ZmNAC20 positively regulates drought tolerance in maize seedlings via a chromatin-associated network.

Loss-of-function zmnac20 mutants show increased drought sensitivity, confirming ZmNAC20's role in positively regulating drought tolerance in maize seedlings.

• Why it matters: Drought severely limits maize yield and establishment during early development, and understanding key regulators like NAC transcription factors can inform crop resilience strategies.
• What they did: Using CRISPR/Cas9 mutagenesis, molecular, physiological, and multi-omics approaches, the study characterized ZmNAC20's function and its regulatory network involving ZmNAC110 and YIGE1.
• The result: Findings suggest ZmNAC20 enhances drought tolerance via a chromatin-associated network, activating YIGE1 and forming a ZmNAC110-ZmNAC20-YIGE1 module, though YIGE1's downstream role remains unconfirmed.