A NAC Transcription Factor ZmNAC84 affects Pollen Development Through the Repression of ZmRbohH Expression in Maize

The NAC proteins are plant-specific transcription factors and widely distributed in plants. The wide functions of NAC transcription factors were studied, but the roles of NAC in pollen development are largely unclear. Here, we found that ZmNAC84 played a vital role in maize pollen development. ZmRbohH showed high expression in pollen. ZmNAC84 inhibited the ZmRbohH expression by directly binding to its promoter in pollen. Moreover, phosphorylation of ZmNAC84 at Ser113 played an important role in this process. These results suggest that ZmNAC84 plays a negative role in pollen development possibly via repressing the ZmRbohH expression.