Lipidomic and transcriptomic analyses reveal that the gene ZmLACS9 enhances salt stress tolerance by regulating chloroplast lipid metabolism and maintaining photosynthetic performance in maize.

Overexpression of ZmLACS9 enhances maize salt tolerance by improving chloroplast lipid metabolism and photosynthetic efficiency, with a significant impact on plant growth under stress.

• Why it matters: Salt stress severely hampers crop productivity, and understanding genetic mechanisms behind tolerance is crucial for developing resilient varieties.
• What they did: Researchers conducted lipidomic and transcriptomic analyses on maize, focusing on ZmLACS9, and used gene overexpression and mutation approaches to assess its role in salt stress response.
• The result: Overexpressing ZmLACS9 improved chloroplast structure and PSII activity, leading to better growth under salt stress, and identified ZmWRKY17 as a regulator, offering targets for breeding stress-resistant maize.