State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics and National Center for Plant Gene Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
Department of Crop Genomics and Bioinformatics, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, National Maize Improvement Center of China, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
Plant Physiol. 2017 Oct;175(2):746-757. doi: 10.1104/pp.17.00694. Epub 2017 Aug 14.
The architecture of wheat () inflorescence and its complexity is among the most important agronomic traits that influence yield. For example, wheat spikes vary considerably in the number of spikelets, which are specialized reproductive branches, and the number of florets, which are spikelet branches that produce seeds. The large and repetitive nature of the three homologous and highly similar subgenomes of wheat has impeded attempts at using genetic approaches to uncover beneficial alleles that can be utilized for yield improvement. Using a population-associative transcriptomic approach, we analyzed the transcriptomes of developing spikes in 90 wheat lines comprising 74 landrace and 16 elite varieties and correlated expression with variations in spike complexity traits. In combination with coexpression network analysis, we inferred the identities of genes related to spike complexity. Importantly, further experimental studies identified regulatory genes whose expression is associated with and influences spike complexity. The associative transcriptomic approach utilized in this study allows rapid identification of the genetic basis of important agronomic traits in crops with complex genomes.
小麦花序的结构及其复杂性是影响产量的最重要农艺性状之一。例如，小麦穗上的小穗数量差异很大，小穗是专门的生殖枝，而小花数量则是产生种子的小穗枝。小麦三个同源且高度相似的亚基因组的庞大和重复性，阻碍了利用遗传方法来揭示可用于提高产量的有益等位基因的尝试。本研究采用群体关联转录组学方法，分析了 90 条小麦品系（包括 74 个地方品种和 16 个优良品种）发育中的穗转录组，并与穗复杂性状的变化进行了相关性分析。结合共表达网络分析，推断了与穗复杂性相关的基因的身份。重要的是，进一步的实验研究确定了与穗复杂性相关并影响穗复杂性的调控基因。本研究中使用的关联转录组学方法可快速鉴定复杂基因组作物中重要农艺性状的遗传基础。
