Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41552867›Full record

ArticleJournal of integrative plant biology2026

Stem microanatomical phenomic uncovers a potential role for ZmLSM2 in regulating maize stem bending strength.

Ying Zhang, Zejia Wang, Jianjun Du, Jiawen Li, Guanmin Huang, Yanxin Zhao, Yanru Wang, Qingmei Men, Minkun Guo, Minggang Zhang and 5 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of integrative plant biology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors.

Ying ZhangInformation Technology Research Center, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, 100097, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5275-0813
Zejia WangState Key Laboratory of Gene Function and Modulation Research, Beijing Advanced Center of RNA Biology (BEACON), School of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0032-2662
Jianjun DuInformation Technology Research Center, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, 100097, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8583-3877
Jiawen LiState Key Laboratory of Gene Function and Modulation Research, Beijing Advanced Center of RNA Biology (BEACON), School of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
Guanmin HuangInformation Technology Research Center, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, 100097, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0006-4163-5418
Yanxin ZhaoBeijing Key Laboratory of Maize DNA Fingerprinting and Molecular Breeding, Maize Research Center, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, 100097, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2044-6846
Yanru WangInformation Technology Research Center, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, 100097, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0006-0602-0231
Qingmei MenInformation Technology Research Center, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, 100097, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0002-2329-0461
Minkun GuoInformation Technology Research Center, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, 100097, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0007-5061-0973
Minggang ZhangInformation Technology Research Center, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, 100097, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0009-8091-0429
Xianju LuInformation Technology Research Center, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, 100097, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0007-8660-8031
Chuanyu WangInformation Technology Research Center, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, 100097, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0000-5433-7133
Qikun LiuState Key Laboratory of Gene Function and Modulation Research, Beijing Advanced Center of RNA Biology (BEACON), School of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2489-2907
Xinyu GuoInformation Technology Research Center, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, 100097, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7282-7379
Chunjiang ZhaoInformation Technology Research Center, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, 100097, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0005-6314-7661

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Modern maize stems possess a well-developed vascular bundle system, which is critical for providing mechanical support and lodging resistance. However, characterization of the microanatomical features of vascular bundles and their functional implications in stem mechanics remains challenging, primarily due to technical limitations in high-throughput microanatomical analysis of stem tissues. We thus constructed data sets consisting of over 500,000 maize stem CT images from a maize diversity panel of 383 inbred lines. We evaluated 32 microanatomical phenotypes of maize basal internodes across two environments in different years. By incorporating engineering mechanics parameters, we calculated novel characteristics of the vascular bundles, including the moment of area (MOA) and the polar moment of inertia (PMOI). Through the high-density phenotypic data set, we identified multiple stem microanatomical phenotypes strongly associated with lodging resistance, particularly of vascular bundle mechanical traits. By integrating population genetic profiling, we discovered and confirmed that ZmLSM2 (U6 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein specific Sm-like 2) serves as a key regulator of stem mechanical strength, might function in RNA processing and maturation within vascular stem cells, identifying novel genetic targets for improving maize lodging resistance. This approach demonstrates the value of combining advanced phenotyping with multi-omics analyses for crop improvement. These discoveries will deepen the understanding of plant stem biomechanical principles and provide novel targets for enhancing lodging resistance in crop breeding programs.

Indexed as

Plant ProteinsPlant StemsZea maysBiomechanical PhenomenaGene Expression Regulation, PlantPhenotypePlant Proteinslodging resistancemaizestem mechanicsvascular bundleZmLSM2

Identifiers

PMID41552867
PMCPMC13140054

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.