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Knauer S, Javelle M, Li L, Li X, Ma X, Wimalanathan K, Kumari S, Johnston R, Leiboff S, Meeley R, Schnable PS, Ware D, Lawrence-Dill C, Yu J, Muehlbauer GJ, Scanlon MJ, Timmermans MCP. A high-resolution gene expression atlas links dedicated meristem genes to key architectural traits. Genome Res 2019; 29:1962-1973. [PMID: 31744902 PMCID: PMC6886502 DOI: 10.1101/gr.250878.119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2019] [Accepted: 10/02/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The shoot apical meristem (SAM) orchestrates the balance between stem cell proliferation and organ initiation essential for postembryonic shoot growth. Meristems show a striking diversity in shape and size. How this morphological diversity relates to variation in plant architecture and the molecular circuitries driving it are unclear. By generating a high-resolution gene expression atlas of the vegetative maize shoot apex, we show here that distinct sets of genes govern the regulation and identity of stem cells in maize versus Arabidopsis. Cell identities in the maize SAM reflect the combinatorial activity of transcription factors (TFs) that drive the preferential, differential expression of individual members within gene families functioning in a plethora of cellular processes. Subfunctionalization thus emerges as a fundamental feature underlying cell identity. Moreover, we show that adult plant characters are, to a significant degree, regulated by gene circuitries acting in the SAM, with natural variation modulating agronomically important architectural traits enriched specifically near dynamically expressed SAM genes and the TFs that regulate them. Besides unique mechanisms of maize stem cell regulation, our atlas thus identifies key new targets for crop improvement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steffen Knauer
- Center for Plant Molecular Biology, University of Tuebingen, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany.,Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, New York 11724, USA
| | - Marie Javelle
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, New York 11724, USA
| | - Lin Li
- Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55108, USA
| | - Xianran Li
- Department of Agronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA
| | - Xiaoli Ma
- Center for Plant Molecular Biology, University of Tuebingen, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Kokulapalan Wimalanathan
- Interdepartmental Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Program, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA
| | - Sunita Kumari
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, New York 11724, USA
| | - Robyn Johnston
- Plant Biology Section, School of Intergrated Plant Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
| | - Samuel Leiboff
- Plant Biology Section, School of Intergrated Plant Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
| | - Robert Meeley
- DuPont Pioneer, Agricultural Biotechnology, Johnston, Iowa 50131, USA
| | | | - Doreen Ware
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, New York 11724, USA
| | - Carolyn Lawrence-Dill
- Department of Agronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA.,Interdepartmental Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Program, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA
| | - Jianming Yu
- Department of Agronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA
| | - Gary J Muehlbauer
- Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55108, USA
| | - Michael J Scanlon
- Plant Biology Section, School of Intergrated Plant Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
| | - Marja C P Timmermans
- Center for Plant Molecular Biology, University of Tuebingen, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany.,Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, New York 11724, USA
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