Heat stress response factor ZmHSF10 positively regulates heat tolerance in maize

High temperature stress poses a significant threat to the normal growth of maize seedlings, and key heat-resistant gene mining is the molecular basis for breeding new heat-resistant maize varieties. Through transcriptome sequencing of heat-tolerant hybrid ZD819 and its parental lines (ZD819-F, ZD819-M) under high-temperature stress, we identified 12 HSF (Heat shock transcription factors, HSFs) transcription factors from 12,442 differentially expressed genes. The results indicate that the maize hybrid ZD819 has stronger heat tolerance compared to its parent varieties (ZD819-F, ZD819-M). Transcriptome data identified 12 HSFs transcription factors, among which ZmHSF10 had the highest differential expression fold of 1279.40 before and after high-temperature treatment. The heat tolerance function of ZmHSF10 was studied by creating Arabidopsis thaliana materials overexpressing ZmHSF10 and obtaining ZmHSF10 silenced maize materials using VIGS technology. Genetic experiments have shown that overexpression of ZmHSF10 can stabilize the cell membrane stability of Arabidopsis plants under high temperature stress and improve their survival rate under high temperature treatment. Reducing the expression level of ZmHSF10 leads to a decrease in chlorophyll content, poor cell membrane stability, and lower relative water content in maize leaves under high temperature stress. These results preliminarily demonstrate that ZmHSF10 plays an important role in regulating heat tolerance in plants, providing genetic resources for enhancing heat tolerance in maize seedlings.