Evolutionary Divergence of DREB Regulatory Networks in C4 Cereals: In Silico Analysis and Implications for Climate-Resilient Breeding

2026 · doi:10.22541/au.176733197.71509261/v1
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Abstract

Global crop productivity is threatened by climate change, necessitating the development of stress-resilient varieties. Dehydration Responsive Element Binding (DREB) transcription factors are master regulators of abiotic stress responses, yet their application is often limited by yield trade-offs. In this study, we integrated a systematic review with comparative in silico and quantitative meta-analyses to resolve this bottleneck. Our phylogenomic profiling reveals that drought-resilient C4 crops ( Zea mays, Sorghum bicolor ) possess a distinct DREB2 regulatory lineage (100% bootstrap support) characterized by a threefold enrichment of ABA-Responsive Elements (ABRE) compared to sensitive C3 crops. Furthermore, our meta-analysis of 11 transgenic field trials demonstrates that while constitutive overexpression frequently incurs yield penalties (avg. -20% to -54%), stress-inducible strategies consistently deliver significant yield gains (up to +104%) without biomass reduction. This study proposes a ’regulatory priming’ model for optimizing DREB engineering to develop climate-smart crops. Supplementary Material File (dreb manuscript.docx) - Download - 88.59 KB Information & Authors Information Version history Copyright This work is licensed under a Non Exclusive No Reuse License.

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Authors Metrics & Citations Metrics Article Usage 115views 51downloads Citations Download citation Md. Mahbub Alam, HATİCE İKTEN, Mst. Jannatul Naima. Evolutionary Divergence of DREB Regulatory Networks in C4 Cereals: In Silico Analysis and Implications for Climate-Resilient Breeding. Authorea. 02 January 2026. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22541/au.176733197.71509261/v1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.22541/au.176733197.71509261/v1 If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download. For more information or tips please see 'Downloading to a citation manager' in the Help menu.

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last seen: 2026-05-20T01:45:00.602351+00:00