Triticum aestivum Transcriptome or Gene expression. Triticum aestivum

Fructans represent the major component of water soluble carbohydrates (WSCs) in the maturing stem of temperate cereals and are an important temporary carbon reserve for grain filling. Theoretically, genotypic variation in carbon reserve accumulation is determined by relative carbon availability and demand at the whole plant level. To evaluate the importance of source carbon availability in fructan accumulation and its associated molecular mechanisms, we performed comparative analyses of individual WSC components and the expression profiles of genes involved in major carbohydrate metabolism and photosynthesis in flag leaves of recombinant inbred lines derived from a cross between wheat cultivars Seri M82 and Babax (SB lines). High sucrose levels in the mature flag leaf (source carbon organ) were found to be positively associated with WSC and fructan concentrations in both the leaf and stem of SB lines in several field trials. Analysis of Affymetrix expression array data revealed that high leaf sucrose lines grown in abiotic-stress-prone environments had high expression levels of a number of genes in the leaf involved in the sucrose synthetic pathway and photosynthesis, such as Calvin cycle genes, antioxidant genes involved in the removal of chloroplast H2O2 and genes involved in energy dissipation. The expression of the majority of genes involved in fructan and starch synthetic pathways were positively correlated with sucrose levels in the leaves of these SB lines. Overall design: 8 genotypes of recombinant inbred lines Seri M82 x Babax with 2 biological replicates per genotype. Grown in the field under irrigated conditions.