Elucidating the contribution of the transcription factor ZmMYB31 to lignin biosynthesis And drOughT Tolerance in maizE (MAscOTTE)

Coordination: Sylvie Coursol

Industrial partner: Biogemma

Maize is an essential dual-used food and energy crop. However, maize has a large ecological footprint because of its irrigation needs. As such, improvement of maize for drought tolerance is essential in the context of increased risks of water stress. To reach this goal, MAscOTTE brought together a crop biotech company and a public laboratory. These two partners supported the project with their recognized and complementary fields of expertise in agronomic field evaluation, cell wall traits, and transcriptomics approaches in maize. MAscOTTE aimed at: (i) evaluating the beneficial effects of ectopic expression of a transcription factor on maize responses under water-limited conditions; (ii) providing an integrated understanding of maize cell wall lignification upon water deficit; (iii) identifying new genetic determinants that can be exploited to increase water deficit tolerance in maize.