The mycorrhizal colonization by Funneliformis mosseae preferentially improves drought stress tolerance in roots of sensitive parental maize inbreed plants: phenomics and metabolomic pathway analysis

This dataset reports genes related to the NGS pathway analysis of the following project.
It reports genes belonging to the brassinosteroid, auxin, jasmonic acid, pre-replication complex, IAA, flowering and photosynthetic pathways, which are background data for enrichment analysis.

Background
Drought is a major constraint for maize cultivation, while arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi
(AMF) may alleviate its negative impact in a genotype-dependent manner. Here, we
cultivated plants from two inbred lines (drought-tolerant K1, drought-sensitive K2) and their
hybrids (KH) with or without Funneliformis mosseae colonization under well-watered and
drought conditions, for integrating phenotyping, biomass parameters and transcriptomic data.
Results
KH plants exhibited moderate mid-parent heterosis (MPH) in biomass under optimal water,
which was increased under drought stress but decreased with AMF colonization. In roots,
drought strongly elevated MPH (291%), which was reduced by colonization (80.5%). K1
plants showed moderate drought tolerance, while K2 plants were highly sensitive, yet AMF
induced a remarkable 15-fold root expansion in K2 plants under drought. KH plants tolerated
drought but responded little to colonization, whereas AMF stimulated ear formation in K1
plants.
Transcriptomic analysis revealed genotype-specific reprogramming that paralleled these
phenotypes. In K1 plants, drought and AMF stabilized the expression of photosynthetic
genes (PSI, PSII, LHCb, Calvin-cycle), correlating with biomass maintenance, and activated
CYP450 71A1 and CONSTANS-like 3, consistent with auxin metabolism and flowering
stimulation. In K2 plants, strong repression of photosynthesis genes and induction of indole-
3-acetaldehyde oxidase, auxin-binding protein 1, coronatine-insensitive 1 and tasselseed-2
reflected its drought sensitivity, hormone-driven root plasticity, and altered reproductive
development under AMF. In KH plants, selective reprogramming of expression of
photosynthetic genes, including ~12-fold induction RbcX gene, simultaneous activation of 13
heterosis-related genes, coincided with biomass stability, heterosis, and consistent flowering,
with only limited AMF modulation of hormonal pathways.
Conclusion
Our findings demonstrate that AMF enhances drought resilience in a genotype-dependent
manner, linking phenotypic responses with transcriptomic regulation of photosynthesis,
hormone signaling, and flowering. AMF primarily improved root plasticity and hormone-
dependent stress adaptation in the drought-sensitive K2 plants, stabilized photosynthesis and
reproductive development in tolerant K1 plants, while the KH hybrid plants the AMF
colonization combined biomass stability with distinct transcriptional adjustments. These
results provide insight into how AMF contributes to maize performance under water
limitation and highlight the importance of genotype-specific interactions.