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Trihelix Transcription Factor ZmThx20 Is Required for Kernel Development in Maize

Maize kernels are the harvested portion of the plant and are related to the yield and quality of maize. The endosperm of maize is a large storage organ that constitutes 80–90% of the dry weight of mature kernels. Maize kernels have long been the study of cereal grain development to increase yield. I...

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Autores principales: Li, Peng, Li, Zhaoxia, Xie, Guangning, Zhang, Juren
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8624104/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34830019
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms222212137
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author Li, Peng
Li, Zhaoxia
Xie, Guangning
Zhang, Juren
author_facet Li, Peng
Li, Zhaoxia
Xie, Guangning
Zhang, Juren
author_sort Li, Peng
collection PubMed
description Maize kernels are the harvested portion of the plant and are related to the yield and quality of maize. The endosperm of maize is a large storage organ that constitutes 80–90% of the dry weight of mature kernels. Maize kernels have long been the study of cereal grain development to increase yield. In this study, a natural mutation that causes abnormal kernel development, and displays a shrunken kernel phenotype, was identified and named “shrunken 2008 (sh2008)”. The starch grains in sh2008 are loose and have a less proteinaceous matrix surrounding them. The total storage protein and the major storage protein zeins are ~70% of that in the wild-type control (WT); in particular, the 19 kDa and 22 kDa α-zeins. Map-based cloning revealed that sh2008 encodes a GT-2 trihelix transcription factor, ZmThx20. Using CRISPR/Cas9, two other alleles with mutated ZmThx20 were found to have the same abnormal kernel. Shrunken kernels can be rescued by overexpressing normal ZmThx20. Comparative transcriptome analysis of the kernels from sh2008 and WT showed that the GO terms of translation, ribosome, and nutrient reservoir activity were enriched in the down-regulated genes (sh2008/WT). In short, these changes can lead to defects in endosperm development and storage reserve filling in seeds.
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spelling pubmed-86241042021-11-27 Trihelix Transcription Factor ZmThx20 Is Required for Kernel Development in Maize Li, Peng Li, Zhaoxia Xie, Guangning Zhang, Juren Int J Mol Sci Article Maize kernels are the harvested portion of the plant and are related to the yield and quality of maize. The endosperm of maize is a large storage organ that constitutes 80–90% of the dry weight of mature kernels. Maize kernels have long been the study of cereal grain development to increase yield. In this study, a natural mutation that causes abnormal kernel development, and displays a shrunken kernel phenotype, was identified and named “shrunken 2008 (sh2008)”. The starch grains in sh2008 are loose and have a less proteinaceous matrix surrounding them. The total storage protein and the major storage protein zeins are ~70% of that in the wild-type control (WT); in particular, the 19 kDa and 22 kDa α-zeins. Map-based cloning revealed that sh2008 encodes a GT-2 trihelix transcription factor, ZmThx20. Using CRISPR/Cas9, two other alleles with mutated ZmThx20 were found to have the same abnormal kernel. Shrunken kernels can be rescued by overexpressing normal ZmThx20. Comparative transcriptome analysis of the kernels from sh2008 and WT showed that the GO terms of translation, ribosome, and nutrient reservoir activity were enriched in the down-regulated genes (sh2008/WT). In short, these changes can lead to defects in endosperm development and storage reserve filling in seeds. MDPI 2021-11-09 /pmc/articles/PMC8624104/ /pubmed/34830019 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms222212137 Text en © 2021 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Li, Peng
Li, Zhaoxia
Xie, Guangning
Zhang, Juren
Trihelix Transcription Factor ZmThx20 Is Required for Kernel Development in Maize
title Trihelix Transcription Factor ZmThx20 Is Required for Kernel Development in Maize
title_full Trihelix Transcription Factor ZmThx20 Is Required for Kernel Development in Maize
title_fullStr Trihelix Transcription Factor ZmThx20 Is Required for Kernel Development in Maize
title_full_unstemmed Trihelix Transcription Factor ZmThx20 Is Required for Kernel Development in Maize
title_short Trihelix Transcription Factor ZmThx20 Is Required for Kernel Development in Maize
title_sort trihelix transcription factor zmthx20 is required for kernel development in maize
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8624104/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34830019
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms222212137
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