Project description:We explored the gene expression profiles of developing maize kernel by RNA sequencing. Our purpose was to explore the sequence diversity across the inbred lines, especially in the gene regions, and to discover the gene regulatory networks employed in immature maize kernels.
Project description:MOP1-mediated regulation of gene expression of plant responses to early ABA induction has transcriptionally and physiologically relevant roles. Homozygous mop1-1 plants are compromised in their ability to recover from water deprivation. Purpose: Genome-wide identification of immediate and direct MOP1-dependent ABA transcriptional responses Methods: mRNA profiles of Mop1 wildtype and mop1-1 mutant V3 stage maize seedlings were subjected to ABA and MS treatments for 1 hour. The trimmed sequence reads were analyzed at the gene level using HISAT2, stringite, and edgeR. Results: we mapped ~33 million, 150 bp, paired-end sequence reads per sample to the B73 version 4 maize genome and identified 1,856 genes in four pairwise-comparisons to be differentially expressed genes (DEGs) with a log2FC ≥ 0.95 and FDR <0.05, 1,119 DEGs were found to be unique to one genotype/treatment comparison. Conclusions: MOP1-mediated regulation of gene expression in maize seedlings in the RdDM (mop1-1) mutant has relevant transcriptional and physiological roles in plants subjected to stress. Our study generated by RNA-seq technology identified genes and biological processes regulated by RdDM and ABA-mediated stress responses, including MOP1-dependent and immediate response genes (MIMs).
Project description:Small RNAs (21-24 nt) are pivotal regulators of gene expression that guide both transcriptional and post-transcriptional silencing mechanisms in diverse eukaryotes, including most if not all plants. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) and short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) are the two major types, both of which have a demonstrated and important role in plant development, stress responses and pathogen resistance. In this work, we used a deep sequencing approach (Sequencing-By-Synthesis, or SBS) to develop sequence resources of small RNAs from different maize tissues (including leaves, ears and tassels) collected from wild-type plants of the B73 variety. The high depth of the resulting datasets enabled us to examine in detail critical small RNA features as size distribution, tissue-specific regulation and sequence conservation between different organs in this species. We also developed database resources and a dedicated website (http://smallrna.udel.edu/) with computational tools for allowing other users to identify new miRNAs or siRNAs involved in specific regulatory pathways, verify the degree of conservation of these sequences in other plant species and map small RNAs on genes or larger regions of the maize genome under study.
Project description:Through hierarchical clustering of transcript abundance data across a diverse set of tissues and developmental stages in maize, we have identified a number of coexpression modules which describe the transcriptional circuits of maize development.
Project description:The classical maize mutant lazy1 (la1), displayed prostrate growth with reduced shoot gravitropism. We compared the transcriptome profile of the third node in la1-ref mutants with those in wild-type plants using RNA-SEQ to examine the genome-wide effect of the ZmLA1 gene. We generated 14.6 and 36.5 million paired-end reads from two biological samples of wild-type and la1-ref mutant plants, respectively.
Project description:RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) in plants is a well-characterized example of RNA interference-related transcriptional gene silencing. To determine the relationships between RdDM and heterochromatin in the repeat-rich maize (Zea mays) genome, we performed whole-genome analyses of several heterochromatic features: dimethylation of lysine 9 and lysine 27 (H3K9me2 and H3K27me2), chromatin accessibility, DNA methylation, and small RNAs; we also analyzed two mutants that affect these processes, mediator of paramutation1 and zea methyltransferase2.
Project description:Transcriptional profiling of 4 maize varieties comparing genetic root response under control temperature conditions with genetic root response under low temperature conditions
Project description:We perform a quantitative RNA-seq analysis of embryo sacs, comparator ovules with the embryo sacs removed, mature pollen, and seedlings to assist the identification of gametophyte functions in maize. Expression levels were determined for annotated genes in both gametophytes, and novel transcripts were identified from de novo assembly of RNA-seq reads. RNA-seq was performed on four tissue types: nine-day old, above-ground seedling (S); mature pollen (MP); embryo-sac-enriched samples with some remaining nucellar cells (ES); and ovules with embryo sacs removed (Ov).