Triticum aestivum Transcriptome or Gene expression

Transcriptome assembled from 454 reads obtained 12 days after anthesis. In monocarpic plants, such as wheat, senescence occurs in a coordinated way at the whole-plant level when genetically-programmed and developmentally-controlled catabolic activities convert cellular material into exportable nutrients. When the high grain protein content (GPC) transcription factor in hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum) is down-regulated by stable RNA interference (GPC RNAi), senescence is significantly delayed and grain protein content together with the overall nutrient partitioning to the grain is greatly reduced (SCIENCE 314: 1298). As an early positive regulator of senescence, the GPC gene represents an excellent entry point to study the gene networks regulating senescence in wheat. mRNA-seq was used to catalogue the genes that are regulated by the GPC transcription factor during monocarpic senescence. A reference transcriptome was developed by 454 sequencing, while transcript counting was determined by Illumina sequencing. Total RNA was extracted from wild type bread wheat plants and GPC RNAi plants 12 days after anthesis (four biological replications per genotypes).