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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 #414933
Research Project: Championing Improvement of Sorghum and Other Agriculturally Important Species through Data Stewardship and Functional Dissection of Complex Traits

Location: Plant, Soil and Nutrition Research

Title: Transcriptomic Profiles of Developing Meristems Across Sorghum Accessions Reveal Nuanced Regulatory Pathways Towards Panicle Morphology and Grain Content

Author
item Gladman, Nicholas
item FAHEY, AUDREY - Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
item REGULSKI, MICHAEL - Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
item Ware, Doreen

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/3/2024
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Improving the quality of gene regulatory networks (GRNs) is valuable for increased understanding of complex traits as well as predictive targets for breeding and genome editing. GRNs have become an essential aspect towards crop improvement by revealing modules that influence stress response, development, and plant evolution. GRNs are best created through multi-omics approaches, often using multiple tissues to strengthen candidate gene curation and non-coding sequences for functional characterization and ultimate incorporation into breeding programs. Through transcriptomics, transcription factor (TF) binding profiles, publicly available phenomics, and other genomic resources, we construct dense sorghum GRNs to probe constrained and labile modules that impact inflorescence development across multiple Sorghum Association Panel accessions, including breeding, non-breeding, and conversion lines. Developmentally crucial gene sets display notable differences in expression across inchoate tissue stages between accessions, indicating levels of genetic redundancy or plasticity in the manifestation of panicle morphologies. Additionally, TFs that are known regulators of inflorescence progression in monocots, like Bearded Ear1 and Tassel Sheath 4, have different binding profiles in the promoter regions of these meristematic gene clusters and also indicate which TFs could have a more promiscuous regulatory purview in panicle morphology. Finally, using public ICP-MS data from mature seeds, we identify gene modules that are correlated to micronutrient and heavy metal content, possibly hinting at early developmental bottlenecks in the inflorescence meristem that constrain source-sink relationships later during seed setting. This project was funded by the USDA-ARS 8062-21000-044-000D.