![]() ![]() The optimum maize growth temperatures range from 21 to 27 ☌, while sub-optimal temperatures of about 10–20 ☌ decrease biomass production, thereby leading to growth retardation. Therefore, the development of high-yielding cultivars tolerant to cold stress may help in augmenting maize production in vulnerable regions and act as an essential maize-breeding target. Corn production losses can surpass 20% in the most prolonged cold temperatures. A previous report has shown that cold stress adversely affects maize growth from germination to harvest, resulting in significant yield losses due to low and slow germination and poor grain filling. Since maize has a tropical origin, cold stress is a significant risk factor among the several abiotic stresses in the development of maize. These abiotic stresses typically serve as crucial impediments to maize production and geographical distribution and restrict agricultural yields worldwide. Thus, the current and expected scarcity of water sources and arable land due to the increasing world population and the recurrent extreme weather caused by global warming is projected to increase the incidence of abiotic stresses, such as drought, cold, and freezing during the planting, flowering, and grain-filling stages, in many corn-growing areas. However, maize growth and yield are highly dependent on sufficient environmental factors. The high dependence on maize for human, animal, and industrial consumption makes it one of the most critical food crops. Maize ( Zea mays L.) is the world’s most commonly grown cereal crop, with an estimated global annual production of about 1186.86 million metric tons in 2020/2021. ![]() Taken together, this study provides valuable insights that offer a deeper understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying maize response to cold stress at the seedling stage, thus opening up possibilities for a breeding program of maize tolerance to cold stress. The biggest proportion of the unannotated DEGs was implicated in the roles of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). In comparison, the cold-sensitive lines’ 877 enhanced DEGs were significantly enriched for MAPK signaling, peroxisome, ribosome, and carbon metabolism pathways. Moreover, the tolerant lines’ 779 enhanced DEGs were predominantly associated with carotenoid, ABC transporter, glutathione, lipid metabolism, and amino acid metabolism. A total of 147 TFs belonging to 32 families, including MYB, ERF, NAC, WRKY, bHLH, MIKC MADS, and C 2H 2, were strongly altered by cold stress. Functional analysis of the 1656 DEGs highlighted the enrichment of signaling, carotenoid, lipid metabolism, transcription factors (TFs), peroxisome, and amino acid metabolism. Further analysis of the 1656 annotated DEGs mined out two critical sets of cold-responsive DEGs, namely 779 and 877 DEGs, which were significantly enhanced in the tolerant and sensitive lines, respectively. Using the RNA-seq method, we identified 2237 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), namely 1656 and 581 annotated and unannotated DEGs, respectively. To unravel the molecular framework underlying maize ( Zea mays L.) cold stress tolerance, we conducted a comparative transcriptome profiling of 24 cold-tolerant and 22 cold-sensitive inbred lines affected by cold stress at the seedling stage. ![]() GEN.Cold tolerance is a complex trait that requires a critical perspective to understand its underpinning mechanism. ![]()
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