title: Identification of genes specifically or preferentially expressed in maize silk reveals similarity and diversity in transcript abundance of different dry stigmas.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In plants, pollination is a critical step in reproduction. During pollination, constant communication between male pollen and the female stigma is required for pollen adhesion, germination, and tube growth. The detailed mechanisms of stigma-mediated reproductive processes, however, remain largely unknown. Maize (Zea mays L.), one of the world's most important crops, has been extensively used as a model species to study molecular mechanisms of pollen and stigma interaction. A comprehensive analysis of maize silk transcriptome may provide valuable information for investigating stigma functionality. A comparative analysis of expression profiles between maize silk and dry stigmas of other species might reveal conserved and diverse mechanisms that underlie stigma-mediated reproductive processes in various plant species.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Transcript abundance profiles of mature silk, mature pollen, mature ovary, and seedling were investigated using RNA-seq. By comparing the transcriptomes of these tissues, we identified 1,427 genes specifically or preferentially expressed in maize silk. Bioinformatic analyses of these genes revealed many genes with known functions in plant reproduction as well as novel candidate genes that encode amino acid transporters, peptide and oligopeptide transporters, and cysteine-rich receptor-like kinases. In addition, comparison of gene sets specifically or preferentially expressed in stigmas of maize, rice (Oryza sativa L.), and Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana [L.] Heynh.) identified a number of homologous genes involved either in pollen adhesion, hydration, and germination or in initial growth and penetration of pollen tubes into the stigma surface. The comparison also indicated that maize shares a more similar profile and larger number of conserved genes with rice than with Arabidopsis, and that amino acid and lipid transport-related genes are distinctively overrepresented in maize.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Many of the novel genes uncovered in this study are potentially involved in stigma-mediated reproductive processes, including genes encoding amino acid transporters, peptide and oligopeptide transporters, and cysteine-rich receptor-like kinases. The data also suggest that dry stigmas share similar mechanisms at early stages of pollen-stigma interaction. Compared with Arabidopsis, maize and rice appear to have more conserved functional mechanisms. Genes involved in amino acid and lipid transport may be responsible for mechanisms in the reproductive process that are unique to maize silk.
authors: State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Shandong Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Life Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, Shandong, China.
authors: Xiao Hui
authors: XH
authors: Xu
authors: Hao
authors: H
authors: Chen
authors: Ya Lin
authors: YL
authors: Sang
authors: Fang
authors: F
authors: Wang
authors: Jun Ping
authors: JP
authors: Ma
authors: Xin-Qi
authors: XQ
authors: Gao
authors: Xian Sheng
authors: XS
authors: Zhang
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics; D019295:Computational Biology; D035264:Flowers / Q000235:genetics; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D017343:Genes, Plant; D018525:Germination / Q000235:genetics; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D012275:Oryza / Q000235:genetics; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011058:Pollen / Q000235:genetics; D053205:Pollen Tube / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D054817:Pollination; D018749:RNA, Plant / Q000235:genetics; D047011:Silk / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D003313:Zea mays / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins; D018749:RNA, Plant; D047011:Silk