Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals a key regulator ZmEREB14 affecting shoot apex development and yield formation in maize

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/pbi.14537

Langlang Ma, Na Zhang, Peng Liu, Yuru Liang, Ran Li, Guangsheng Yuan, Chaoying Zou, Zhong Chen, Thomas Lübberstedt, Guangtang Pan, Yaou Shen

Summary

Shoot apical meristem (SAM) is the origin of aerial structure formation in the plant life cycle.However, the mechanisms underlying the maize SAM development are still obscure. Here,approximately 12 700 cells were captured from the 5-day-old shoot apex of maize using ahigh-throughput single-cell transcriptome sequencing. According to the gene expressionpatterns, we partitioned the cells into 8 cell types with 13 transcriptionally distinct cell clustersand traced the developmental trajectory of shoot apex. Regulatory network analysis oftranscription factors (TFs) showed that three core TFs, AP2-EREBP-transcription factor 14(ZmEREB14, Zm00001d052087), MYB histone 4 (ZmMYB4) and HSF-transcription factor 8(ZmHSF8) potentially regulated the SAM development. Functional validation revealed thatZmEREB14 affected the SAM development and thereby regulated the maize yield formation. Ourresults characterised the inherent heterogeneity of SAM at single-cell resolution and providednew insights into the mechanisms of SAM development