Mapping and Functional Analysis of a Maize Silkless Mutant sk-A7110

The maize (Zea mays) stigma, which is commonly known as silk, is indispensable for reproduction and thus for grain yield. Here, we isolated a spontaneous mutant sk-A7110, which completely lacks silk; scanning electron microscopy showed that the sk-A7110 pistils degenerated during late floret differe...

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Main Authors: Yan Zhao, Yongzhong Zhang, Lijing Wang, Xueran Wang, Wei Xu, Xianyu Gao, Baoshen Liu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2018-08-01
Series:Frontiers in Plant Science
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpls.2018.01227/full
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spelling doaj-99061614f9644ecb8bad3e8c283a6bbc2020-11-24T21:34:01ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Plant Science1664-462X2018-08-01910.3389/fpls.2018.01227359798Mapping and Functional Analysis of a Maize Silkless Mutant sk-A7110Yan Zhao0Yongzhong Zhang1Lijing Wang2Xueran Wang3Wei Xu4Xianyu Gao5Baoshen Liu6State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Agronomy, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Agronomy, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an, ChinaAgricultural Technology Promotion Center of Yanzhou, Jining, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Agronomy, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Agronomy, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Agronomy, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Agronomy, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an, ChinaThe maize (Zea mays) stigma, which is commonly known as silk, is indispensable for reproduction and thus for grain yield. Here, we isolated a spontaneous mutant sk-A7110, which completely lacks silk; scanning electron microscopy showed that the sk-A7110 pistils degenerated during late floret differentiation. Genetic analysis confirmed that this trait was controlled by a recessive nuclear gene and sk-A7110 was mapped to a 74.13-kb region on chromosome 2 between the simple sequence repeat markers LA714 and L277. Sequence analysis of candidate genes in this interval identified a single-nucleotide insertion at position 569 downstream of the transcriptional start site in Zm00001d002970, which encodes a UDP-glycosyltransferase; this insertion produces a frameshift and premature translational termination. RNA-sequencing analysis of young ears identified 258 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between sk-A7110 and the wild type (WT), including 119 up- and 139 down-regulated genes. Interestingly, most DEGs related to jasmonic acid (JA) synthesis were up-regulated in the mutant compared to WT. Consistent with this, the JA and JA-Isoleucine (JA-Ile) contents were significantly higher in sk-A7110 ears than in WT. At the same time, RNA-sequencing analysis of tassels showed that sk-A7110 could reduce the number of tassel branches in maize by down-regulating the expression of UB2 and UB3 genes. Our identification of the sk-A7110 mutant and the responsible gene will facilitate further studies on female infertility research or maize breeding.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpls.2018.01227/fullmaizesilklessmap-based cloningRNA-seq analysisjasmonic acid
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Yan Zhao
Yongzhong Zhang
Lijing Wang
Xueran Wang
Wei Xu
Xianyu Gao
Baoshen Liu
spellingShingle Yan Zhao
Yongzhong Zhang
Lijing Wang
Xueran Wang
Wei Xu
Xianyu Gao
Baoshen Liu
Mapping and Functional Analysis of a Maize Silkless Mutant sk-A7110
Frontiers in Plant Science
maize
silkless
map-based cloning
RNA-seq analysis
jasmonic acid
author_facet Yan Zhao
Yongzhong Zhang
Lijing Wang
Xueran Wang
Wei Xu
Xianyu Gao
Baoshen Liu
author_sort Yan Zhao
title Mapping and Functional Analysis of a Maize Silkless Mutant sk-A7110
title_short Mapping and Functional Analysis of a Maize Silkless Mutant sk-A7110
title_full Mapping and Functional Analysis of a Maize Silkless Mutant sk-A7110
title_fullStr Mapping and Functional Analysis of a Maize Silkless Mutant sk-A7110
title_full_unstemmed Mapping and Functional Analysis of a Maize Silkless Mutant sk-A7110
title_sort mapping and functional analysis of a maize silkless mutant sk-a7110
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
series Frontiers in Plant Science
issn 1664-462X
publishDate 2018-08-01
description The maize (Zea mays) stigma, which is commonly known as silk, is indispensable for reproduction and thus for grain yield. Here, we isolated a spontaneous mutant sk-A7110, which completely lacks silk; scanning electron microscopy showed that the sk-A7110 pistils degenerated during late floret differentiation. Genetic analysis confirmed that this trait was controlled by a recessive nuclear gene and sk-A7110 was mapped to a 74.13-kb region on chromosome 2 between the simple sequence repeat markers LA714 and L277. Sequence analysis of candidate genes in this interval identified a single-nucleotide insertion at position 569 downstream of the transcriptional start site in Zm00001d002970, which encodes a UDP-glycosyltransferase; this insertion produces a frameshift and premature translational termination. RNA-sequencing analysis of young ears identified 258 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between sk-A7110 and the wild type (WT), including 119 up- and 139 down-regulated genes. Interestingly, most DEGs related to jasmonic acid (JA) synthesis were up-regulated in the mutant compared to WT. Consistent with this, the JA and JA-Isoleucine (JA-Ile) contents were significantly higher in sk-A7110 ears than in WT. At the same time, RNA-sequencing analysis of tassels showed that sk-A7110 could reduce the number of tassel branches in maize by down-regulating the expression of UB2 and UB3 genes. Our identification of the sk-A7110 mutant and the responsible gene will facilitate further studies on female infertility research or maize breeding.
topic maize
silkless
map-based cloning
RNA-seq analysis
jasmonic acid
url https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpls.2018.01227/full
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