NHX8 — Zea mays

Summary

ZmNHX8 (ZM00001EB033240) on maize chromosome 1 encodes a cation/proton exchanger of the CPA1 family with lithium:proton antiporter, sodium:hydrogen exchanger and potassium:proton antiporter activities, and is associated with NAD ADP-ribosyltransferase and protein kinase activities. The gene is linked to salinity tolerance, sodium uptake and efflux, potassium acquisition, and lithium homeostasis. It has been connected to yield, net photosynthetic rate, plant height, chlorophyll content, drought tolerance, high temperature stress response, disease tolerance, pollen fertility, root development traits, stomatal resistance, proline content, and oxidative stress response. The product localises to the vacuolar membrane, tonoplast, plasmalemma, chloroplast envelope, cytoplasm and nucleus, and is associated with cell pH regulation, calcium signaling, meristem determinacy, lateral root morphogenesis, nectar secretion, and responses to superoxide, hydrogen peroxide, ozone and ethylene. Studies of related genes in other species link the family to salt tolerance, sodium exclusion and ion homeostasis.