Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Zheng, Xixi
• Li, Qi
• Li, Changsheng
• An, Dong
• Xiao, Qiao
• Wang, Wenqin
• Wu, Yongrui

Titel

Intra-Kernel Reallocation of Proteins in Maize Depends on VP1-Mediated Scutellum Development and Nutrient Assimilation

Ist Teil von

• The Plant cell, 2019-11, Vol.31 (11), p.2613-2635

Ort / Verlag

England: American Society of Plant Biologists

Erscheinungsjahr

2019

Quelle

MEDLINE

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• During maize ( ) seed development, the endosperm functions as the major organ for storage of photoassimilate, serving to nourish the embryo. α-Zeins and globulins (GLBs) predominantly accumulate in the maize endosperm and embryo, respectively. Here, we show that suppression of α-zeins by RNA interference ( ) in the endosperm results in more GLB1 being synthesized in the embryo, thereby markedly increasing the size and number of protein storage vacuoles. genes are strongly expressed in the middle-to-upper section of the scutellum, cells of which are significantly enlarged by induction. Elimination of GLBs caused an apparent reduction in embryo protein level, regardless of whether α-zeins were expressed or suppressed in the endosperm, indicating that GLBs represent the dominant capacity for storage of amino acids allocated from the endosperm. It appears that protein reallocation is mostly regulated at the transcriptional level. Genes differentially expressed between wild-type and kernels are mainly involved in sulfur assimilation and nutrient metabolism, and many are transactivated by VIVIPAROUS1 (VP1). In embryos, misshapen scutellum cells contain notably less cellular content and are unable to respond to induction. Our results demonstrate that VP1 is essential for scutellum development and protein reallocation from the endosperm to embryo.