PNH — Zea mays

Summary

ZmPNH (ZM00001EB104820) on maize chromosome 2 encodes a protein containing Piwi, PAZ and Argonaute domains, characteristic of the Argonaute family. The gene is associated with siRNA and miRNA binding, dsRNA binding, and histone ubiquitin ligase activity. It has been linked to miRNA and pre-miRNA processing, gene silencing by miRNA-directed mRNA cleavage, and tasiRNA biogenesis. In maize, the family member AGO7 is associated with drought stress response. The gene is connected to leaf polarity, leaf morphology, shoot apical meristem initiation, juvenile-to-adult transition, auxin signalling, and virus resistance. Associations also include sex determination, somatic stem cell population maintenance, and traits such as ear weight, inflorescence branching, photosynthetic ability, rolled leaf, and lignin biosynthesis.