Analysis of the transcriptome of dissected maize seedling organs from two inbreds and reciprocal genetic hybrids

Early maize seedling development is a critical stage during the plant's vegetative growth and hence the organism is vulnerable to many potential environmental stresses. This research documents the gene expression program in six seedling organs (i.e., roots, coleoptile, first leaf sheath, first leaf blade, second leaf blade, and encased leaves) that capture the developmental transition from skotomorphogenesis to photomorphogenesis, and compares the influence of genetic background and seedling organs in global gene expression.

玉米幼苗发育是植株营养生长阶段的关键时期，此时幼苗易受多种潜在环境胁迫的影响。本研究对玉米幼苗的6种器官（即根、胚芽鞘（coleoptile）、第一叶鞘、第一叶片、第二叶片及包被叶）的基因表达程序进行了系统性记录，这些器官覆盖了从暗形态建成（skotomorphogenesis）向光形态建成（photomorphogenesis）的发育转变过程；同时还对比了遗传背景与幼苗器官对全局基因表达的影响。