Transcriptome analysis of nkd1 and nkd2 mutants in W22 maize endosperm

The maize NAKED ENDOSPERM (NKD) genes Nkd1 and Nkd2 encode paralogous INDETERMINATE DOMAIN (IDD) transcription factors (TFs) that have previously been shown to play critical roles in regulating endosperm gene expression and development. However, the function of each individual NKD protein is unclear. To elucidate this, we performed a transcriptome analysis for nkd1-Ds and nkd2-Ds single mutant endosperm. We found that in nkd1-Ds single mutant, nkd2 gene expression is significantly lower than WT, and similar to the nkd2-Ds mutant. Overall design: Transcriptomes 16 DAP endosperm from WT, nkd1-Ds and nkd2-Ds single mutant were profiled and analyzed. All in a W22 inbred genetic background and 4 biological replicates were conducted for each genotype.