CAD — Zea mays

Summary

ZM00001EB071040, designated ZmCAD on maize chromosome 2, encodes a cinnamyl-alcohol dehydrogenase (CAD) with NADP⁺-dependent oxidoreductase activity, including coniferyl-alcohol dehydrogenase and vomilenine reductase activities. The gene is associated with lignin, phenylpropanoid, flavonoid, anthocyanin, alkaloid, and green leaf volatile biosynthesis, as well as C4 photosynthesis, immune response, and immune evasion. It has been linked to lignin and cellulose content, plant height, fresh weight, photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, stomatal resistance, vascular bundle number, IAA content, reproductive period, and ethanol yield. Associations also include tolerance to volatile carbonyl toxicity, disease and bacterial resistance, arsenic translocation and tolerance, salicylic acid accumulation, basal thermotolerance, herbivore predator attraction, and panicle, tiller, crown root, and shoot apical meristem traits. The protein localizes to the apoplast, cytosol, and plasmalemma. Studies of related genes in other species connect the CAD family to lignin composition, cell wall integrity, stem strength, flowering time, tillering, and pathogen defense.