Abstract：
Silk of maize (Zea mays L.) contains diverse metabolites with complicated structures and functions, making it a great challenge to explore the mechanisms of metabolic regulation. Genome-wide identification of silk-preferential genes and investigation of their expression regulation provide an opportunity to reveal the regulatory networks of metabolism. Here, we applied the expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) mapping on a maize natural population to explore the regulation of gene expression in unpollinated silk of maize. We obtained 3,985 silk-preferential genes that were specifically or preferentially expressed in silk using our population. Silk-preferential genes showed more obvious expression variations compared with broadly expressed genes that were ubiquitously expressed in most tissues. We found that trans-eQTL regulation played a more important role for silk-preferential genes compared to the broadly expressed genes. The relationship between 38 transcription factors and 85 target genes, including silk-preferential genes, were detected. Finally, we constructed a transcriptional regulatory network around the silk-preferential gene Bx10, which was proposed to be associated with response to abiotic stress and biotic stress. Taken together, this study deepened our understanding of transcriptome variation in maize silk and the expression regulation of silk-preferential genes, enhancing the investigation of regulatory networks on metabolic pathways.
摘要：
玉米丝（ZeamaysL.）含有复杂的结构和功能的多种代谢产物，这使得探索代谢调节机制成为一个巨大的挑战。丝优先基因的全基因组鉴定及其表达调控研究为揭示代谢调控网络提供了机会。这里,我们将表达数量性状基因座（eQTL）定位应用于玉米自然种群，以探索玉米未授粉丝中基因表达的调控。我们使用我们的种群获得了3,985个丝优先基因，这些基因在丝中特异性或优先表达。与在大多数组织中普遍表达的广泛表达的基因相比，丝优先基因显示出更明显的表达变化。我们发现，与广泛表达的基因相比，反式eQTL调控在丝优先基因中起着更重要的作用。38个转录因子与85个靶基因的关系,包括丝优先基因，被检测到。最后,我们围绕丝优先基因Bx10构建了一个转录调控网络，该网络被认为与对非生物胁迫和生物胁迫的反应有关。一起来看,这项研究加深了我们对玉米丝转录组变异和丝优先基因表达调控的理解，加强对代谢途径调控网络的研究。
