In plants, cellular lipid peroxidation is enhanced under low nitrogen (LN) stress; this increases the lipid‐derived reactive carbonyl species (RCS) levels. The cellular toxicity of RCS can be reduced by various RCS‐scavenging enzymes. However, the roles of these enzymes in alleviating oxidative stress and improving nutrient use efficiency (NUE) under nutrient stress remain unknown. Here, we overexpressed maize endogenous NADPH‐dependent 2‐alkenal reductase (ZmAER) in maize; it significantly increased the tolerance of transgenic plants (OX‐AER) to LN stress. Under LN condition, the biomass, nitrogen accumulation, NUE, and leaf photosynthesis of the OX‐AER plants were significantly higher than those of the wild‐type (WT) plants. The leaf and root malondialdehyde and H₂O₂ levels in the transgenic plants were significantly lower than those in WT. The expression of antioxidant enzyme‐related genes ZmCAT3, ZmPOD5 and ZmPOD13 was significantly higher in the transgenic lines than in WT. Under LN stress, the nitrate reductase activity in the OX‐AER leaves was significantly increased compared with that in the WT leaves. Furthermore, under LN stress, ZmNRT1.1 and ZmNRT2.5 expression was upregulated in the OX‐AER plants compared with that in WT. Overall, up‐regulated ZmAER expression could enhance maize's tolerance to LN stress by alleviating oxidative stress and improve NUE.

中文翻译：

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上调的2-烯醛还原酶表达可通过减轻氧化胁迫提高玉米的低氮耐受性

在植物中，在低氮（LN）胁迫下细胞脂质过氧化作用增强。这会增加脂质衍生的反应性羰基物质（RCS）的水平。各种RCS清除酶可以降低RCS的细胞毒性。然而，这些酶在缓解营养胁迫下减轻氧化应激和提高营养利用效率（NUE）的作用仍然未知。在这里，我们在玉米中过表达玉米内源NADPH依赖性2-烯醛还原酶（ZmAER）；它显着提高了转基因植物（OX-AER）对LN胁迫的耐受性。在LN条件下，OX-AER植物的生物量，氮积累，NUE和叶片光合作用均显着高于野生型（WT）植物。叶和根丙二醛和H ₂ O ₂转基因植物中的水平显着低于野生型中的水平。抗氧化酶相关基因ZmCAT3，ZmPOD5和ZmPOD13的表达在转基因系中显着高于野生型。在LN胁迫下，与WT叶片相比，OX-AER叶片中的硝酸还原酶活性显着增加。此外，在LN胁迫下，与野生型相比，OX-AER植物中的ZmNRT1.1和ZmNRT2.5表达上调。总体而言，上调的ZmAER表达可以通过减轻氧化胁迫和改善NUE来增强玉米对LN胁迫的耐受性。