Abstract

Cysteine proteases (CPs) are vital proteolytic enzymes that play critical roles in various plant processes. However, the particular functions of CPs in maize remain largely unknown. We recently identified a pollen-specific CP (named PCP), which highly accumulated on the surface of maize pollen. Here, we reported that PCP played an important role in pollen germination and drought response in maize. Overexpression ofPCPinhibited pollen germination, while mutation ofPCPpromoted pollen germination to some extent. Furthermore, we observed that germinal apertures of pollen grains in thePCP-overexpression transgenic lines were excessively covered, whereas this phenomenon was not observed in the wild type (WT), suggesting that PCP regulated pollen germination by affecting the germinal aperture structure. In addition, overexpression ofPCPenhanced drought tolerance in maize plants, along with the increased activities of the antioxidant enzymes and the decreased numbers of the root cortical cells. Conversely, mutation ofPCPsignificantly impaired drought tolerance. These results may aid in clarifying the precise functions of CPs in maize and contribute to the development of drought-tolerant maize materials.Keywords:pollen cysteine protease (PCP);pollen germination;drought tolerance;transgenic plants;Zea mays