Dynamic physiological and transcriptomic changes reveal memory effects of salt stress in maize

BACKGROUND: Pre-exposing plants to abiotic stresses can induce stress memory, which is crucial for adapting to subsequent stress exposure. Although numerous genes involved in salt stress response have been identified, the understanding of memory responses to salt stress remains limited. RESULTS: In this study, we conducted physiological and transcriptional assays on maize plants subjected to recurrent salt stress to characterize salt stress memory. During the second exposure to salt stress, the plants exhibited enhanced salt resistance, as evidenced by increased proline content and higher POD and SOD activity, along with decreased MDA content, indicative of physiological memory behavior. Transcriptional analysis revealed fewer differentially expressed genes and variations in response processes during the second exposure compared to the first, indicative of transcriptional memory behavior. A total of 2,213 salt stress memory genes (SMGs) were identified and categorized into four response patterns. The most prominent group of SMGs consisted of genes with elevated expression during the first exposure to salt stress but reduced expression after recurrent exposure to salt stress, or vice versa ([+ / −] or [− / +]), indicating that a revised response is a crucial process in plant stress memory. Furthermore, nine transcription factors (TFs) (WRKY40, WRKY46, WRKY53, WRKY18, WRKY33, WRKY70, MYB15, KNAT7, and WRKY54) were identified as crucial factors related to salt stress memory. These TFs regulate over 53% of SMGs, underscoring their potential significance in salt stress memory. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrates that maize can develop salt stress memory, and the genes identified here will aid in the genetic improvement of maize and other crops. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12864-023-09845-w.