Zea mays Transcriptome or Gene expression

Endosperm is a product of double fertilization, and provides nutrients and signals to the embryo during seed development in flowering plants. Early stages of endosperm development are critical for the development of its storage capacity through synthesis and accumulation of starch and storage proteins. Here we report on the isolation and sequencing of mRNAs from the central portion of the starchy endosperm of Zea mays (maize) B73 at 6 days after pollination. We detected high correlation among the four biological replicates of RNAs isolated using laser-capture microdissection of the cell type. Because the assayed stage of development precedes the synthesis and accumulation of the major storage proteins and starch in the endosperm, our dataset likely include mRNAs for genes that are involved in control and establishment of these developmental programs. Overall design: Four replicates of mRNAs from the central portion of starchy endopserm were isolated using laser-capture microdissection and sequenced using the Illumina GAIIx platform.