title: Transcriptome sequencing reveals the roles of transcription factors in modulating genotype by nitrogen interaction in maize.
abstract: Global transcriptome analysis in maize revealed differential nitrogen response between genotypes and implicate a crucial role of transcription factors in driving genotype by nitrogen interactions at gene expression level. Developing nitrogen-efficient cultivars are essential for sustainable and productive agriculture. Nitrogen use efficiency of plants is highly dependent on the interaction of environmental and genetic variation and results in adaptive phenotypes. This study used transcriptome sequencing to perform a comprehensive genotype by nitrogen (G × N) interaction analysis for two elite Chinese maize inbreds grown at normal and low nitrogen levels in field conditions. We demonstrated that the two maize inbreds showed contrasting agronomic and transcriptomic responses to changes in nitrogen availability. A total of 96 genes with a significant G × N interaction were detected. After characterizing the expression patterns of G × N interaction genes, we found that the G × N interaction genes tended to show condition-specific differential expression. The functional annotations of G × N interaction genes revealed that many different kinds of genes were involved in G × N interactions, but a significant enrichment for transcription factors was detected, particularly the AP2/EREBP and WRKY family, suggesting that transcription factors might play important roles in driving G × N interaction at gene expression level for nitrogen response in maize. Taken together, these results not only provide novel insights into the mechanism of nitrogen response in maize and set important basis for further characterization but also have important implications for other genotype by stress interaction.
authors.affiliation: National Maize Improvement Center of China, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China.
authors.forename: Qiuyue
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: National Maize Improvement Center of China, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China.
authors.forename: Zhipeng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: National Maize Improvement Center of China, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China.
authors.forename: Baobao
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: National Maize Improvement Center of China, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China.
authors.forename: Xufeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: National Maize Improvement Center of China, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China.
authors.forename: Jinsheng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.affiliation: National Maize Improvement Center of China, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China. ft55@cau.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tian
mesh_terms: D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D005838:Genotype; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000378:metabolism*; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D059467:Transcriptome / Q000235:genetics; D003313:Zea mays / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; D009584:Nitrogen
keywords: G × N interaction; Nitrogen response; RNA-seq; Transcription factor; Zea mays