Plant Hormones and Volatiles Response to Temperature Stress in Sweet Corn (Zea mays L.) Seedlings

This work aims to emphasize on disclosing the regulative mechanism of sweet corn seedlings response to extreme temperature stress; transcriptomics and metabolomics for volatiles and plant hormones were integrated in this study. Results showed that low-temperature stress significantly impressed 20 volatiles; abscisic acid and salicylic acid accumulated, while auxin and jasmonic acid decreased. The regulatory patterns of vp14 and ABF for abscisic acid accumulation and signal transduction were elucidated in low-temperature stress. High-temperature stress influenced 31 volatiles and caused the reductions on zeatin, salicylic acid, jasmonic acid, and auxin. The up-regulation of an ARR-B gene emphasized its function on zeatin signal transduction under high-temperature stress. Correlations among gene modules, phytohormones, and volatiles were analyzed for building the regulative network of sweet corn seedlings under temperature stress. The attained result might build foundations for improving early development of sweet corn by biological intervention or genomic-level modulation.