Abstract Detail

Development and Structure

Liao, Irene [1], Hayama, Maximillion [2], Hileman, Lena [3], Nikolov, Lachezar [4].

Approaches for investigating the genetic basis of monocot nectary development.

The nectary is a structure that produces nectar, an important substance that facilitates plant-animal and plant-microbial interactions. Across flowering plants, the nectary is diverse in its morphology, cellular organization, and location found on the plant. In the characterization of this diversity, few studies have examined the genetic basis of nectary development across plants to explore the evolution of this structure. In core eudicots, researchers have identified the major genes involved in nectary development. However, one study has demonstrated that the eudicot homologs of these nectary genes do not perform the same function in monocots, suggesting that the genetic basis of monocot nectary development is virtually unknown. Most nectar-producing monocots have a distinct type of nectary known as the septal nectary, which is found in the margins of the fused carpels. Because distantly related monocots from different plant orders have septal nectaries, we expect that these species should share a common set of genes that are involved in nectary development. We are taking two complementary approaches to identify a set of candidate genes underlying septal nectary development. For the first approach, we are comparing publicly available transcriptomes from well-annotated monocot species with and without nectaries to identify genes that are only present in species with nectaries but not found in species without nectaries. We are also performing both single cell RNA sequencing and bulk tissue RNA sequencing on the gynoecium, which includes the nectary, from several monocot species to identify genes expressed specifically in the nectary. Analyses from the RNA sequencing results will be used to assess the strategy of applying publicly sequences to different research questions and associated expectations. These findings will yield insights into the genetic basis of monocot nectary development and provide a foundation for examining the evolution of the diversity of nectaries throughout monocots and flowering plants.

1 - UCLA, MCDB, 610 Charles E Young Dr East, 4018 TLSB Terasaki Life Sciences Building, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States
2 - UCLA, MCDB, 610 Charles E Young Dr East, 4018 TLSB Terasaki Life Sciences Building, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
3 - University Of Kansas, University Of Kansas, Ecology And Evolutionary Biology, Lawrence, KS, 66045, United States
4 - UCLA, Molecular, Cell And Developmental Biology, 1843 Thayer Ave, 4018 TLSB Terasaki Life Sciences Building, Los Angeles, CA, 90025, United States

Keywords:
monocot
nectary
single cell sequencing
comparative transcriptomics
gene expression.

Presentation Type: Poster
Number: PDS013
Abstract ID:519
Candidate for Awards:None