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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Ithaca, New York » Robert W. Holley Center for Agriculture & Health » Plant, Soil and Nutrition Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #409533
Research Project: Mapping Crop Genome Functions for Biology-Enabled Germplasm Improvement

Location: Plant, Soil and Nutrition Research

Title: Decoding nitrogen use efficiency in maize and sorghum: insights from comparative gene regulatory networks for sustainable agriculture

Author
item BRAYNEN, JANEEN - Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
item ZHANG, LIFANG - Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
item KUMARI, SUNITA - Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
item OLSON, ANDREW - Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
item KUMAR, VIVEK - Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
item REGULSKI, MICHAEL - Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
item LISERON-MONFILS, CHRISTOPHE - National Research Council - Canada
item GAUDINIER, ALLISON - University Of California Berkeley
item FRANK, MARY - Corteva Agriscience
item Ware, Doreen
item SHEN, BO - Corteva Agriscience
item KOCHIAN, LEON - University Of Saskatchewan
item BRADY, SIOBHAN - University Of California, Davis

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/22/2023
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Understanding the intricate balance of nitrogen utilization is paramount for enhancing agricultural productivity while mitigating environmental ramifications. Nitrogen plays a dual role in plants, as it is indispensable for growth but can be detrimental in excessive or limited amounts. To dissect early-stage adaptations to nitrogen availability in plants, we employed a yeast-one-hybrid derived Gene Regulatory Network (GRN) coupled with RNA-seq data in maize and sorghum. Our maize-specific GRN encompasses 1625 Protein-DNA Interactions (PDIs), featuring 70 promoters and 301 transcription factors (TFs), and was generated through orthology-based projection from an existing Arabidopsis nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) GRN. Comparative analysis with the Arabidopsis GRN revealed that 18% of the conserved edges in Arabidopsis correspond to 11% in maize, specifically highlighting conserved processes in nitrogen assimilation and transport. This overlap in the two networks implies evolutionary-conserved regulatory mechanisms across these plant species. Notably, the ERF, bZIP, and MYB transcription factor families exhibited pronounced conserved connectivity. Utilizing the maize GRN, we projected a sorghum specific GRN featuring 1596 PDIs, 93 promoters, and 226 TFs. Temporal expression overlay on these GRNs revealed intriguing patterns; despite shared PDI architecture of the project network, the two grasses exhibited divergent expression dynamics, particularly in nitrogen assimilation pathways. Collectively, these findings highlight the genomic regulatory framework facilitating plant adaptability to fluctuating nitrogen levels.