The shoot apical meristem (SAM) is a complex signalsome that is responsible for development of all shoot-derived organs in the plant. Despite its essential roles during organogenesis and stem cell maintenance, the molecular mechanisms regulating these SAM functions are poorly understood. No functional genomic analyses have as yet been performed on this vital plant structure. Owing to a unique combination of biological advantages and genomic resources, maize is an especially tractable system for transformative analyses of shoot meristem ontogeny, structure and function on a genomic scale. Research during the previous funding period demonstrated the utility of laser microdissection (LM) technology for analyses of global gene expression in discrete microdomains of the SAM. The relatively large size of the maize SAM confers distinct advantages in LM procedures. The maize genome displays considerable allelic diversity, which has been harnessed into a variety of mapping populations that enable the precise, genetic dissection of complex traits. Likewise, with the emerging genomic sequence, whole genome arrays, new reverse genetic resources, and transgenic-marker stocks for cell biological analyses, maize is particularly well-positioned for developmental genomic investigations of the genetic networks underlying SAM structure, function, and heterogeneity.
The present project consists of five main goals:
This work is supported by National Science Foundation award DBI-0820610.