Fig. 3: Cellular, RNA-seq and metabolite analyses of B73 and fka1-1 pericarps.
From: An ARF gene mutation creates flint kernel architecture in dent maize
a, b TEM observation of pericarp cells in kernel crown regions of B73 (a) and fka1-1 (b) at 20 DAP. Scale bars, 20 μm. c Length of pericarp cells in kernel crown regions of B73 and fka1-1 at 20 DAP. Data are mean ± s.d. (n = 76 cells in B73 and 116 cells in fka1-1). d Cell number in B73 and fka1-1 pericarps at 15 DAP. Data are mean ± s.d. (n = 15 kernels). e, f Differences in cytoplasm of pericarp cells in the kernel crown regions of B73 (e) and fka1-1 (f). Scale bars, 20 μm. g Venn diagram showing the intersection of DEGs determined by RNA-seq of B73 and fka1-1 pericarps at 12, 20 and 30 DAP (n = 3 biologically independent samples). h KEGG enrichment analysis of DEGs in 12-, 20- and 30-DAP pericarps of B73 and fka1-1. i Expression of PIN1 and genes involved in the phenylpropanoid pathway in B73 and fka1-1 pericarps at 12, 20 and 30 DAP. Left panel, fold changes of differentially expressed genes from RNA-seq data. Three biologically independent samples were used; right panel, RT-qPCR confirmation of the RNA-seq data. Expression level in B73 was set to one. Fold changes of fka1-1 vs B73 were evaluated. The data were from three biological repeats. j IAA content in pericarps of B73 and fka1-1grown in 2021 Shanghai in Spring (21SH-S), 2021 Shanghai in Autumn (21SH-A) and 2022 Sanya in Winter (22SY-W). Data are mean ± s.d. (n = 4 biologically independent samples). **P < 0.01 (two-tailed Student’s t test). k Venn diagram showing the intersection of differentially accumulated metabolites of B73 and fka1-1 pericarps at 15 and 25 DAP. (l) Differences in accumulation of metabolites in B73 and fka1-1 pericarps at 15 and 25 DAP. Three biologically independent samples were used. m A auxin and flavonoid biosynthesis share a common substrate. Relative contents of indole and tryptophan in metabonomics data of B73 and fka1-1 pericarps. Data are mean ± s.d. (n = 3 biologically independent samples). Two-tailed Student’s t-tests were used to determine P-values shown in the (c, d, j, m).
