Project description:Red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) is one of the most important legume forage species in temperate livestock agriculture. Tetraploid red clover cultivars are generally producing less seed than diploid cultivars. Improving the seed setting potential of tetraploid cultivars is necessary in order to utilize the high forage quality and environmentally sustainable nitrogen fixation of red clover. Two genotypes, one from cv.Tripo with weak seed setting and one from cv.Lasang with strong seed setting, were selected based on data from field experiments for transcriptome analysis of developing flower buds. De novo and reference based analyses of transcriptome assemblies were conducted to study the global transcriptome changes from early to late developmental stages of flower development of the two contrasting red clover genotypes. Transcript profiles, gene ontology enrichment and KEGG pathway analysis indicate that genes related to flower development, pollen pistil interactions, photosynthesis and embryo development are differentially expressed between the Tripo and Lasang genotypes. A significant number of genes related to pollination was overrepresented in Lasang, which might be a reason for its good seed setting ability. The candidate genes detected in this study might be used to develop molecular tools for breeding tetraploid red clover varieties with improved seed yield potentials.
Project description:In order to functionally characterize OsRDR4, a member of γ-clade RNA dependent RNA polymerase (RDR) in rice, transgenics were raised for the overexpression (OE) and knock-down (KD) of OsRDR4 in the background of Oryza sativa indica cultivar, Pusa Basmati 1. The knockdown lines showed developmental defects in terms of delayed flowering, short tillers, poor seed setting, etc.
Project description:ATAC-seq analysis of wild type C. albicans and a HIR1 gene deletion mutant during nutrient rich growth (YPD) and upon the shift to nitrogen starvation in yeast carbon base medium supplemented with BSA (YCB-BSA medium).
Project description:Two types of small (18-24 nt) non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), microRNAs (miRNAs) and small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) have been found to exist widely in higher plants. OsDCL3b has just been reported to process the 24-nt phased small RNAs in rice, which are preferentially expressed in panicle. In this study, we find that down-regulated expression of OsDCL3b leads to lower pollen sterility and seed setting rate, which results in decreased grain yield per plant in rice. Next, small RNA and mRNA sequencing were performed to study the decrease of pollen fertility and seed setting rate. 942 differentially expressed genes were identified, and some of them have already been known to be involved in rice panicle development. Our results indicate that there is a close correlation between small RNA and rice yield.
Project description:High temperature stress, like any abiotic stress, impairs the physiology and development of plants, including the stages of seed setting and ripening. In this study we used the 22K Barley1 GeneChip microarray to investigate the response of developing barley (Hordeum vulgare) caryopses at 12 days post anthesis to 0.5h, 3h and 6h of heat stress exposure.