 (9), p.1866-1880
Main Authors: NEMALI, KRISHNA S., BONIN, CHRISTOPHER, DOHLEMAN, FRANK G., STEPHENS, MIKE, REEVES, WILLIAM R., NELSON, DONALD E., CASTIGLIONI, PAOLO, WHITSEL, JOY E., SAMMONS, BERNARD, SILADY, REBECCA A., ANSTROM, DONALD, SHARP, ROBERT E., PATHARKAR, OSRIC R., CLAY, DAVID, COFFIN, MARIE, NEMETH, MARGARET A., LEIBMAN, MARK E., LUETHY, MICHAEL, LAWSON, MARK
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bacterial Proteins - genetics
Biotechnology - methods
CspB
Droughts
ear
Edible Grain
harvest index
leaf area
Plant Leaves - physiology
Plants, Genetically Modified - physiology
sap flow
Soil - chemistry
soil water content
water use
yield
Zea mays - physiology
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Summary:Maize (Zea mays ssp. mays L.) is highly susceptible to drought stress. This work focused on whole‐plant physiological mechanisms by which a biotechnology‐derived maize event expressing bacterial cold shock protein B (CspB), MON 87460, increased grain yield under drought. Plants of MON 87460 and a conventional control (hereafter ‘control’) were tested in the field under well‐watered (WW) and water‐limited (WL) treatments imposed during mid‐vegetative to mid‐reproductive stages during 2009–2011. Across years, average grain yield increased by 6% in MON 87460 compared with control under WL conditions. This was associated with higher soil water content at 0.5 m depth during the treatment phase, increased ear growth, decreased leaf area, leaf dry weight and sap flow rate during silking, increased kernel number and harvest index in MON 87460 than the control. No consistent differences were observed under WW conditions. This indicates that MON 87460 acclimated better under WL conditions than the control by lowering leaf growth which decreased water use during silking, thereby eliciting lower stress under WL conditions. These physiological responses in MON 87460 under WL conditions resulted in increased ear growth during silking, which subsequently increased the kernel number, harvest index and grain yield compared to the control. Maize is highly susceptible to drought stress. This work focused on whole‐plant physiological mechanisms by which the first biotechnology‐derived maize event expressing bacterial cold shock protein B, MON 87460, increased grain yield under water‐limited conditions. Our results indicate that MON 87460 acclimated better to drought stress by lowering water requirement, thereby lower stress exposure and increased yield under drought. This manuscript has great relevance to the philosophy of the special issue on ‘Climate Smart Agriculture’.
ISSN:0140-7791
1365-3040
DOI:10.1111/pce.12446