Hyperosmolality-gated calcium-permeable channels (OSCA) are characterized as an osmosensor in plants; they are able to recognize and respond to exogenous and endogenous osmotic changes, and play a vital role in plant growth and adaptability to environmental stress. To explore the potential biological functions of OSCAs in maize, we performed a bioinformatics and expression analysis of the ZmOSCA gene family. Using bioinformatics methods, we identified twelve OSCA genes from the genome database of maize. According to their sequence composition and phylogenetic relationship, the maize OSCA family was classified into four groups (Ⅰ, Ⅱ, Ⅲ, and Ⅳ). Multiple sequence alignment analysis revealed a conserved DUF221 domain in these members. We modeled the calcium binding sites of four OSCA families using the autodocking technique. The expression profiles of ZmOSCA genes were analyzed in different tissues and under diverse abiotic stresses such as drought, salt, high temperature, and chilling using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). We found that the expression of twelve ZmOSCA genes is variant in different tissues of maize. Furthermore, abiotic stresses such as drought, salt, high temperature, and chilling differentially induced the expression of twelve ZmOSCA genes. We chose ZmOSCA2.2 and ZmOSCA2.3, which responded most strongly to temperature stress, for prediction of protein interactions. We modeled the calcium binding sites of four OSCA families using autodocking tools, obtaining a number of new results. These results are helpful in understanding the function of the plant OSCA gene family for study of the molecular mechanism of plant osmotic stress and response, as well as exploration of the interaction between osmotic stress, high-temperature stress, and low-temperature stress signal transduction mechanisms. As such, they can provide a theoretical basis for crop breeding.

The AP2/ERF transcription factor family plays pivotal roles in regulating plant growth, development, and responses to environmental stimuli. In this study, we identified and functionally characterized SlERF.F4, a tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) ERF gene encoding a nuclear-localized protein with a conserved AP2/ERF domain. SlERF.F4 transcript levels were rapidly induced by diverse abiotic stresses and phytohormones, including drought, salinity, temperature extremes, abscisic acid (ABA), and brassinosteroids (BR). Overexpression of SlERF.F4 in tomato resulted in reduced plant height, delayed fruit ripening, and downregulation of key ripening-associated genes (RIN, CNR, E4, E8, and PG). Furthermore, SlERF.F4 transgenic lines exhibited enhanced drought tolerance, characterized by reduced wilting, lower malondialdehyde (MDA) accumulation, and significantly higher survival rates under water-deficit conditions. Collectively, these results indicate that SlERF.F4 functions as a negative regulator of fruit ripening and a positive modulator of drought tolerance, highlighting its potential as a target for tomato genetic improvement.