National Engineering Research Center of JUNCAO, Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Haixia Applied Plant Systems Biology, Haixia Institute of Science and Technology and College of Juncao Science and Ecology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China.
College of Life Science, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China.
Int J Mol Sci. 2024 Sep 10;25(18):9798. doi: 10.3390/ijms25189798.
Pearl millet is a major cereal crop that feeds more than 90 million people worldwide in arid and semi-arid regions. The stalk phenotypes of Poaceous grasses are critical for their productivity and stress tolerance; however, the molecular mechanisms governing stalk development in pearl millet remain to be deciphered. In this study, we spatiotemporally measured 19 transcriptomes for stalk internodes of four different early developmental stages. Data analysis of the transcriptomes defined four developmental zones on the stalks and identified 12 specific gene sets with specific expression patterns across the zones. Using weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), we found that two co-expression modules together with candidate genes were involved in stalk elongation and the thickening of pearl millet. Among the elongation-related candidate genes, we established by SELEX that a MYB-family transcription factor PMF7G02448 can bind to the promoters of three cell wall synthases genes (). In summary, these findings provide insights into stalk development and offer potential targets for future genetic improvement in pearl millet.
珍珠粟是一种主要的谷类作物，在干旱和半干旱地区为全球超过 9000 万人提供食物。禾本科植物的茎表型对其生产力和抗逆性至关重要；然而，珍珠粟茎发育的分子机制仍有待破译。在这项研究中，我们对四个不同早期发育阶段的四个茎节间进行了时空转录组测量。对转录组数据的分析在茎上定义了四个发育区，并在整个区发现了 12 个具有特定表达模式的特定基因集。使用加权基因共表达网络分析 (WGCNA)，我们发现两个共表达模块以及候选基因参与了珍珠粟茎伸长和加粗。在与伸长相关的候选基因中，我们通过 SELEX 确定了一个 MYB 家族转录因子 PMF7G02448 可以结合到三个细胞壁合成酶基因的启动子上（）。总之，这些发现为茎的发育提供了深入的了解，并为未来珍珠粟的遗传改良提供了潜在的目标。
