Monoacylglycerol lipase ZmMAGL is required to maintain photosynthesis and growth at low temperature

The monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL) is a key enzyme in the lipid metabolism pathway which products fatty acids and could play an important role in plant growth and stimulus response. However, the underlying mechanism through which MAGL regulates chilling tolerance in plants is unclear. Here, we demonstrate that the ZmMAGL could be a positive regulator in plants to enhance chilling tolerance. Loss of function on MAGL resulted in slow growth, leaf chlorosis, and decreased photosynthetic capacity in both maize and Arabidopsis under chilling conditions. We show that the ZmMAGL directly interacts with ZmEULS3 for regulating chilling tolerance together. In addition, the ZmFBIP could enhance the ZmMAGL activity by binding to its promoter region. Further multi-omics analysis revealed that the ZmMAGL could be involved in fatty acid remodeling under chilling stress to maintain photosynthesis capacity and regular growth. These results uncover a ZmFBIP-ZmMAGL/ZmEULS3 regulation module which plays an essential role for growth and development through regulating the photosynthesis and lipid metabolism in maize under chilling stress.