Genome-Wide Identification of Maize G Protein Genes and Regulatory Roles of the ZmGG1 Subfamily in Saline-Alkali Stress Response

Genome-Wide Identification of Maize G Protein Genes and Regulatory Roles of the ZmGG1 Subfamily in Saline-Alkali Stress Response | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Genome-Wide Identification of Maize G Protein Genes and Regulatory Roles of the ZmGG1 Subfamily in Saline-Alkali Stress Response Li-quan SUN, Chun-xiao ZHANG, Jing DONG, Feng-xue JIN, Cheng-yang LI, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7504949/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 10 Mar, 2026 Read the published version in BMC Plant Biology → Version 1 posted 12 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Saline-alkaline stress is a major constraint in maize ( Zea mays L.) production. Heterotrimeric G proteins play pivotal roles in plant stress responses. However, their functional mechanisms in maize under saline-alkaline stress remain poorly understood. This study aimed to characterise the maize G protein gene family and elucidate its regulatory mechanisms in response to saline-alkaline stress. Ten G protein genes (belonging to the Gα, Gβ, and Gγ subunit families) were identified from the maize genome using bioinformatics approaches. Their phylogenetic relationships, gene structures, promoter cis-acting elements, and protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks were systematically analysed. Gene expression patterns in the saline-alkaline tolerant inbred line Zheng58 and the sensitive line Chang7-2 were investigated using qRT-PCR, alongside the determination of reactive oxygen species (ROS)-scavenging enzyme activities. The Gγ subfamily members ( ZmGG1 , ZmGG3 , and ZmGG5 ) exhibited differential expression patterns. PPI network analysis revealed extensive interactions between G proteins and signalling components such as phospholipase C and MAP kinases. Under stress conditions, Chang7-2 displayed significant fluctuations in ROS-scavenging enzyme activity and accumulation of malondialdehyde (MDA). Therefore, this study elucidated the mechanism by which maize G proteins coordinate saline-alkaline stress responses through subfamily-specific expression regulation and intricate signalling networks, thereby providing potential candidate target genes for breeding stress-tolerant maize. Maize G protein gene family ZmGG1 subfamily Salt-alkali stress Expression analysis Phylogenetics Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files supplementary.xlsx supplementary.pdf Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 10 Mar, 2026 Read the published version in BMC Plant Biology → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 03 Nov, 2025 Reviews received at journal 24 Oct, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 11 Oct, 2025 Reviews received at journal 05 Oct, 2025 Reviews received at journal 25 Sep, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 20 Sep, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 16 Sep, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 14 Sep, 2025 Editor invited by journal 12 Sep, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 10 Sep, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 10 Sep, 2025 First submitted to journal 01 Sep, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7504949","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":518089526,"identity":"726ab183-d8d1-414c-8970-5d09aedc7bd8","order_by":0,"name":"Li-quan SUN","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Yanbian University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Li-quan","middleName":"","lastName":"SUN","suffix":""},{"id":518089527,"identity":"8b88cb79-c0d3-4e31-822e-f1fe81e4cbfa","order_by":1,"name":"Chun-xiao ZHANG","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Maize Research Institute, Jilin Academy of Agricultural Sciences 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Response","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-plant-biology","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"pbio","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Plant Biology](http://bmcplantbiol.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/pbio/default.aspx","title":"BMC Plant Biology","twitterHandle":"BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Maize, G protein gene family, ZmGG1 subfamily, Salt-alkali stress, Expression analysis, Phylogenetics","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7504949/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7504949/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eSaline-alkaline stress is a major constraint in maize (\u003cem\u003eZea mays\u003c/em\u003e L.) production. Heterotrimeric G proteins play pivotal roles in plant stress responses. However, their functional mechanisms in maize under saline-alkaline stress remain poorly understood. This study aimed to characterise the maize G protein gene family and elucidate its regulatory mechanisms in response to saline-alkaline stress. Ten G protein genes (belonging to the Gα, Gβ, and Gγ subunit families) were identified from the maize genome using bioinformatics approaches. Their phylogenetic relationships, gene structures, promoter cis-acting elements, and protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks were systematically analysed. Gene expression patterns in the saline-alkaline tolerant inbred line Zheng58 and the sensitive line Chang7-2 were investigated using qRT-PCR, alongside the determination of reactive oxygen species (ROS)-scavenging enzyme activities. The Gγ subfamily members (\u003cem\u003eZmGG1\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eZmGG3\u003c/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eZmGG5\u003c/em\u003e) exhibited differential expression patterns. PPI network analysis revealed extensive interactions between G proteins and signalling components such as phospholipase C and MAP kinases. Under stress conditions, Chang7-2 displayed significant fluctuations in ROS-scavenging enzyme activity and accumulation of malondialdehyde (MDA). Therefore, this study elucidated the mechanism by which maize G proteins coordinate saline-alkaline stress responses through subfamily-specific expression regulation and intricate signalling networks, thereby providing potential candidate target genes for breeding stress-tolerant maize.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Genome-Wide Identification of Maize G Protein Genes and Regulatory Roles of the ZmGG1 Subfamily in Saline-Alkali Stress Response","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-09-22 11:40:42","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7504949/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2025-11-03T05:16:57+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-10-24T14:07:29+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"241254771412355274590357011535997827718","date":"2025-10-11T07:09:16+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-10-05T16:55:10+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-09-25T07:28:27+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"302720478081694525073960504367326335285","date":"2025-09-20T16:40:06+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"140606011668876898100595932927993436951","date":"2025-09-16T04:08:00+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-09-14T18:30:43+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2025-09-12T08:48:46+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-09-10T07:04:13+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-09-10T07:03:34+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"BMC Plant Biology","date":"2025-09-01T06:27:09+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-plant-biology","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"pbio","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Plant Biology](http://bmcplantbiol.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/pbio/default.aspx","title":"BMC Plant Biology","twitterHandle":"BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"e1fd82b4-7af8-4567-ade5-2da9407ea5a2","owner":[],"postedDate":"September 22nd, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-03-16T16:00:42+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-7504949","link":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-026-08509-7","journal":{"identity":"bmc-plant-biology","isVorOnly":false,"title":"BMC Plant Biology"},"publishedOn":"2026-03-10 15:57:38","publishedOnDateReadable":"March 10th, 2026"},"versionCreatedAt":"2025-09-22 11:40:42","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1186/s12870-026-08509-7","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-026-08509-7","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7504949","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7504949","identity":"rs-7504949","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}