Despite the 15 billion bushels grown in the United States last year alone, we still don’t know much about corn’s stem cells. That may seem like a minor issue, but these cells play a huge role dictating the important plant’s growth, health, and hardiness. Identifying the specific genes responsible for these and other factors could help agricultural scientists craft more robust crops—a vital need in the face of food insecurity and climate change.
“One thing people are very excited about is breeding new crops that are more resilient or more productive,” Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory plant biologist David Jackson said in a statement. “We don’t yet have a full list of regulators—the genes we need to do that.”
After analyzing thousands of cellular samples, Jackson and colleagues have mapped out two well-known stem cell regulators for the first time. Their findings published in the journal Developmental Cell may soon provide a welcome boost to the agricultural industry, as well as advance similar projects for other plant species.
The team selected the regulators CLAVATA3 and WUSCHEL for their project. To collect the samples, they carefully dissected tiny sections of maize and Arabidopsis plant shoots to harvest their stem cells. Next, they used a microfluidics machine to isolate each cell, convert its RNA to DNA, and then label the resultant DNA with a tag linking it to its original cell. This approach, called single-cell RNA sequencing, lets scientists examine how genes express themselves across thousands of cells simultaneously. According to Jackson, the results form an open-source “atlas of gene expression” comprising around 5,000 CLAVATA3 and 1,000 WUSCHEL-expressing cells.
“When we publish that, the whole community can use it,” said Jackson. “Other people interested in maize or Arabidopsis stem cells don’t have to repeat the experiment. They will be able to use our data.”
From there, Jackson’s team pinpointed hundreds of preferentially expressed genes across both the maize and Arabidopsis samples. Their presence in both of these species suggests that they are evolutionary important across many different plant varieties. Finally, the experts linked stem cell regulators responsible for maize productivity.
“It’s foundational knowledge that could guide research for the next decade,” Jackson explained. “It can be used not only by developmental biologists, but physiologists, who think about how corn ears grow and how to improve productivity, and then breeders.”
Various corn strains are better suited for certain products over others. For example, one species that works best for animal feed may not offer the same chemical benefits needed in fuel production. By expanding on this gene expression atlas, researchers believe farmers will soon be able to select the most appropriate maize crops for their needs, as well as cross-breed even more promising varieties.
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