TabHLH27 orchestrates root growth and drought tolerance to enhance water use efficiency in wheat

doi:10.1111/jipb.13670

J Integr Plant Biol. ›› 2024, Vol. 66 ›› Issue (7): 1295-1312.DOI: 10.1111/jipb.13670

• Abiotic Stress Responses • Previous Articles Next Articles

TabHLH27 orchestrates root growth and drought tolerance to enhance water use efficiency in wheat

Dongzhi Wang^1†*, Xiuxiu Zhang^1†, Yuan Cao^1,2†, Aamana Batool^2,3, Yongxin Xu^1,2, Yunzhou Qiao³, Yongpeng Li³, Hao Wang^1,2, Xuelei Lin¹, Xiaomin Bie⁴, Xiansheng Zhang⁴, Ruilian Jing⁵, Baodi Dong^2,3, Yiping Tong¹, Wan Teng^1*, Xigang Liu^6* and Jun Xiao^1,2,7*

1. Key Laboratory of Plant Cell and Chromosome Engineering, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
3. Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang 050022, China
4. Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Life Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an 271018, China
5. State Key Laboratory of Crop Gene Resources and Breeding, Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China

6. Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Hebei Research Center of the Basic Discipline of Cell Biology, Hebei Collaboration Innovation Center for Cell Signaling and Environmental Adaptation, Hebei Key Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Biology, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang 050024, China
7. Centre of Excellence for Plant and Microbial Science (CEPAMS), JIC‐CAS, Beijing 100101, China
^†Dongzhi Wang, Xiuxiu Zhang, and Yuan Cao contributed equally to this work.
^*Correspondences: Dongzhi Wang (wangdongzhi1990@163.com); Wan Teng (tengwan@genetics.ac.cn); Xigang Liu (xgliu@hebtu.edu.cn); Jun Xiao (jxiao@genetics.ac.cn, Dr. Xiao is fully responsible for the distributions of all materials associated with this article)

Received:2024-02-29 Accepted:2024-04-08 Online:2024-05-02 Published:2024-07-01

Abstract

Abstract: Cultivating high-yield wheat under limited water resources is crucial for sustainable agriculture in semiarid regions. Amid water scarcity, plants activate drought response signaling, yet the delicate balance between drought tolerance and development remains unclear. Through genome-wide association studies and transcriptome profiling, we identified a wheat atypical basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor (TF), TabHLH27-A1, as a promising quantitative trait locus candidate for both relative root dry weight and spikelet number per spike in wheat. TabHLH27-A1/B1/D1 knock-out reduced wheat drought tolerance, yield, and water use efficiency (WUE). TabHLH27-A1 exhibited rapid induction with polyethylene glycol (PEG) treatment, gradually declining over days. It activated stress response genes such as TaCBL8-B1 and TaCPI2-A1 while inhibiting root growth genes like TaSH15-B1 and TaWRKY70-B1 under short-term PEG stimulus. The distinct transcriptional regulation of TabHLH27-A1 involved diverse interacting factors such as TaABI3-D1 and TabZIP62-D1. Natural variations of TabHLH27-A1 influence its transcriptional responses to drought stress, with TabHLH27-A1^Hap-II associated with stronger drought tolerance, larger root system, more spikelets, and higher WUE in wheat. Significantly, the excellent TabHLH27-A1^Hap-II was selected during the breeding process in China, and introgression of TabHLH27-A1^Hap-II allele improved drought tolerance and grain yield, especially under water-limited conditions. Our study highlights TabHLH27-A1's role in balancing root growth and drought tolerance, providing a genetic manipulation locus for enhancing WUE in wheat.

Key words: drought tolerance, GWAS, root growth, wheat, WUE

Dongzhi Wang, Xiuxiu Zhang, Yuan Cao, Aamana Batool, Yongxin Xu, Yunzhou Qiao, Yongpeng Li, Hao Wang, Xuelei Lin, Xiaomin Bie, Xiansheng Zhang, Ruilian Jing, Baodi Dong, Yiping Tong, Wan Teng, Xigang Liu, Jun Xiao. TabHLH27 orchestrates root growth and drought tolerance to enhance water use efficiency in wheat[J]. J Integr Plant Biol., 2024, 66(7): 1295-1312.

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TabHLH27 orchestrates root growth and drought tolerance to enhance water use efficiency in wheat

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