Transcriptome of Grain Development in Wheat

Wheat is one of most important and largest grown crop in the world. Despite its importance, improvements in wheat yields are modest compared to other major crops.  In recent years, there has been a renewed and significant interest in wheat, to explore both the fundamental and applied aspects to advance the knowledge base for improving performance and grain yield in this crop. As the grain represents the economically most important product of wheat crop, in this study we addressed the associated developmental and gene expression programs of grain from fertilization to maturity. The studies include dissection and isolation of embryo, endosperm and pericarp tissues at key phases of grain development and detailed analyses of these using Nomarski and electron microscopy. Further, RNA seq based approach was used to profile transcriptome associated with these tissues. Analyses of the results revealed gene expression programs specific to embryo, endosperm and pericarp compartments as well as dynamic programs that are regulated coordinately between these tissues. The key findings from this study and their implications will be presented.